In a recent FedGovToday interview at the Carahsoft DevSecOps Conference, Greymatter.io CEO and founder Chris Holmes cut straight to the core of federal cybersecurity: automation is no longer optional. It’s the catalyst that bridges speed and security—and the only way agencies will meet the demands of zero trust at mission scale.
Watch the Full Interview
Breaking the Manual ATO Bottleneck
The Authority to Operate (ATO) process has long been a drag on speed. For too many agencies, it’s still anchored in manual checklists and subjective approvals. Holmes challenged this outdated approach, calling for a shift to autonomous, standards-based ATO automation.
“It can’t just be scripted,” Holmes said. “It’s got to be autonomous—hands off, fire and forget. I need an AI that can decide if a security posture is compromised, and if it is, reroute traffic or even turn the environment into a honeypot.”
This is the new bar for ATO: not paperwork at human speed, but intelligent, proactive defense at machine speed.
Embedding Security Where Code Lives
For developers, automation isn’t abstract—it’s the daily guardrail in the CI/CD pipeline. Holmes underscored that automated policy enforcement and identity-driven controls must be embedded directly into workflows, giving teams instant visibility and real-time compliance enforcement without slowing delivery.
The payoff?
- Faster releases. No waiting on manual reviews.
- Lower risk. Noncompliant code never makes it downstream.
- Higher trust. Security is built-in, not bolted on.
Standards, Visibility, Trust: The Federal Mandate
Holmes’ message was clear: agencies need more than tools. They need repeatable frameworks—NIST-aligned, automated, and universally enforced. Standards unlock trust across teams, while visibility and enforcement keep both operators and auditors confident that compliance isn’t slipping through the cracks.
The future of federal DevSecOps, Holmes argued, is the convergence of autonomous intelligence and embedded pipeline automation. Together, they deliver what missions demand: speed without compromise, security without manual drag.
Greymatter.io: Built for This Future
Greymatter.io’s platform is already delivering on that vision. With policy automation, service identity, and continuous observability built in, agencies can accelerate ATO, enforce zero trust, and adapt at mission speed—without adding human bottlenecks.
Automation isn’t a feature. It’s the foundation. And for the federal enterprise, it’s the only path forward.