By Kanuri Murty, Chief Information Officer/Deputy Director of Information Technology
As the technology landscape rapidly evolves, driven by advances in artificial intelligence (AI) and generative AI, the cyber threat environment is becoming increasingly more complex. AI‑enabled threats are growing more powerful, accelerating attack timelines, and reducing the window available for effective remediation. By monitoring the changing technical landscape and leveraging relevant solutions across our organization and the FI$Cal system, we are working to ensure the system remains modern and secure against these threats.
In July 2026, Governor Gavin Newsom and the California Department of Technology launched CalSecure 2.0, establishing a risk‑based cybersecurity roadmap to protect the state against the new generation of AI‑driven threats. Leveraging the CalSecure 2.0 framework, the Department of FISCal (FI$Cal) will continue maturing its cybersecurity program by evaluating current capabilities, identifying opportunities for improvement, and prioritizing investments that strengthen the organization’s overall security posture.
At FI$Cal, we continue to identify solutions to ensure system security. This year, we procured and implemented an automated patching solution, aimed at more effectively closing known vulnerabilities, identifying and fixing bugs, and addressing critical and urgent issues immediately. This solution will significantly reduce patch deployment time and strengthen the organization’s existing patch management processes.
Over the next year, FI$Cal will evaluate solutions designed to combat AI‑orchestrated attacks, such as autonomous agentic adversaries, and increasingly compressed exploit timelines. Our teams are actively working with solution providers to adopt enhanced capabilities within the current application ecosystem while also assessing additional cybersecurity technologies in the marketplace.
Over the past year, FI$Cal has continued to expand its use of Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI). Most of our non‑production environments now operate on OCI, and the team is preparing to implement a full disaster recovery solution for critical applications on the platform, which would allow for quicker system recovery in the case of a disruptive event. Our transition to the cloud enables us to take advantage of the latest advancements in technology, ensuring they remain agile and available as our computing needs evolve.
In the months ahead, FI$Cal will expand its penetration testing capabilities by adopting continuous testing tools and establishing an ongoing, iterative approach to remediating identified vulnerabilities. This will increase our preparedness and help us identify opportunities to further harden our security practices.
As we continue to evolve our security approaches, we remain committed to advancing a resilient, adaptive cybersecurity posture that meets the demands of an ever-changing threat landscape. By embracing modern technologies, strengthening foundational security processes, and aligning with the state’s CalSecure 2.0, the department is actively positioning the FI$Cal system to withstand emerging risks while supporting the operational needs of its users. Through this approach, we will continue to ensure the system stays secure into the future.