Strengthening Our Defenses: The Senate Intelligence Authorization Act and Cybersecurity

Introduction - The Senate Intelligence Authorization Act

In July 2025, the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence advanced the Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026. This bill directly addresses the growing cyber threat posed by Salt Typhoon, a China-linked adversary that has infiltrated U.S. telecom infrastructure and military networks. It also restructures the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) and sets new guardrails for AI adoption and procurement.

This legislation sends a clear signal: Congress expects both government and industry to raise the bar on cybersecurity. At Zephon, we have seen firsthand how Zero Trust and disciplined cyber practices can contain threats like Salt Typhoon. Let’s break down the bill, its national security implications, and what organizations can do now.

1. What the Bill Does

ODNI Reorganization

The bill reduces ODNI’s workforce cap to 650, down from nearly 2,000. It eliminates several internal centers. The intent is to reduce bureaucracy and sharpen focus.

Protecting Against Salt Typhoon

Salt Typhoon exploited weak vendor defenses in telecom infrastructure, remaining undetected for months. The bill mandates baseline cybersecurity requirements for telecom vendors serving the Intelligence Community. This forces providers to adopt stronger protections.

AI Procurement and Use

AI is central to modern intelligence. The bill establishes standards for how agencies buy and use AI, addressing concerns about bias, transparency, and operational security.

Broader Protections

The law also strengthens whistleblower protections, bans IC contractors from selling geolocation data, and improves health-incident reporting.

2. Why This Matters for National Cybersecurity

Vendor Accountability

Telecom vendors will face mandatory cybersecurity standards. This aligns supply chain resilience with national defense.

Procurement as Policy

By embedding cyber requirements in contracts, agencies gain a powerful lever to enforce security across entire industries.

AI as a Multiplier

AI can help detect and contain attacks faster—but only if governed properly. Guidance in the bill provides a needed foundation.

Leaner ODNI, Faster Response

Restructuring could reduce duplication, improve decision-making speed, and focus resources on the most urgent threats.

3. What Organizations Should Do Now

While the Senate Intelligence Authorization Act moves through Congress, organizations cannot afford to wait. Salt Typhoon shows us how attackers exploit weak links. Here are some practical steps to take now:

• Adopt Zero Trust: Verify identity and device on every request. Enforce least privilege and micro-segmentation.

• Harden Vendor Management: Demand security practices like MFA, patch management, and continuous monitoring from suppliers.

• Use AI Safely: Deploy AI for detection and automation, but apply oversight—log, test, and validate outputs.

• Build Resilience: Prepare for the assumption of a breach. Segment networks, maintain backups, and test incident response regularly.

• Enhance Workforce Protections: Ensure employees can report anomalies or health issues without fear of retaliation.

  
  

4. Zephon’s Experience in Action

At Zephon, we’ve helped government and commercial organizations achieve these outcomes:

• IRS – Identity and Access Governance at Scale: We replaced a legacy custom tool with SailPoint IdentityIQ and CyberArk, managing over 100,000 users and 20,000 applications. This project showed how Zero Trust identity principles stop insider abuse and privilege misuse.

• Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) – AMPS Legacy Support: We supported account management and provisioning for thousands of users across DLA systems. We troubleshot and secured Oracle ERP, SOA, and access management services, ensuring mission-critical applications stayed secure and compliant.

• SEC – Zero Trust Assessment: We conducted a Zero Trust maturity review of identity and device pillars across 300+ applications and 7 High Value Assets. We delivered a multi-year roadmap to close gaps and align with EO 14028. This directly reflects how agencies can operationalize Zero Trust against nation-state threats.

• EarthX – SOC as a Service: We delivered continuous monitoring, vulnerability scanning, and incident response. This reduced organizational cyber risk scores, contained active threats, and protected sensitive accounts from repeated attacks.

• Hofstra University – Identity Lifecycle Automation: We automated provisioning and deprovisioning for 200,000 identities across multiple AD domains and cloud tenants. This project demonstrates how Zero Trust principles apply even outside federal systems.

  
  

Each of these engagements reinforces a central theme: Zero Trust works. It stops lateral movement, enforces accountability, and improves resilience against adversaries like Salt Typhoon.

5. Where We Must Go Next

The bill is a step forward, but execution matters:

• Clear Vendor Guidance: Telecom providers will need concrete security playbooks, not vague requirements.

• Faster Zero Trust Adoption: Agencies and enterprises must accelerate maturity, especially in identity and access.

• AI Security Oversight: AI systems must be validated and secured to prevent becoming attack surfaces themselves.

• Balanced ODNI Oversight: Streamlining should not come at the cost of losing counterintelligence or cyber defense coordination.

  
  

Conclusion

The 2026 Intelligence Authorization Act addresses Salt Typhoon, enforces stronger vendor defenses, guides AI adoption, and reshapes ODNI. Its message is clear: cybersecurity is national security.

For organizations, the next step is not to wait. Zero Trust must be implemented now. Vendor contracts must enforce security baselines, and AI must be adopted responsibly.

Zephon has already delivered these results for the IRS, DLA, SEC, EarthX, Hofstra, and more. Our experience shows that even the most complex systems can be secured, simplified, and modernized to withstand today’s threats.

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