The US government is pushing its agencies to modernize their solutions and improve their security posture, with a focus on secure by default configurations, zero trust environments, and cloud-based solutions. Secure by default means that any piece of software uses default security settings that are configured for the highest possible security out of the box, while zero trust environments assume the perimeter is breached and continually verify and audit users, devices, and connections. Cloud providers are stepping up to meet the security needs of government agencies, offering purpose-built options such as AWS GovCloud. Government agencies require built-in security measures, including network isolation and access, encryption in flight, at rest, and in use, granular database auditing, and multi-factor authentication. The right data platform with built-in security features is crucial for public sector organizations to keep sensitive data protected while still allowing progress.