Xccelerate 2025: Advancing Cyber Innovation for Government Through Comprehensive Cybersecurity Detection, Protection, and Resilience

The cybersecurity threat landscape is evolving faster than ever, and government agencies are at the forefront of defending critical systems and infrastructure. As threats grow more sophisticated, combating cyber adversaries requires not just knowledge of best practices, but actionable strategies. Merlin is proud to announce Xccelerate 2025, a premier event designed to equip public sector security leaders with access to the solutions, insights, and connections necessary to operationalize Zero Trust and modernize government security operations. 

Taking place on Tuesday, March 11, 2025 at Convene Hamilton Square in Washington DC, Xccelerate 2025 will bring together cybersecurity professionals, government and industry trailblazers, and top technology partners to focus on operationalizing cybersecurity strategies and driving innovation tailored to the mission of government.  

Turning Policy into Practice: Operationalizing Zero Trust for Government

Zero Trust is more than a framework, it is a dynamic and comprehensive cybersecurity strategy that requires continuous verification, least-privilege access, and adaptive security measures. At Xccelerate 2025, attendees will experience live demonstrations and expert-led discussions on:

• Securing Every Identity: The Federal Blueprint for Zero Trust: AI-driven identity security solutions enforce robust access controls and secure diverse identities across the federal government’s complex technology environments.
• Data Resiliency in the Ransomware Era: Secure endpoints and mission-critical data to protect, detect, and recover from ransomware attacks with minimal impact on operations.
• Post-Quantum Readiness: Build a unified vulnerability management lifecycle to identify weaknesses across workloads, applications, and cloud environments while meeting government mandates to inventory cryptographic systems and prepare for post-quantum computing.
• AI-Powered Security Operations: Leveraging AI to enhance and automate vulnerability management and threat detection and response in hybrid and multi-cloud environments.

End-to-End Security: Real-World Use-Cases at Xccelerate 2025

The Zero Trust journey does not stop at policy, it requires proactive adoption and continuous implementation. At Xccelerate, experts from Merlin Labs will take attendees on a step-by-step journey through a cohesive cybersecurity lifecycle of detection, protection, response, and recovery. Through interactive scenarios, attendees will understand how to identify malicious activity, prevent its recurrence, and recover systems effectively. Each scenario builds upon the previous one, creating a unified narrative that underscores the importance of an integrated cybersecurity strategy.

Scenario 1: Cryptographic Vulnerability Management – Detecting Malicious Algorithms

By conducting a comprehensive cryptographic inventory and regular scans of all cryptographic objects, threats can proactively be detected and mitigated. In this session, experts demonstrate how an integration of InfoSec Global Federal’s advanced scanning capabilities and CrowdStrike’s lightweight agent work together to discover, inventory, and remediate cryptographic vulnerabilities before adversaries exploit them.

Scenario 2: Ransomware Protection & Restoration

Considering a different outcome for scenario 1 where the identified malware is not detected in time and the ransomware successfully encrypts critical files, scenario 2 focuses on the immediate response needed and long-term prevention measures. Ransomware remains one of the most pressing cybersecurity threats for government agencies, highlighting the need for integrated solutions to maintain reliable backups, automate endpoint privilege management and policy enforcement, and ensure system integrity and data resiliency. In this demonstration, attendees will witness a real-time ransomware attack simulation and the integrated response using CyberArk and Veeam.

Scenario 3: Threat Hunting & Incident Response

Now that detection and recovery have been addressed in the previous two sessions, scenario 3 focuses on proactive threat hunting, orchestrated response, and automation to enhance operational resiliency and reduce human error. Considering the rapidly expanding and sophisticated threat landscape, federal agencies must adopt innovative solutions to stay ahead of evolving cyber threats. Specifically, this scenario will show attendees how to leverage advanced tools for automating offensive testing, correlating alerts, and expediting incident response with Palo Alto Networks XSOAR, Veeam, CrowdStrike, and Qualys VMDR.

Why Attend Xccelerate 2025? 

At Xccelerate 2025, attendees will garner invaluable insights around operationalizing Zero Trust, IT modernization, AI-enabled security operations, and efficiencies with cloud computing. Through expert-led sessions, interactive learning experiences, and innovative technology demonstrations, Xccelerate empowers attendees to turn policy into practice for strengthening cybersecurity posture. Each session is designed to foster cybersecurity innovation and address the unique challenges faced by the public sector. 

Be part of the mission and reserve your spot today.