# How the Pentagon Is Buying Cybersecurity Like a Managed Service Provider Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-defense-tech-podcast-with-fexingo-government-contracting-aerospace-and-military-tech-7871833/how-the-pentagon-is-buying-cybersecurity-like-a-managed-service-provider Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-defense-tech-podcast-with-fexingo-government-contracting-aerospace-and-military-tech-7871833/how-the-pentagon-is-buying-cybersecurity-like-a-managed-service-provider.md Podcast: [The Defense Tech Podcast with Fexingo: Government Contracting, Aerospace, and Military Tech](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-defense-tech-podcast-with-fexingo-government-contracting-aerospace-and-military-tech-7871833) Published: 2026-07-17T20:47:38+00:00 Episode link: https://audio.fexingo.com/business/the-defense-tech-podcast/episode-0117.mp3 Audio file: https://audio.fexingo.com/business/the-defense-tech-podcast/episode-0117.mp3 Processing state: not_requested JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-defense-tech-podcast-with-fexingo-government-contracting-aerospace-and-military-tech-7871833/episodes/how-the-pentagon-is-buying-cybersecurity-like-a-managed-service-provider Duration seconds: 701 ## Resource Episode 117 of The Defense Tech Podcast dives into a massive shift in how the U.S. Department of Defense procures cybersecurity. Instead of buying point products or building custom tools, the Pentagon is now purchasing cybersecurity as a managed service — a model that looks a lot like an enterprise contract with CrowdStrike or Palo Alto Networks, but scaled for warfighters and critical infrastructure. Lucas and Luna break down the new acquisition framework called 'Cyber Mission Force as a Service,' explore why the traditional buy-and-build approach failed, and look at how prime contractors like L3Harris and Leidos are restructuring their offerings. They also touch on how this model could reshape the broader defense IT market, with implications for everything from cloud security to zero trust. Along the way, they reference recent market moves — including the 5.5 percent drop in HII and the broader defense sell-off — to ground the conversation in today's realities. A focused episode on one concrete procurement innovation. #Cybersecurity #Pentagon #ManagedSecurityService #DefenseTech #CyberMissionForceAsAService #ProcurementReform #L3Harris #Leidos #CrowdStrike #ZeroTrust #DoD #BusinessAndTechnology #FexingoBusiness #BusinessPodcast #DefensePodcast #GovernmentContracting #MilitaryTech #CyberResilience Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo ## Actions - request_transcript: `POST https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-defense-tech-podcast-with-fexingo-government-contracting-aerospace-and-military-tech-7871833/episodes/how-the-pentagon-is-buying-cybersecurity-like-a-managed-service-provider/transcription-requests` — Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode. - read_markdown: `GET https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-defense-tech-podcast-with-fexingo-government-contracting-aerospace-and-military-tech-7871833/how-the-pentagon-is-buying-cybersecurity-like-a-managed-service-provider.md` — Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource. A page view does not enqueue transcription. Agents should invoke `request_transcript` explicitly when they need this episode processed. ## Transcript Full transcripts are not published on public pages unless there is a clear rights basis.