Gary Wang has led a storied and accomplished government contracting career. He began his IT journey at the start of the new millennium and logged nearly a decade at Lockheed Martin’s Information Systems & Global Solutions business unit. At Lockheed, he began as chief engineer, evolved into senior program manager and eventually became director of program management. He supported business development capture proposals and was at the forefront of capability and technology development at the legendary firm.
But he didn’t stop there — he held significant roles at Unisys, SAIC and Perspecta, before joining the Bethesda, Maryland-based technology services specialists at DMI as chief technology officer in July 2023. Wang has dedicated his career to serving the needs of the federal government, and he does so tirelessly at DMI.
Wang sees enormous potential in AI while also recognizing its ability to exploit vulnerabilities. He engaged with GovCon Wire in a Spotlight interview to share where the company is seeing the most interest in AI from federal customers, the primary cyber threats facing American systems and much more.
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GovCon Wire: In which applications are you seeing the highest demand for AI/ML from your federal customers, and can you explain what’s driving that demand?
Gary Wang: It’s difficult to pinpoint just one application with the highest demand, but in my observation, there are three primary areas where AI solutions are drawing the most interest.
The first is business operations. Large enterprises, including federal agencies, have significant internal needs, such as managing knowledge effectively among employees, enhancing workforce productivity, and improving overall efficiency. Many agencies are exploring AI solutions for knowledge management, process automation and document processing. Microsoft Copilot is a widely adopted tool, but beyond that, agencies are investing in custom-built AI solutions to enhance internal operations and productivity.
The second area is service operations. Agencies must run service desks, call centers and other public-facing operations that interact with citizens, employees and stakeholders. AI-powered service desk and call center solutions are increasingly being implemented to improve customer experience and operational capacity. Many agencies are adopting AI-driven intelligent automation to process documents and streamline workflows, enhancing their ability to deliver services efficiently.
The third major area is mission operations. Every government agency has a unique mission, and AI is playing a critical role in applications such as imagery analysis, motion detection, supply chain automation and battlefield response automation. AI is enabling faster decision-making and the processing of vast amounts of data from air, space and ocean environments—tasks that would be nearly impossible through human effort alone.
For example, one of our clients is leveraging AI for drug discovery, protein structure prediction and analyzing interactions between proteins and small molecules. AI is also being used for population health analysis and medical research, opening opportunities that were previously unattainable with traditional methods.
The excitement around AI is palpable. Every day, when I meet with agencies, it’s clear that AI is a game-changer driving modernization and transformation across government services. Its potential to improve efficiency, productivity and mission effectiveness is unprecedented, making it one of the most critical technologies shaping the future.
GCW: What is an area of your business (or the services and products you provide) that could benefit from autonomous tech or automation?
Wang: Given DMI’s size as a mid-sized company—not a multibillion-dollar business—we must be strategic about where we focus our energy and investment in new technology development. From an AI strategy perspective, we concentrate on three key areas to build our AI service offerings and solutions.
The first is Document AI. We’ve developed AI capabilities that process physical documents, digitize them and extract raw data for further analysis. Once digitized, the data can be used to generate new documents and knowledge, feeding into applications such as case management and knowledge bases. This enables agencies to automate the entire process, from physical-to-digital document management to intelligent data extraction and processing.
The second area is AI-driven software development and security. The rise of generative AI presents a major opportunity to automate various software development tasks. We leverage AI for autonomous coding and to assist developers in writing applications more efficiently. Additionally, we partner with Silicon Valley companies to implement AI-powered autonomous testing, significantly reducing time and labor costs while improving test coverage and quality.
Another critical component of this area is AI-enhanced code security. AI helps identify vulnerabilities in code and provides recommendations for remediation, including code snippets and structural changes. This is especially vital for federal customers, as application security has often been overlooked compared to network and infrastructure security. Many cybersecurity threats originate from application vulnerabilities, making AI-powered code security an essential focus area.
The third area is AI-powered knowledge management. This is crucial for service desk operations, IT backend support and call centers. For example, in tax processing, when a citizen calls the IRS, an agent must manually search through documents and databases for relevant information. With AI-driven knowledge management, an AI agent can instantly retrieve data from ticketing systems, document libraries, policies and procedures across government agencies. This improves response times, enhances accuracy and provides more comprehensive answers than a human agent alone.
We implemented this solution for one government agency, allowing citizens to check case statuses and access relevant government guidance more easily. Instead of navigating websites or relying on call centers, AI-powered knowledge management delivers more efficient and intelligent responses.
In addition to these three primary areas, we are exploring early-stage capabilities in medical AI and AI-driven video and imagery analysis. While these are still in development, our core focus remains on Document AI, AI-driven software development and security and AI-powered knowledge management—solutions that are already being delivered to our customers.
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GCW: What do you think is the biggest threat facing U.S. cyber systems today, and what can be done to protect against that threat?
Wang: I think there are three major threats that we need to be paying close attention to.
The first is AI-powered cyber threats. AI has become a powerful tool for hackers, especially state-sponsored adversaries. It allows them to launch large-scale, highly sophisticated cyberattacks at a much lower cost than before. This is something I’ve discussed with our DOD customers, and there’s a growing concern about how AI is being used to exploit vulnerabilities. At the same time, though, AI can also be leveraged to counter these threats. There are already initiatives focused on using AI to defend against AI-driven attacks, but we need to continue investing in AI-powered security solutions to stay ahead.
The second major challenge is the convergence of physical and digital systems. We’re seeing this across industries—whether it’s autonomous vehicles, smart home devices, or critical infrastructure like EV charging stations and power grids. These systems are deeply integrated with IT networks, yet they don’t have the same level of security maturity as traditional IT environments. A modern car, for example, is essentially a computer on wheels, but securing it is very different from securing a server or a laptop. And with things like EV chargers, which are directly connected to the power grid, any vulnerabilities could have serious national security implications. This is an area where we’re actively engaging with state and local governments, as well as federal agencies like the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency and the Department of Transportation, to raise awareness and push for stronger security standards.
The third, and maybe the most long-term but critical issue, is the impact of quantum computing on encryption. Quantum computing is advancing quickly, and within the next three to five years, we could see it become mainstream. The problem is that quantum computers will be capable of breaking many of today’s encryption algorithms, which means that sensitive data—whether it’s in government systems or private enterprises—could suddenly become vulnerable. Federal agencies need to start preparing now by adopting quantum-resistant encryption standards. There should be a clear mandate to transition to post-quantum cryptography within the next few years to ensure long-term data security.
So, when we talk about emerging cybersecurity threats, it’s really about staying ahead of these challenges—whether that’s using AI to counter AI-driven attacks, securing hybrid physical-digital systems, or preparing for the quantum era. These are areas where we’re working closely with government and industry partners to develop proactive solutions.
GCW: Going further, can you talk about how cybersecurity has impacted or changed the national security paradigm? What new trends or shifts are you seeing at the intersection of cybersecurity and national security, and how are those trends influencing the public sector today?
Wang: I do think we’re seeing more attention from government executives on these issues, but there’s still a lot of work to be done. As I mentioned earlier, we’re dealing with some major trends—the convergence of physical and digital systems, the challenges posed by quantum computing and the growing concerns around application security.
If you look at some of the biggest security breaches in the last few years, they weren’t necessarily caused by traditional network vulnerabilities—they were software security issues. The SolarWinds attack, for example, compromised millions of systems because of a vulnerability in the software supply chain. More recently, the CrowdStrike incident caused widespread outages due to a problematic patch, affecting airlines, businesses and government systems. These are clear examples of why application security needs to be a top priority.
Now, when you take these traditional cybersecurity risks and apply them to a world where digital and physical systems are merging, the stakes get even higher. Imagine a scenario where connected vehicles are compromised and used as weapons, or where vulnerabilities in infrastructure, like EV charging stations, create entry points for attacks on the power grid. That’s a serious national security issue.
I think there needs to be a more concerted effort at the federal level—not just in terms of regulation, but in providing clear guidance and oversight. More education is needed, both for government employees and contractors, to raise awareness and ensure that everyone understands these emerging threats. Cybersecurity is no longer just an IT issue; it’s a national security imperative, and we need to be proactive rather than reactive.
