What happens when a former CISA technology strategist decides to solve the software supply chain crisis? Meet Daniel Bardenstein, CTO and Co-Founder of Manifest Cyber, whose journey from government cybersecurity leadership to founding a supply chain security company represents critical expertise as AI transforms the threat landscape.
Bardenstein joins DMV Rising 2025's "Securing the Future: AI, Open Source, and the Evolution of Managing Vulns" panel with a perspective shaped by years in federal service. As former Chief of Technology Strategy at CISA, he drove technology modernization and OT/ICS strategy across the agency while leading the development of the Cybersecurity Performance Goals.
He's led cybersecurity at the highest levels of government. At CISA, Bardenstein served as Chief of Tech Strategy, where he drove technology modernization and OT/ICS strategy while developing the Cybersecurity Performance Goals. His experience spans critical infrastructure protection at a time when software vulnerabilities pose increasing risks to essential services.
He's secured mission-critical systems under pressure. At the Defense Digital Service, Bardenstein led cybersecurity programs across the Department of Defense, including securing the COVID-19 vaccines and the Hack the Pentagon program. Before his government service, he directed product teams at Exabeam and Palantir developing cybersecurity and data analysis platforms—bringing private sector innovation experience to public sector challenges.
He's building solutions born from real-world crisis. Manifest Cyber emerged directly from the December 2021 Log4shell vulnerability that cost enterprises billions of dollars, took months of work, and burned out thousands of cybersecurity professionals. Founded by DOD, CISA, and Palantir alumni, Manifest operationalizes the intelligence that SBOMs and AIBOMs provide, bringing their BOM management capabilities to critical infrastructure categories, Fortune 500 enterprises, federal civilian agencies, and defense.
When Bardenstein takes the stage alongside Michael Edenzon (CEO, Fianu), Jason Kaplan (CEO, SixMap), and moderator Jennifer Bisceglie (Founder & CEO, Interos), he brings firsthand experience from both sides of the software supply chain challenge—protecting critical systems in government and now building tools to illuminate what's actually in our software.
Bardenstein's federal-to-founder trajectory positions him as a critical voice for the DMV's extensive contractor and agency ecosystem. Manifest's mission—to illuminate software supply chains and replace weeks or months of manual effort with a single click—directly addresses challenges facing organizations as AI increasingly generates production code.
The "Securing the Future" panel will explore fundamental questions about trust and verification in AI-generated code, new attack vectors targeting AI development pipelines, and how organizations can effectively implement Software Bills of Materials when dependencies become increasingly complex.
Don't miss your opportunity to hear from a leader who has worked at the intersection of government cybersecurity strategy and private sector innovation. Request your seat at DMV Rising 2025 and discover how Daniel Bardenstein and Manifest Cyber are working to secure software supply chain risk in an era where code creation itself is being revolutionized.