State and local government agencies are facing an incredibly challenging situation. Nation-state threat actors are using automation to create endless waves of cyberattacks in an attempt to overwhelm agencies and increase their chances of a successful attack. To combat these attacks, many state and local agencies, such as the State of North Dakota, are turning to automation to beat cybercriminals at their own game. We sat down with Thomas MacLellan, Director of Government Affairs & Strategy at Palo Alto Networks, to discuss how having an automation-first mindset can help state and local governments to empower whole of state security.