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USDA CIO Aims to Boost FITARA Scores in December

Department of Agriculture (USDA) CIO Gary Washington said today that his agency is focusing on boosting its FITARA (Federal Information Technology Acquisition Reform Act) grades by the time the House Oversight and Reform Committee issues its next set of scores – expected in December – and is confident that the agency can accomplish that goal.

Recent News
  1. FDIC Seeking Bids on $487M IT Infrastructure Contract

    The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) is looking for proposals for IT Infrastructure Support Services on a contract that could run 7.5 years and total up to $487.5 million.

  2. Ron Wyden Oregon Sen. Wyden Pledges Renewed Push on Data Privacy Legislation

    Following the Federal government’s settlement with Equifax regarding its 2017 data breach, Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., pledged to renew his push towards passing data privacy legislation. In a statement on July 22, Wyden urged the passage of his Consumer Data Protection Act, which he initially introduced in November of 2018.

News Briefs
  1. CTA Hires FCC’s Jamie Susskind
  2. Fight for the Future Launches Facial Recognition Map
  3. Spalter Staying on USTelecom President and CEO
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  1. VA Looking for Help on Building Data Culture

    The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is looking for support for its Chief Data Officer as the department looks to improve its data practices and standards.

  2. AG Barr Speaks About Dangers of Encryption Advancements

    Advancements in encryption technology could be making us less safe, Attorney General William Barr said at the International Conference on Cybersecurity today.

  3. NSA Forming Cybersecurity Directorate in October

    The National Security Agency (NSA) is forming a Cybersecurity Directorate within the agency to combine the agency’s intelligence and cyber defense activities, NSA announced today.

  4. Health and Human Services HHS Employees Urge HHS to Keep Telework Policies in Place

    The National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) urged the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in a July 15 letter to keep telework policies in place, and argued that reducing allowed telework could be a factor in many employees deciding to leave the department.

  1. CompTIA Commits to Certify 625,000 Tech Workers Over Next Five Years

    The Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA) announced on July 22 that it has joined the White House’s Pledge to America’s Workers and is committing to certify 625,000 worker over the next five years.

  2. IG Finds CFPB Didn’t Follow Proper FedRAMP Procedures

    The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) did not fully assess and authorize all of its cloud systems and did not effectively communicate with the FedRAMP program management office, leaving its cloud security at risk, according to an inspector general report published July 17.

  3. Senate Passes Defending the Integrity of Voting Systems Act

    The Senate on July 8 unanimously approved the Defending the Integrity of Voting Systems Act, which was sponsored by Sens. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., and Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.

  4. FDA Looking to Expand Cloud Usage

    The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is looking to expand its footprint in the cloud by creating direct connections to cloud service providers, according to a solicitation released July 15. Responses are due by July 29.

  5. House Tees Up Vote on Robocall Legislation This Week

    The House of Representatives has scheduled a vote this week on a bill that would direct the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to craft rules regarding unwanted robocall and robotext messages that make sure those communications comply with the consumer protection and privacy purposes of Section 227 of the Communications Act.

  6. CBO Estimates $31M Cost for State/Local Cybersecurity Act

    A Congressional Budget Office (CBO) report estimates that the State and Local Cybersecurity Act of 2019 (S. 1846) would cost the government $31 million to implement between 2019 and 2024.

  7. Equifax to Pay $671M to Settle 2017 Breach Probes, Suits

    Credit reporting agency Equifax said today it has agreed to pay $671 million to settle government investigations and legal actions related to a 2017 data breach that exposed information on about 147 million U.S. consumers.

  8. House Bill Would Provide DoD Academic Advice on Cyber

    A bill introduced on July 18 by Rep. Dusty Johnson, R-S.D., would establish a rotating consortium of universities with cyber expertise to advise the Department of Defense (DoD) on cybersecurity issues and coordinate academic feedback to DoD requests for assistance.

  9. DNI Coats Names Election Threats Executive

    Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Dan Coats announced on July 19 that Shelby Pierson will serve as the first Election Threats Executive (ETE) to oversee U.S. election security efforts.

  10. Senate Judiciary Tech Task Force Meets, Advocacy Groups Weigh-in

    The Senate Judiciary Committee Tech Task Force met for the first time on July 18. The task force is charged with addressing tech industry issues on privacy, data security, censorship, antitrust and competition.