Smarter Gov Tech, Stronger MerITocracy

Cybersecurity services provider Palo Alto Networks said this week that it received Department of Defense (DoD) Impact Level 5 (IL5) Provisional Authorization for its Prisma Access cloud-delivered security offering to protect DoD agencies and help enforce zero trust security strategies. […]

As Lt. Col. Max Reele, material leader at the U.S. Air Force’s Kessel Run agile software development unit, readies for a possible departure in the next two months, he said this week that he wants to leave the organization in a “really healthy place.” […]

Women across the Federal IT landscape are taking the reins in their leadership roles and getting big stuff done. During GovCIO’s Women Tech Leaders Summit in Washington, D.C., this week, officials from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) highlighted some projects they are spearheading at their agencies to make an impact on the cyber workforce, innovation, and diversity and inclusion. […]

cloud

When Bob Venero founded technology solutions provider Future Tech in 1996, he never imagined that the company would grow to what is today: a multi-million -dollar enterprise operating in 39 nations. He does see parallels, however, in computing trends then and now. MeriTalk recently sat down with Venero, Future Tech’s president and CEO, to discuss those parallels and his take on the rapid move to cloud technologies. […]

Leading with who you are is one of the most important actions that women can take to grow their footprint in the cybersecurity workforce, according to various female cyber leaders. […]

Jen Easterly, CISA
DoD

A bipartisan, bicameral group of U.S. lawmakers is rallying together to urge House and Senate support for an international commission that is developing a global technology security strategy to counter the threat of “techno-authoritarianism” posed by China and other U.S. adversaries. […]

IT workers workforce technology federal employees-min

The Office of the National Cyber Director’s (ONCD) Cyber Workforce Strategy will be released this summer, and the agency is “looking to include” four pillars in the document that key on how the Federal government can address severe shortages in cyber workforce, training, and education. […]

Anjana Rajan, the assistant national cyber director at ONCD

The White House’s Office of the National Cyber Director (ONCD) is taking its new National Cybersecurity Strategy (NCS) on the road in the coming weeks to regional hubs of U.S. space innovation to understand how to bolster the cybersecurity of space systems. […]

CISA

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) published its secure-by-design and secure-by-default guidelines today, which aim to outline clear steps that technology providers can take to increase the safety of products used around the world. […]

The Federal government is facing a workforce crisis, especially with skilled technology talent. Retention, recruitment, and retirement issues are hindering hiring managers, who are looking to fill critical open roles in order to meet mission objectives and new Federal mandates. In this MeriTalking podcast, MeriTalk’s Joe Franco is joined by Craig McCullough, Pluralsight’s senior vice […]

AI

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has issued a new request for comment that is looking for input on what policies can support AI accountability and build trust in AI systems. […]

FCC
State Department

On the one-year anniversary after its inception, the Bureau of Cyberspace and Digital Policy at the State Department is on track to accomplish its goal of having a trained cyber and digital officer in every U.S. embassy around the world by the end of 2024. […]

federal workforce worker hired-min
Rob Joyce

The National Security Agency (NSA) is focused on enhancing its partnerships with industry to take down cyber adversaries in concert, NSA Cybersecurity Director Rob Joyce said at an event hosted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies on April 11. […]

Jen Easterly
The Pentagon is a very large building that houses a lot of the authorities for the U.S. Military. It's big. This photo doesn't do it justice, but they're kinda rightly concerned about people flying drones around there.

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is adding $450 million to the $1 billion ceiling of its popular health IT contract, known as the Veterans Health Administration’s (VHA) Integrated Healthcare Transformation (IHT) contract. […]

CISA

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) today published an updated, second version of its Zero Trust Maturity Model that is guiding Federal agencies and other organizations along the path to adopting zero trust security architectures. […]

VA

Approximately 82 percent of the Veteran’s Health Administration’s (VHA) resilient high-frequency radio networks (RHFRN) across Veteran’s Affairs (VA) facilities are not operational, the VA Office of Inspector General (OIG) revealed in a report that was publicly released last week. […]

The U.S. Space Force is developing approaches to address the increasing demand for the Satellite Control Network (SCN), but lacks an updated long-term sustainment plan for the network, according to a recent Government Accountability Office (GAO) report. […]

GSA General Services Administration

The General Services Administration (GSA) added two new hires to its Technology Transformation Services (TTS) organization this week, including a deputy director and a senior advisor for TTS operations, a GSA spokesperson confirmed to MeriTalk. […]

President Joe Biden signed a House bill on Monday that officially ends the COVID-19 national emergency, first enacted by the Trump administration in 2020. The national emergency was originally set to expire on March 1. […]

General Services Administration GSA
Kemba Walden, Principal Deputy National Cyber Director, Office of the National Cyber Director

Making the General Services Administration’s (GSA) FedRAMP (Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program) process more efficient for cloud service providers appears to be on the radar of the Office of the National Cyber Director (ONCD) as the ONCD moves toward the implementation planning phase of the National Cybersecurity Strategy released last month. […]

text message, mobile phone, data

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is issuing a new rule that would require all mobile wireless providers to block certain spam text messages that are highly likely to be illegal, while also proposing that Do-Not-Call protections extend to marketing text messages. […]

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