The pandemic-fueled expansion of unemployment insurance (UI) benefitted millions of Americans even as the programs became riddled with fraud, a senior Federal watchdog agency official said on Feb. 8 at a congressional hearing marked by contentious exchanges between Republicans and Democrats over more than $60 billion in fraudulent payments. […]
A top IT acquisition official at the General Services Administration (GSA) said this week that Feds need to stop relying on the next “cool tool” to push IT modernization forward, but instead see the process as a way to make agency-wide changes. […]
IT modernization can feel like a never-ending process for Federal agencies, especially with new technologies emerging every day. However, having a modernization budget can help organizations ease those day-to-day hassles and stay ahead of the curve. […]
House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairwoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers R-Wash., said today that she is looking to pass legislation firming up the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) spectrum auction authority after a similar measure failed to clear the Senate last year. […]
The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) today released guidance updating requirements for Federal website domains – including .gov or .mil website domains – and marking another critical move in delivering trusted interactions to the American people when they visit official government sites. […]
In response to growing demand for more guidance over digital assets and fraud concerns, the Federal Reserve Board intends to prohibit a large portion of cryptocurrency from regular banking activity. […]
The director of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) said today that the agency is facing challenges when it comes to overload in data – a situation that he described as only the “tip of the iceberg” – and suggested that’s where artificial intelligence needs to come into play as a solution. […]
The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is looking into tech-assisted continuous vetting for Federal employees, according to a proposed rule on “suitability and fitness vetting” that OPM published in the Federal Register. […]
President Biden’s State of the Union address delivered to Congress on Tuesday night featured a number of references to technology topics that touch Federal government operations and major tech-driven policy initiatives. […]
The Networking and Information Technology Research and Development (NITRD) program’s National Coordination Office (NCO) is seeking input from the public on the forthcoming 2023 update of the Federal Cybersecurity Research and Development (R&D) Strategic Plan. […]
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) is taking the Internal Revenue Service to task on a range of IT improvement fronts, including planning for how to get rid of legacy systems, and how to make sure the agency’s uptake of cloud-based systems meets Office of Management and Budget (OMB) policy objectives. […]
The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee held its first of many hearings today on the reauthorization of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), where IT system modernization and cybersecurity took center stage. […]
The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is on track to approve a government-wide Special Salary Rate (SSR) for IT specialists, pending communications with other Federal agencies, according to a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) official. […]
ChatGPT, the chatbot technology launched by OpenAI late last year to much fanfare for its ability to create highly realistic narratives, may also end up delivering advantages to hackers who need to upgrade their phishing email pitches, according to new research released by BlackBerry. […]
A new report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) finds that the U.S. Department of State is not able to readily use International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) data to assess trends or risks related to the export of defense services. […]
The Department of Defense (DoD) is collaborating with the Department of Commerce to launch their latest 5G competition, putting up to $7 million on the table to accelerate the adoption of 5G wireless solutions, the DoD announced on Feb 2. […]
The National Science Foundation (NSF) has announced a solicitation for the development of new open-source ecosystems, with the potential for $28 million in funding awards. […]
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has tapped Alan Greilsamer to serve as the deputy chief information officer, account manager for health in the Office of Information and Technology (OIT). […]
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp (FDIC) needs to figure out better ways to effectively assess cybersecurity concerns at the financial institutions that it regulators, according to a recent report from the agency’s Office of Inspector General (OIG). […]
The Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H), which is housed within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), is looking for $500 million in technical support to complement and support the newly established agency’s mission. […]
The Army Futures Command (AFC) is looking to the private sector for insight into a range of potential technology capabilities to deploy as part of AFC’s Technology Gateway program this fall, according to a Feb. 3 special notice published on Sam.gov. […]
Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) Deputy Director Alondra Nelson will serve the final days at her post in the White House this week. […]
A new report released by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) on Feb. 2 showcases how many government agencies are making coordinated efforts to expand supply chain resilience with foreign partners. […]
The NATO Cooperative Cyber Defense Centre of Excellence (CCDCOE) has selected the Pentagon’s Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) to lead the U.S. team in an annual cybersecurity challenge to enhance the skills of cybersecurity and IT experts. DISA has held this role for three consecutive years. […]
Good things can come both to those who wait – and never stop trying – in Washington. That’s one of the top-line takeaways after talking with Stephen Kovac, Chief Compliance Officer at cloud security provider Zscaler, following the successful conclusion late last month of a multi-year campaign to codify into law the Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP). […]
The General Services Administration (GSA) said it will begin collecting attestation letters as part of pre- and post-award contract deliverables by June 12 for all software – regardless of whether the product is considered critical. […]
Rep. Mark Green, R-Tenn., the newly installed chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, said he wants to help the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) strengthen its role as an “information enabler,” but at the same time said he is wary of the agency taking more of a “regulatory approach” to its mission. […]
House Republicans this week requested more information from the Department of Energy (DoE) on a recent series of cyberattacks aimed at three DoE national laboratories to gauge the scope of the attacks, and the agency’s current cybersecurity posture. […]
Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., has been appointed chairwoman of the House Oversight and Accountability Committee’s Subcommittee on Cybersecurity, Information Technology, and Government Innovation for the 118th Congress. […]
As cybercriminals increasingly targeted specific people within organizations in hopes of breaking into networks, onboarding new information technology (IT) solutions to solve or mitigate cyber risks will not be enough to defend against sophisticated probing for weak links in the human capital chain. […]