A top network security official with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) – which is developing its own plans to evaluate contractor cybersecurity – aired some concerns this week with recent changes that the Defense Department (DoD) announced with its own Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) program. […]
An FBI official did not deny prior reports that the agency held the decryption key from the Kaseya ransomware attacks for multiple weeks without giving it to parties victimized by the attacks but told the House Oversight and Reform Committee at a Nov. 16 hearing that it chose to do so in the interest of figuring out how to achieve the widest-ranging impact from the key. […]
The Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) published a comprehensive framework on responsible usage of artificial intelligence (AI) to help Federal officials and contractors align technology and AI programs with the Department of Defense’s (DoD) Ethical Principles for AI. […]
NASA is launching a new cyber-related initiative, known as the Mission Support Future Architecture Program, to realign the agency’s cybersecurity staff and move it towards an enterprise security model. […]
The Federal government has transitioned from a “Cloud First” to a “Cloud Smart” strategy intended to guide agencies in leveraging cloud technology without compromising security. However, accomplishing this is a team effort, Federal officials said during a SCGov panel discussion on November 16.
The Department of Commerce (DoC) is taking bids from small businesses to pursue a potential 10-year $1.5 billion enterprise information technology (IT) contract service. […]
The Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) released new Cybersecurity Incident and Vulnerability Response Playbooks today, completing a vital assignment from President Biden’s Cybersecurity executive order (EO). […]
The Biden administration issued its cybersecurity executive order (EO) in May 2021, giving marching orders to Federal agencies to move to zero trust security architectures, among other directives. During a SCGov panel discussion today, Federal chief information security officers (CISOs) shared how they’re leveraging their agency’s previous programs around zero trust to fulfill the obligations of the EO. […]
Intrusion, a provider of AI-enabled cybersecurity services, has named former Federal CIO Tony Scott president and CEO. […]
President Biden has made two nominations to the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board (PCLOB) that will cover the remainder of the terms that expire in early 2023 and 2024. […]
While the Social Security Administration (SSA), like much of the rest of the Federal government has been largely operating in a work from home setting since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the agency is preparing to return to office through a phased re-entry plan, the agency confirmed to MeriTalk. […]
The FBI’s email system was hacked, sending emails to thousands of recipients about a fake cyberattack, the agency confirmed over the weekend. The law enforcement agency said the cause of the hack has since been remediated. […]
The White House said today it has created a task force made up mostly of top Federal agency officials to “coordinate effective implementation” of the many new programs and mandates created by the $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act signed into law by President Biden on November 15. The task force is being created through a new executive order. […]
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) finally launched the Cyber Talent Management System (CTMS) to enable more effective recruitment, development, and retention of cybersecurity talent. […]
As the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) moves toward the bidding process for its Joint Warfighting Cloud Capability (JWCC) contract, Google said it wants an opportunity to get in on the deal. […]
With the House consideration of the Build Back Better Act (BBBA) – Democrats’ $1.75 trillion-plus budget reconciliation bill – pushed to this week, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said that the Senate will begin consideration of the fiscal year (FY) 2022 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) this week. […]
A recent report from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Office of Inspector General (OIG) revealed limitations with the VA’s patient scheduling system, a component of the agency’s new electronic health record (EHR) system. […]
The General Services Administration’s (GSA) Technology Transformation Services (TTS) has selected 14 projects to receive funding from the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 to develop government-wide citizen-facing services to help recover and rebuild from the COVID-19 pandemic. […]
In the wake of a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report encouraging the Departments of Education and Homeland Security (DHS) to update K-12 cybersecurity guidance, several Democrat senators have written to both agencies urging them to heed GAO’s recommendations, and establish critical infrastructure council structures to advance the issue. […]
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has allocated an additional $42 million in the second round of funding for its COVID-19 Telehealth Program, bringing the program total to $166 million in funding. […]
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced that it is ready to authorize nearly $709,060,159 in its fourth round of funding for new broadband deployments through the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund. […]
President Biden on Nov. 11 signed the Secure Equipment Act, which will prevent equipment manufactured by Chinese state-backed firms such as Huawei, ZTE, Hytera, Hikvision, and Dahua from being further utilized and marketed in the United States. […]
The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) released a new guide to telework and remote work for Federal agencies on November 12, in response to increased agency interest in working from home. […]
Sponsors of two major pieces of legislation that would make formative changes to the way that private sector companies report cyberattacks to the government – and how Federal government agencies conduct their own cyber defenses – are hitching their hopes for passage to annual defense spending legislation that traditionally gets strong bipartisan support from lawmakers. […]
The White House’s Safer Federal Workforce Task Force released new guidance this week to align with Federal contractors’ delayed vaccine deadline. […]
While the COVID-19 pandemic pushed forward massive advancements in telehealth, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has taken it one step – or more – further and is using virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) in nearly 50 sites for clinical care, an official said Nov. 8. […]
With K-12 educational institutions increasingly targeted by ransomware and other cyber attacks during the coronavirus pandemic, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) is pushing the Department of Education to update its plans – which currently date from 2010 – for addressing cyber risks faced by schools. […]
NASA has awarded Halvik Corp. a $148.8 million task order to support information technology and customer service operations for NASA’s governmentwide information technology (IT) contract vehicle. […]
Officials from the Department of Defense (DoD) emphasized this week scaling cloud and data capabilities to empower warfighters operating at the network edge is crucial to meet the Pentagon’s mission needs. […]
With cybercriminals becoming more sophisticated at disguising themselves as legitimate network users, a top Defense Department (DoD) IT official said this week that the Pentagon’s move to zero trust security architectures gives the agency a “fighting chance” to detect and eject hackers before they can do much damage. […]