Federal agencies are engaged in “a tremendous amount of work” to meet requirements to move to zero trust security architecture as laid out in President Biden’s cybersecurity executive order issued last year, even as some agencies are struggling with initial steps to begin that transition, a top Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) official said Wednesday. […]
The White House’s Office of the National Cyber Director (ONCD) is calling on stakeholders across the tech industry to provide their insight and expertise on the agency’s strategy to address the severe shortages in cyber workforce, training, and education. […]
The State Department has awarded Verizon a $1.6 billion contract to modernize communications infrastructure and provide IT services for the agency’s nearly 260 embassies, consulates, and other facilities across the globe. […]
Mitchel Herckis has been named to the permanent role of Director of Federal Cybersecurity at the Office of Federal Chief Information Officer (CIO) Clare Martorana, within the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). […]
Richard Revesz – President Biden’s nominee to become the Administrator for the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) at the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) – told senators at a September 29 nomination hearing that he is targeting updates to existing regulatory analysis standards if he is confirmed to the new post. […]
Officials from academia and the private sectors told senators last week that the United States needs to speed its efforts to develop advanced technologies – including artificial intelligence (AI), quantum information science (QIS), and distributed ledger tech (DLT) – to stay ahead of rapid development in those areas by China. […]
A new report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) found that Federal agencies are successfully helping state, local, tribal, and territorial (SLTT) governments prevent and respond to ransomware attacks; however, there is still room to improve collaboration. The GAO offered three recommendations for Federal agencies to improve collaboration. […]
The White House’s Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) issued a new blueprint today for an “AI Bill of Rights” to help guide organizations on the development and deployment of artificial intelligence, in an effort to help protect the rights of Americans in the age of AI. […]
The House last week voted to approve an updated version of legislation that would codify into law and update the Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP). […]
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has opened their annual, voluntary cybersecurity assessment for state, local, tribal, and territorial (SLTT) entities across the nation and aims to provide a broad picture of the current cybersecurity gaps and capabilities. […]
The Biden-Harris Administration announced today a list of actions it is taking to deliver funding and other resources help development of small businesses in underserved communities, including $100 million in new technical assistance grants. […]
President Biden on September 30 signed into law the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Extension Act of 2022, which extends the programs for another three years. They had been scheduled to expire on September 30. […]
The U.S. Air Force has released its final solicitation for a $5.3 billion contract vehicle that will aid warfighters in supporting and enabling the Defense Department’s entire cyber framework. […]
Amid a tumultuous threat landscape, state and local government (SLG) IT leaders are warning that their organizations’ cybersecurity preparedness is putting citizen data at risk, according to new research from MeriTalk, underwritten by Invicti, Keeper, Recorded Future and ServiceNow. […]
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has issued a binding operational directive (BOD) that sets baseline requirements for Federal civilian agencies to identify assets and vulnerabilities on their networks, and to provide data to CISA on those assets and on vulnerability detection. […]
Several House Democrats introduced legislation late last week to limit the ability of law enforcement agencies to use facial recognition technologies. […]
President Biden has declared October 2022 as Cybersecurity Awareness Month – making it the 19th consecutive year of that designation. […]
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) said in a new report that the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) have plenty more work to do to tighten up the management side of the CyberCorps Scholarship for Service Program. […]
The House Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress voted on September 29 to adopt 24 recommendations aimed at improving the performance of legislative member offices and committees. […]
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has denied scholarships provided by the agency to well over half of the veterans who applied for them to help complete bachelor’s degrees in science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM) fields. […]
Tracy Barnes, chief information officer (CIO) for the state of Indiana, said the use of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) technologies are a crucial component of the state’s automation strategy. Employing the latest automation tech, he said, helps the state punch above its weight in the continuing battle to protect networks and data against cyberattacks. […]
Four Federal government officials talked this week about how they’ve been working to implement the customer experience executive order issued by the Biden administration late last year that aims to put citizens at the center of better government service delivery. […]
The Department of Commerce (DoC) announced on Sept. 29 the appointment of 24 members to its Industrial Advisory Committee (IAC) – a group that will provide advice on activities funded through the CHIPS for America Act. […]
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) announced this week that its Protective Domain Name System (DNS) – the agency’s latest shared service offering – is available to all Federal civilian agencies to enhance their cyber defenses. […]
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Office of Information and Technology (OIT) has made many strides toward its new vision for digital transformation, but VA CIO Kurt DelBene said today that the agency still has “work to do” to set a proper modernization pace, and could benefit from more modernization funding. […]
The House today voted to approve continuing resolution legislation that will fund the Federal government – mostly at fiscal year 2022 spending levels – until December 16. The House approved the bill by a vote of 230-201, with ten Republicans voting for the measure. […]
The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee on September 28 approved by voice vote the Securing Open Source Software Act, which aims to put more Federal government muscle behind protecting open source software following the emergence of the Log4J vulnerability late last year. […]
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is on track to release the first version of its Artificial Intelligence (AI) Risk Management Framework by January 2023, NIST’s IT Laboratory Chief of Staff told lawmakers on Thursday. […]
The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee on September 28 voted to approve the Access for Veterans to Records Act of 2022, which aims to cut down on the existing backlog of service records requests by U.S. military veterans. […]
The term zero trust is often used as a buzzword, but Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Chief Information Officer (CIO) Kurt DelBene said a successful organization will prioritize security above all else, and have zero trust baked into its workforce culture. […]