Federal CISO Calls for Minimum Cyber Regulations for CI Aug 29, 2023 | 3:29 pm Although the Federal government has made progress in protecting U.S. critical infrastructure through a largely voluntary approach, Federal Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) Chris DeRusha today called for minimum cybersecurity requirements for critical infrastructure. […]
CISA Chief: Nation’s Chemical Security Posture at Risk Aug 29, 2023 | 3:23 pm Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) Director Jen Easterly called on Congress today to reauthorize the Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards (CFATS) program – which the cybersecurity chief said has resulted in improving the security posture of high-risk facilities by 60 percent. […]
Pentagon Rolls Out Autonomous Systems Initiative to Counter China Threat Aug 29, 2023 | 3:15 pm The Department of Defense (DoD) wants to roll out thousands of inexpensive autonomous systems to counter China’s military mass, a top Pentagon official said. […]
ARPA-H Launches Project to Protect US Healthcare Infrastructure Aug 29, 2023 | 3:12 pm The recently established Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H), which is housed within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), has launched a new project to better protect the U.S. healthcare system’s IT infrastructure. […]
Presidential Council Calls for Water Department to Address Cyber Threats Aug 29, 2023 | 2:53 pm The President’s National Infrastructure Advisory Council (NIAC) made a broad call Monday for the creation of a National Water Strategy to ensure the nation can deliver sustainable critical infrastructure systems that are responsive to cyber threats. […]
MeriTalk Q&A: GSA CIO David Shive on Embracing AI, Workforce Evolution Aug 29, 2023 | 10:20 am We snagged 30 minutes on the phone with the General Services Administration’s (GSA) long-time CIO David Shive and came away a whole lot wiser about how not only GSA – but the entire Federal enterprise that it serves – can manage both the unavoidable challenge of putting artificial intelligence (AI) technologies to work, and also how to evolve the government tech workforce to meet the demands of the next evolution in tech thinking and practices. […]
HHS in the ‘Very Early’ Stages of Using AI in its Hiring Process Aug 29, 2023 | 10:03 am The use of AI technologies to streamline the hiring process at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is still in the “very early” stages at the agency, according to HHS officials. […]
OPM Reinventing Workforce, Implementing Hybrid Strategy Aug 28, 2023 | 3:39 pm The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has been working to reinvent the workforce of the future by making it more inclusive, agile and engaged, and equipped with the right skills. […]
Former CMS CDO Niall Brennan Returns to Government in CDC Role Aug 28, 2023 | 2:36 pm Niall Brennan, the former chief data officer (CDO) at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), has returned to government as the senior advisor to Mandy Cohen, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). […]
Top JADC2 Lead Plans to Step Down from Post Aug 28, 2023 | 2:04 pm The top official leading one of the Department of Defense’s (DoD) most important modernization initiatives plans to retire soon, an official from the Air Force confirmed to MeriTalk. […]
DHA Rolls Out Plan to Improve Health Care Delivery Aug 28, 2023 | 1:12 pm The Defense Health Agency (DHA) has released a new plan to modernize and stabilize the U.S. military’s healthcare system with the goal of improving the delivery of medical services for the Department of Defense’s (DoD) civilian and military employees for the next five years. […]
NIST Seeks Comments on IoT Working Group Progress Aug 28, 2023 | 12:55 pm The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is seeking comments on progress reported to date by a Federal working group that it is looking at strategic pillars for Internet of Things (IoT) technology, and possible Federal government actions to guide IOT tech. […]
VA Hires New Director of Healthcare Analysis and Information Group Aug 28, 2023 | 12:13 pm The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has hired Smitha Pushpangadan to serve as director of the Healthcare Analysis and Information Group (HAIG) within the Veterans Health Administration’s (VHA) Chief Strategy Office. […]
CISA Platform Helps Fix Over 1,000 Vulnerabilities in First Year Aug 28, 2023 | 11:57 am The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) reported that its Vulnerability Disclosure Policy (VDP) platform has helped agencies uncover and address more than 1,000 bugs through December 2022. […]
Interior Department Taps Stan Lowe as New CISO Aug 25, 2023 | 2:49 pm The Department of the Interior (DoI) has tapped Stan Lowe to serve as its new chief information security officer (CISO). […]
Capt. Anthony Saxon Takes Over DISA Joint Interoperability Test Command Aug 25, 2023 | 2:10 pm U.S. Navy Capt. Anthony Saxon recently took the reins of the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) Joint Interoperability Test Command (JITC) from the agency’s previous commander, U.S. Navy Capt. Robert Matthias, DISA announced during a change of command ceremony on Aug. 17. […]
NIST Releases Draft Standards for Three Quantum-Resistant Algorithms Aug 25, 2023 | 1:45 pm With the expansion of quantum computing science on the horizon, The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has announced new draft standards for three quantum-resistant algorithms that will be ready for use in 2024. […]
Fraud Watch: DoL Says PUA COVID Program Overpaid $22 Billion Aug 25, 2023 | 1:34 pm The Labor Department (DoL) estimated this week that the overpayment rate for its Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) program reached 17 percent between March 2020 and September 2021 as the coronavirus pandemic gripped the nation. […]
DoD, VA Team Up to Improve IT at Joint Health Care Facility Aug 25, 2023 | 1:23 pm The Department of Defense (DoD) and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announced they are working together to improve IT system interoperability at the Captain James A. Lovell Federal Health Care Center near Chicago – the only fully-integrated VA and DoD healthcare system. […]
NOAA CTO Urges Careful Evaluation of AI Tech for Agency Missions Aug 25, 2023 | 12:27 pm With the rapid growth of AI technology in both the private and public sectors, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Chief Technology Officer Frank Indiviglio, explained this week the importance of procuring trustworthy AI tools from potential vendors. […]
New DFARS Rule Gives DoD Permanent Authority in Commercial Acquisition Aug 25, 2023 | 10:26 am A new finalized proposed rule gives the Department of Defense (DoD) the authority to acquire commercial products and services using general solicitation competitive procedures known as a “commercial solutions opening” (CSO), according to an Aug. 17 notice posted to the Federal Register. […]
NSF Awards $29 Million Into Quantum Sensing Research Aug 25, 2023 | 10:21 am The National Science Foundation (NSF) has awarded 18 university research teams across the country a total of $29 million to conduct research on quantum-scale sensors. […]
DoJ Seizes Over $1.4B in Stolen COVID-19 Relief Funds Aug 24, 2023 | 3:40 pm The Department of Justice (DoJ) announced on Wednesday that it has seized over $1.4 billion in COVID-19 relief funding stolen by criminals since the start of the pandemic, with over $200 million recovered in the past three months. […]
CISA CIO: Workplace Culture Improves ‘Dramatically’ After 2 Years Aug 24, 2023 | 1:25 pm It has officially been two years this week since Robert Costello joined the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) as its chief information officer (CIO) and pledged to make workplace culture one of his top priorities. […]
USDA CDO Keys on Agency Progress in Data Accessibility Aug 24, 2023 | 12:47 pm The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has undertaken several widely-scoped efforts to ensure its data is accessible and shareable across the department to help make informed decisions, according to a leading data expert at the agency. […]
Cyber Experts: Feds Need to Share Data to Stay Ahead of Adversaries Aug 24, 2023 | 12:38 pm The Federal government needs to be proactive in shoring up its defenses in order to better ward off cyberattacks, and cybersecurity experts this week said that sharing data across organizations is a great place to start. […]
GSA Reports 50% Spike in Login.gov use Across Government Aug 24, 2023 | 11:41 am Nearly half a year after a scathing inspector general (IG) report exposed the General Services Administration (GSA) for years of misleading Federal agencies on the security of its Login.gov platform, GSA announced that the identity-proofing website has seen a 50 percent increase in use over the past year. […]
ODNI Wants to Reduce Barriers to Buying Space-Based Data Aug 24, 2023 | 10:08 am With growing interest by the Pentagon and intelligence agencies in remote sensing data and analytic services offered by commercial providers, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) is calling on industry to provide it with information about barriers that have been encountered in procurement processes. […]
Rep. Mace Debuts Bill to Improve Cybersecurity of Federal Contractors Aug 24, 2023 | 9:15 am In light of rising software supply chain security attacks, Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., introduced new legislation today that aims to help Federal contractors identify and fix software vulnerabilities before adversaries can exploit them. […]
CISA Boasts 1,300 new Hires in two Years Aug 23, 2023 | 3:04 pm Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) Director Jen Easterly announced this week that the agency’s workforce has expanded to 3,160 employees, after the agency made more than 1,300 new hire over the past two years. […]