Senators introduced bipartisan legislation this week aimed to strengthen the United States’ cybersecurity posture and protect the nation’s Systemically Important Critical Infrastructure (SICI). The bill includes several key recommendations from the Cyberspace Solarium Commission (CSC). […]
A Government Accountability Office (GAO) report cites estimates from Department of Defense (DoD) officials that defense contractors have over $4 billion in paid leave costs that are potentially eligible for reimbursement under the CARES Act. […]
Chris Inglis, the nation’s first-ever national cyber director, has called for the establishment of a Bureau of Cyber Statistics, which would exist within the Department of Homeland Security, to collect and publish cybersecurity statistics to properly understand cyber threats and how to address them. […]
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) awarded a seven-year, $497 million contract to enterprise IT provider Peraton to provide IT infrastructure-as-a-managed-service (IaaMS), the firm announced August 2. […]
New legislation from Sens. Gary Peters, D-Mich., and Rob Portman, R-Ohio, would create a new task force at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to combat deepfake technologies. […]
The Department of Defense (DoD) still has more work to do in properly coding its filled and vacant positions for its civilian cyber workforce, the DoD Inspector General (IG) said in a report made public August 2. […]
Sens. Gary Peters, D-Mich., and Rob Portman, R-Ohio, have introduced bipartisan legislation to improve the Federal workforce’s understanding of AI and ensure its ethical and safe use. […]
Eric Olson has stepped down as chief information officer (CIO) at the Department of the Treasury, a Treasury spokesperson confirmed to MeriTalk. […]
What would it take to make America work better for everybody? Perhaps convene bipartisan Congressional power structures, government agency secretaries, and America’s tech industry leaders to pick the most pressing problems for citizens in our democracy? Then figure out how to begin solving those problems with innovative technology and bold leadership? […]
Newly released legislative text of the Senate’s $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure plan – now titled the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act – explains that the bill proposes to spend $65 billion on broadband-related items, headlined by $42.45 billion in funding for a Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment Program. […]
Sens. Mark Warner, D-Va., and Tom Cotton, R-Ark., have introduced the American Telecommunications Security Act that would prohibit Federal funding from the American Rescue Plan Act from being used to purchase telecommunications equipment from Chinese companies seen as national security threats, including Huawei and ZTE. […]
The much-anticipated $1 trillion Senate bipartisan infrastructure bill unveiled on August 1 shows big cybersecurity funding wins for state and local governments with a $1 billion for a cybersecurity grant program, and electric utilities that will be receiving $1.25 billion through a cybersecurity grant program to protect the electric grid. […]
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has launched a new vulnerability disclosure policy (VDP) platform for the Federal civilian enterprise that provides a single crowdsourcing platform for agencies to report vulnerabilities. […]
On July 29, the House cleared a $600 billion package of seven spending bills, including the Fiscal Year (FY) 2022 Financial Services and General Government (FSGG) funding bill that includes $50 million for the Technology Modernization Fund (TMF). […]
Sens. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., chair of the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, and Roger Wicker, R-Miss., want the Department of Commerce (DOC), including the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), to take additional actions to address cybersecurity threats. […]
The U.S. Air Force Sustainment Center (AFSC) has awarded CACI International a nine-year single-award indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity contract worth up to $496 million to expand the Air Force’s Ogden Air Logistics Complex’s mission. […]
Between the requirements of the Biden administration’s cybersecurity executive order and the ransomware-ravaged ranks of government and industry, there are two roads to a more productive and secure future – cloud and cyber. Amid the continual changes, education is the key to navigating the future now more than ever. That’s where MeriTalk UniversIT comes in. […]
The Department of Defense (DoD) confirmed yesterday that all military members and civilian personnel will be required to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, or face regular testing and social distancing requirements. […]
The House Committee on Homeland Security approved two cybersecurity-focused bills – the K-12 Cybersecurity Act and the DHS Software Supply Chain Risk Management Act of 2021 – during a markup on July 28. The two bills will now head to the full House for consideration. […]
The National Science Foundation (NSF) is expanding its National AI Research Institute partnerships to 40 states and the District of Columbia with a combined investment of $220 million. […]
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is seeking feedback on its Artificial Intelligence Risk Framework (AI RMF), which looks to provide guidelines for AI developers to incorporate “trustworthiness” into their designs, according to a request for information (RFI) posted to the Federal Register. […]
The Biden Administration today announced much-anticipated requirements for all Federal employees and onsite contractors to get COVID-19 vaccinations and confirm their vaccination status. […]
While the steady performance of most large Federal agencies on the latest version of the FITARA Scorecard drew notes of praise from leaders of the House Government Operations Subcommittee at their July 28 hearing to review the grades, the central focus on the hearing – cybersecurity and IT modernization – got the most attention from private sector tech leaders. […]
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has tapped Larry Grossman to serve as its new chief information security officer (CISO). […]
A new Government Accountability Office (GAO) report is pointing to both good news for Federal agencies – and more work to do – on harnessing the requirements of the 2018 Foundations of Evidence-Based Policymaking Act (Evidence Act). […]
Deputy Federal CIO Maria Roat confirmed July 28 that the Technology Modernization Fund (TMF) is still accepting proposals for IT modernization projects under a solicitation announced in May, and offered tips to agencies looking to score some of the $1 billion in funding the TMF received as part of the American Rescue Plan. […]
While progress in modernizing government technology is one of the overarching themes of the bi-annual FITARA scorecard issued by the House Oversight and Reform Committee, an official from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) testified on July 28 that the Federal government still spends over 60 percent of IT spending on maintaining legacy systems. […]
While Federal cybersecurity leaders have prioritized detection, remediation, and zero trust policies due to the recent flood of cyberattacks, new research – “Containing the Cyber Threat Tsunami” – uncovers the desire to shift the current security mindset to a greater emphasis on breach prevention. […]
The House Armed Services Committee’s Subcommittee on Cyber, Innovative Technologies, and Information Systems approved the subcommittee’s markup of the Fiscal Year (FY) 2022 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) on July 28, and the bill will now move to the full committee for consideration. […]
Federal CIO Clare Martorana confirmed today at the House Government Operations Subcommittee’s FITARA Scorecard 12 hearing that her office has received proposals from Federal agencies for $2.1 billion of IT modernization projects competing for Technology Modernization Fund (TMF) money. […]