With the Dec. 24 deadline approaching for Federal agencies to remediate the Log4j vulnerability, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) confirmed to MeriTalk that there have still been no compromises of Federal agencies via the Apache Log4J vulnerability. […]
President Biden signed an executive order on Dec. 22 making the 2.7 percent Federal pay raise official for 2022, consistent with his fiscal year (FY) 2022 budget. […]
Federal IT teams are scrambling to patch the Log4j and Log4Shell vulnerabilities before they cause major damage – and meet newly updated CISA guidance for Federal civilian agencies requiring immediate mitigation. […]
The White House AI Initiative Office announced on Dec. 17 the creation of an artificial intelligence (AI) public research portal to connect AI researchers with Federal resources and relevant grant-funding programs. […]
The year 2021 has played out as a non-stop whirlwind of activity for the Federal IT community – one unprecedented in recent memory for new policy direction, funding pushes, and urgency to improve network security. […]
The National 911 Program has selected consulting firm Mission Critical Partners to pilot and evaluate the first subset of the 911 DataPath data exchange model. […]
The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) confirmed it will be tracking Santa’s Christmas journey this year, marking its 66th anniversary of tracking Santa’s whereabouts as he and his reindeer travel around the globe on Dec. 24. […]
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced that it is ready to authorize $1,041,074,000 over 10 years in its fifth round of funding for new broadband deployments through the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund. This marks the largest funding wave to date. […]
With 2022 just around the corner, MeriTalk is taking a month-by-month look at the most popular stories in Federal IT from 2021. […]
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is seeking input from stakeholders and the public on a plan to create a new data portal to help streamline contractor reporting requirements and improve the use of digital information in its missions and programs. […]
The Biden Administration appointed has Alexander Macgillivray, former United States deputy chief technology officer (CTO), to serve as the next Principal Deputy CTO in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), Macgillivray announced on Twitter Dec. 21. […]
NASA has awarded $359 million to Mitchell Vantage Systems for software products, services, and engineering support. […]
The Biden administration is looking for the public’s help to shape policy through its release of a draft learning agenda that will inform development of the President’s Management Agenda (PMA). […]
The Department of Navy has appointed retired Lt. Cmdr. Josh Reiter as the service branch’s Deputy Principal Cyber Advisor. Reiter, a veteran of both the Navy and Naval Cyber communities, has served in the post since September, according to his LinkedIn. […]
The Accreditation Board (CMMC-AB) for the Department of Defense’s (DoD) Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) program has elected Vice Chair Jeff Dalton to be its next CMMC-AB Chair, the board announced Dec. 20. […]
In its latest wave of funding, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has committed nearly $630 million in funding for the Emergency Connectivity Fund (ECF) program to help close the homework gap. […]
This year further brought IT to the forefront of many organizations’ strategies in 2021, but as Federal chief information officers (CIOs) look to 2022, strengthening their agency’s workforce and cybersecurity posture are their big priorities for the year ahead. […]
A recent audit found that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has cybersecurity deficiencies that are leaving taxpayer data open to misuse, tampering, or disclosure due in part to the agency’s over-reliance on older systems. […]
The Senate voted on Dec. 18 to approve the Artificial Intelligence Training for the Acquisition Workforce Act, legislation that aims to improve the Federal workforce’s understanding of AI and ensure its ethical and safe use. […]
The Senate confirmed the nomination of Kurt DelBene to serve as the chief information officer (CIO) and assistant secretary for information and technology at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) by voice vote on Dec. 16. […]
The General Services Administration (GSA) has released new details about several upcoming multiple-award blanket purchase agreements (BPA) to help speed up enterprise-wide modernization initiatives and meet increased demand for secure commercial cloud products and services. […]
The holidays are typically a time to relax and spend time with loved ones, but the White House reminded corporate executives and business leaders that malicious cyber actors don’t take the holidays off in new guidance issued on Dec. 16. […]
The leader of the General Services Administration’s (GSA) Integrated Award Environment, which oversees government-wide Federal award systems such as SAM.gov, will be heading to the private sector in the new year. […]
The Alliance for Digital Innovation (ADI), a technology trade group that aims to help shape government innovation, is asking the Biden administration to increase both funding to the Technology Modernization Fund (TMF) and collaboration with industry stakeholders to best execute the vision outlined in President Biden’s customer experience (CX) executive order (EO). […]
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) is nudging the Department of Commerce to develop performance goals with measurable targets for the government’s Manufacturing USA effort – a joint effort among Commerce, the Department of Defense (DoD) and Department of Energy (DOE) on a network of 16 advanced manufacturing institutes to promote advanced manufacturing and technologies. […]
Software and cloud services provider Oracle Corp. said today it agreed to buy Cerner Corp., a provider of digital information systems for the health care provider market, in a deal valued at $28 billion. […]
Despite a proclamation over the weekend from Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.V., that he was a “no” on the existing version of Build Back Better Act legislation, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said in a Dear Colleague letter today that he plans to keep working on the reconciliation legislation until they “get something done.” […]
The Senate confirmed John Sherman to serve as the chief information officer (CIO) at the Department of Defense by voice vote on Dec. 14. […]
Digital security breaches have shown us that Federal agencies are more vulnerable than anyone thought, and their security tools are no longer effectively defending against them. This begs the question, what can IT leaders and staff at all levels do to better protect Federal networks? The short answer: it’s time to rethink our approach to basic security and how we defend every endpoint across the enterprise. […]
In November, Aaron Bishop was elevated to the position of chief information security officer (CISO) for the Department of the Air Force, taking over for Wanda Jones-Heath, who now serves as the Air Force’s principal cyber advisor. […]