Back in August, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) consolidated 11 different contract opportunities under an Enterprise Infrastructure Solutions (EIS) vehicle into a single contract with telecommunications giant, Verizon. […]
Cybersecurity agencies of the nations in the “Five Eyes” intelligence alliance released a joint cybersecurity advisory to serve as a “playbook” for investigating incidents and highlight technical approaches to uncovering malicious activity. […]
In a pivot to focus on IT modernization, the Social Security Administration (SSA) is embracing agile development with much success, according to a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report released August 31. The government watchdog agency said, however, that the agency would benefit from more clarity about the role of contracting officials in the new model. […]
The Department of Health and Human Services has appointed Perryn Ashmore acting CIO, following the departure of former CIO Jose Arrieta on August 28. […]
The Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Data Privacy Office said in an August 14 report that its use of Computer Matching Agreements (CMA) under the 1988 Computer Matching and Privacy Protection Act (CMPPA) saved taxpayers several hundred million dollars in 2019 through the use of technology that enables DHS to compare data from multiple automated systems. […]
In the spring, schools were forced to shut down to stem the spread of COVID-19, and this fall schools are struggling to figure out how to either reopen safely or shift to distance learning to meet student needs. […]
A new publication by the National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST) details how cloud computing is hurting forensic science investigation efforts, and calls for more research into standards and tech that could mitigate those challenges. […]
The first group of assessors for the Department of Defense’s new cybersecurity standard will begin training today, according to a press release from the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification Accreditation Body. […]
With the billion-dollar Technology Modernization Fund (TMF) investment in the HEROES Act stalled in Congress, Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va., is saying “so far Congress, frankly, has failed” to provide agencies with the capital needed to overhaul legacy IT systems. […]
The Air Force has named Lauren Knausenberger as deputy CIO, an Air Force spokesperson confirmed to MeriTalk today. Knausenberger fills the position left by Bill Marion at the end of April. […]
The FY20 deadline is looming for Department of Defense (DoD) fourth estate agencies to migrate more than 100 data centers to milCloud® 2.0. To help advance migration and bring awareness to the new technologies and capabilities available on milCloud® 2.0, GDIT and DISA, in conjunction with MeriTalk, are launching the first-ever milCloud® 2.0 Virtual Bootcamp Event. […]
In the 20th century, literacy in reading, writing, and mathematics might have been the requisites to inform participation in democratic and economic systems, but over the past half century, a new form of necessary literacy has been emerging – cyber literacy. […]
The Cyber Navigators Act, H.R. 8011, would provide additional election-specific IT support to provide help monitoring systems and digesting data from cybersecurity information sharing and analysis centers, said Rep. John Katko, R-N.Y., one of the bills cosponsors. […]
A new report released August 26 from the Partnership for Public Service recommends data-driven hiring and innovative talent management to maintain a strong Federal workforce and overcome mission-critical skills gaps. […]
As large scale telework continues across the Federal government, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security (CISA) released a remote vulnerability and patch management guide yesterday to supplement the Trusted Internet Connection (TIC) 3.0 Interim Telework Guidance released in April. […]
The Department of Energy and White House Office of Science and Technology Policy today named nearly two dozen members from DoE National Laboratories, the tech sector and academia to the National Quantum Initiative Advisory Committee that will advise the Trump administration on policies related to quantum information science. […]
The Defense Department expects to issue a final request for proposal late next month for its multiyear Defense Enclave Services IT contract worth up to $11.7 billion. […]
For agencies looking to implement cybersecurity solutions, Terry Kalka, Chief of Mission Support at the Department of Defense Cyber Crime Center, emphasized that basic cyber hygiene practices will block a majority of cyberattacks unless those attacks stem from a particularly advanced threat actor. […]
According to a new report by NASA’s Office of Inspector General (OIG), NASA is not adequately securing its networks from unauthorized access by IT devices, and has not fully implemented controls to remove or block unauthorized IT devices from accessing the agency’s networks and systems. […]
Reflecting on the last nearly six months of the coronavirus pandemic – and his two decades in Federal IT experience – Booz Allen Hamilton’s Vice President of Digital Transformation Dan Tucker is looking ahead to more government investments in open data architectures, cloud services, and human-centric digital products as Feds adapt to the shifting telework and service delivery landscape. […]
In August, the Census Bureau announced that it would be delivering appointment data by the statutory deadline of December 31, 2020, despite the COVID-19 pandemic causing delays. Compressed timeframes, according to the Government Accountability Office (GAO), could present challenges to monitoring ongoing IT risks, among other issues. […]
Officials at the General Services Administration (GSA) have started internal discussions on the impact that pandemic-driven employee telework may have on longer-term uses of government office buildings and other facilities, said Beth Anne Killoran, GSA’s Deputy CIO, at an August 26 event organized by Association for Federal Information Resources Management (AFFIRM). […]
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) released new COVID-19 infection rate numbers today, indicating a decrease in virus spread because of the agency’s emphasis on digital screening and telehealth services. […]
Software Development Operations, or DevOps, can go by many names. DevSecOps, inserts Security into the equation while DevSecEthOps throws ethics into the mix, but ultimately the goal of the process is to build secure software – fast. […]
The Department of Justice (DoJ) announced Aug. 26 that the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York has entered a consent decree imposing a permanent injunction which bars two individuals and two companies from conveying any telephone calls into the U.S. telephone system. The two individuals are spouses Nicholas and Natasha Palumbo, and their companies, Ecommerce National LLC and SIP Retail. […]
Most Americans (78 percent) are concerned or very concerned about protecting their personal data, which could impact the country’s ability to accurately contact trace during the COVID-19 pandemic, a new survey from Privitar has revealed. […]
Deputy Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen urged Americans this week to participate fully in the democratic process and realize that the fear of “malign influence” on elections are as old as the country itself. […]
Federal IT operations time and again have proved to be the resilient lifeline to vital citizen services during the COVID-19 pandemic. As government and society map the path to recovery, MeriTalk is chronicling the untold stories and lessons of how government IT has innovated on the fly to meet the demands of the crisis and anchor more resilient services going forward. In the latest installment of CIO Crossroads, we turn to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) five months into the fight. […]
New legislation introduced in the House by Reps. Peter Welch, D-Vt., and Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., expands on Senate legislation passed earlier this year to plan for, develop, and grow Internet of Things (IoT) investments. […]
While the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency’s Trusted Internet Connections (TIC) 3.0 guidance was finalized in late July, Program Manager Sean Connelly reiterated at an August 26 FedInsider webinar that the documents are only the first steps of TIC 3.0 efforts. […]