As government cybersecurity practices shifted to adjust to the increase in telework during the COVID-19 pandemic, officials from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) previewed cyber tools offered by the agencies, but reminded Feds that knowing the network architecture is an early and necessary step toward selecting the correct protections. […]

The COVID-19 pandemic has made all levels of government radically change how they operate. From shifting their workforce to telework to delivering government services digitally, Federal, state, and local governments have had to pivot the way they work, while still delivering on their mission. […]

The Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency released a new online tool designed to help individuals navigate career options in the field of cybersecurity. […]

Sen. Angus King Jr., I-Maine, defended the Cyberspace Solarium Commission’s key recommendation to create a Senate-confirmed National Cyber Director before his Senate colleagues on Tuesday, finding commonality with the subcommittee chair on the position.   […]

When it comes to the security of sensitive information in the energy sector, collaboration between the Department of Energy, intelligence community, and private sector are foundational to these efforts, Senior Advisor at the Office of Policy for Cybersecurity, Energy Security, & Emergency Response Alexander Gates said. […]

President Donald Trump signed an executive order August 3 to make COVID-19 era changes to telehealth – such as telehealth coverage in Medicare programs and investments in telecommunications infrastructure – permanent after the pandemic ends. […]

The Trump Administration has released guidance on implementing an executive order (EO) for agencies that emphasizes hiring based on skills rather than whether the potential hire has a college degree. […]

The National Security Agency (NSA) is asking government employees, specifically those in the national security sector and at the Department of Defense, to take precautions to defend their location data from third parties. […]

Setting the stage for the nation’s coronavirus pandemic recovery begs new ways of thinking and collaboration. That’s why MeriTalk, ACT-IAC, and the Partnership for Public Service are joining forces on a project to deliver a set of operating and policy recommendations to promote stronger and more resilient Federal government operations to power the recovery. […]

The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) earned an “A” grade on the tenth version of the FITARA Scorecard issued this week by the House Oversight and Reform Committee, according to amended data provided by the Government Operations Subcommittee on August 4. […]

The national security community of the United States has found itself in a conundrum in the last few years, warning other countries about the risks of the China-based company Huawei, but unable to provide an American alternative for 5G networks. […]

The Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has released its Mail-in Voting in 2020 Infrastructure Risk Assessment to help with risk management of critical election systems. […]

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) said in a report released August 3 that Federal agencies still need to take action on about one-fifth of the cybersecurity recommendations that GAO has issued over the past ten years, and warned of increasing security risks until agencies address them. […]

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., proposed in a July 31 letter to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin to engineer a dramatic, long-term funding increase for the Technology Modernization Fund (TMF) by moving $2 billion of Internal Revenue Service (IRS) IT modernization work to the front of the TMF funding line. […]

In a letter to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., 20 Democratic senators plus Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, urged leadership to include maximum telework provisions for Federal employees and contractors in the next coronavirus relief package. […]

Federal government IT and its ability to deliver vital services to citizens is often said to be one of the few notably bipartisan issues left in Congress, and that sentiment was on clear display as the House Government Operations Subcommittee unveiled its tenth FITARA Scorecard at a public hearing on August 3. […]

MeriTalk connected with David Siles, Global Field Chief Technology Officer at Rubrik, to discuss the Continuous Diagnostics and Mitigation (CDM) program and the importance of data protection and cloud management in the Federal government’s new telework environment. […]

Deputy Federal CIO Maria Roat, who began in her current position eight weeks ago after serving as CIO at the Small Business Administration (SBA) during the hectic initial upswing of the coronavirus pandemic, discussed the fast pace of modernization efforts at Federal agencies in recent months, and how critical funding is to keep those efforts going. […]

Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va., chairman of the House Government Operations Subcommittee, sounded an upbeat tone on the FITARA Scorecard issued by the House Oversight and Reform Committee today, but pointed to more work that needs to be done across the government and in Congress to spur further IT modernization. […]

After moving to nearly 90 percent telework in April, the State Department has entered the second phase of its reopening plan. […]

The Departments of Homeland Security and Commerce released an update to their ongoing work to address botnets, automated and distributed attacks on the internet, which threaten the nation’s internet infrastructure. […]

Two former Federal CIOs gave a strong thumbs-up today to the latest round of major Federal agency grades issued in the tenth version of the FITARA Scorecard issued by the House Oversight and Reform Committee. […]

The House Government Operations Subcommittee is leaning toward switching up its FITARA Scorecard grading categories, according to the scorecard data released today. […]

The General Services Administration (GSA) and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) took top marks on the House Oversight and Reform Committee’s FITARA Scorecard 10.0 released by the Government Operations Subcommittee today.
The General Services Administration (GSA) and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) took top marks on the House Oversight and Reform Committee’s FITARA Scorecard 10.0 released by the Government Operations Subcommittee today. […]

The General Services Administration (GSA) announced the completion of the second phase of its Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) consolidation and has now begun its third and final phase. […]

The tenth version of the FITARA Scorecard released today shows that changes to agencies’ data center optimization initiative (DCOI) and cybersecurity efforts were leading factors in whether their overall grades changed since the previous scorecard. […]

The Virginia-based company Ligado announced it is joining the Open RAN Policy Coalition, a group created to promote policies of openness and interoperability in a key part of the architecture used by mobile devices particularly for 5G use. […]

On July 30, the Senate passed the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Information Technology Reform Act, which would improve VA management of IT projects and investments, among other things. […]

A vast majority of Continuous Diagnostics and Mitigation (CDM) stakeholders agree the DHS program is more important than ever considering the COVID-19 pandemic and the Federal government’s transition to “maximized telework.” […]

The House Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress approved a dozen recommendations to improve the continuity of operations in Congress in the event of a crisis. […]