The Social Security Administration (SSA) has implemented four of the seven open priority recommendations that the Government Accountability Office (GAO) identified in April 2020, including updating systems and establishing a risk management framework. […]
Carlos Del Toro, President Biden’s nominee to become Secretary of the Navy, is set to bring to the service branch an extensive technology profile from 17 years as CEO of SBG Technology Solutions, which provides IT modernization, governance, cybersecurity, and AI tech to the Federal government. […]
The Biden administration has nominated Maj. Gen. Matthew Glavy to be the next deputy commandant for information of the U.S. Marine Corps. […]
The General Services Administration (GSA) is in search of a vendor to help manage its electronic leasing tool, known as GSA Real Estate Exchange (G-REX), and provide IT services to support the application’s maintenance and updates. […]
Sens. Gary Peters, D-Mich., and Rob Portman, R-Ohio, are looking to get input from the White House as they work to draft legislation that would deal with the ongoing rise of ransomware attacks, the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs announced June 11. […]
Cyberthreats are constantly evolving. There are new attackers, new vulnerabilities, and new security risks that are arising every day. Threat hackers have rapidly increased their sophistication and techniques that make them harder to spot and threaten even the savviest targets. Criminal groups are also targeting businesses that have moved their infrastructure to the cloud. This way, they can hide among legitimate services. Attackers have developed new ways to scour the internet for systems vulnerable to ransomware. […]
Cloud-based analytics capabilities are helping NASA to power its “digital twin” practices of digitally designing aircraft before any testing takes place on physical models of flying craft, […]
The Department of Defense (DoD) has made progress in improving software and cybersecurity associated with its weapons systems, but the programs still struggle to implement and execute modern software development practices, according to a recent Government Accountability Office (GAO) report. […]
Rep. Jerry McNerney, D-Calif., introduced a bill that, if passed, would commission a study on blockchain technology and digital currency, and another on how artificial intelligence (AI) can aid the Consumer Product Safety Commission. […]
Major Federal government IT and cybersecurity modernization plans – from the rapid deployment of zero trust architectures and 5G technologies to the adoption of IoT and smart infrastructures – depend upon a scalable, robust and agile network infrastructure as a foundation for such advances. The Federal government has committed to the full transition to IPv6 as its basis for network modernization, and in November 2020, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued a policy that outlined the strategic intent for the government to deliver its information services, operate its networks, and access the services of others using only IPv6. […]
In 2016, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) began replacing its outdated biometric identity management system but needs to fully implement key IT acquisition best practices to fully implement the entire Homeland Advanced Recognition Technology (HART) system by 2021, which is three years behind schedule due to technical challenges. […]
The Biden administration announced expanded telework options for Federal employees on Thursday, creating a huge cultural shift for the Federal government that will allow agencies to offer flexible work-from-home and hybrid schedules to employees. […]
A week after seeking information on ransom pay from two other ransomware victims, Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., chairwoman of the House Committee on Oversight and Reform, sent a June 10 letter to JBS Foods USA asking for information about its reported decision to pay an $11 million ransom, the committee announced. […]
The Treasury Department has issued another update in its search for a vendor for the department’s TCloud enterprise cloud contract. […]
Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP) officials on June 10 reviewed results of recent program outreach efforts aimed at better engagement with Federal agencies. […]
The National Science Foundation (NSF) recently announced their partnership with the Department of Defense, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Apple, Google, IBM, and other industry players to coordinate new research into the connectivity landscape of tomorrow, future-facing Wi-Fi and 6G capabilities. […]
The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), along with the National Science Foundation (NSF) is launching the National AI Research Resource Task Force, which will serve as a Federal advisory committee to provide recommendations for establishing and sustaining the National AI Research Resource. […]
Cloud security provider Zscaler and digital workflow service provider ServiceNow have announced new service integrations that the companies said will give joint customers improved visibility and data security for cloud data protection and security incident response. […]
The 14 percent year-over-year budget increase requested by the Biden administration for the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for Fiscal Year 2022 would be devoted to hiring new career personnel across the agency, including increasing staffing that is critical for IT and cybersecurity oversight across the government. […]
The Office of Management and Budget (OMB), Office of Personnel Management (OPM), and General Services Administration (GSA) announced today that the 25 percent occupancy restriction for Federal offices has been lifted, and agencies will soon be able to increase the number of employees in their physical workplaces. […]
Jen Easterly, President Biden’s nominee to become the next director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), delivered a sobering assessment of the rising threats faced by Federal and private sectors networks and pledged at her June 10 confirmation hearing to strengthen the agency’s capabilities to defend and secure networks. […]
Ransomware was a main focus of concern during a committee nomination hearing today for Chris Inglis to be the nation’s first-ever national cyber director. Amidst a rising number of recent attacks, Inglis detailed how he would deal with the threat of ransomware while also explaining how he would approach building the nation’s cyber policy and approach collaboration if confirmed. […]
Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Secretary Denis McDonough said he expects some results from a strategic review of VA’s electronic health records (EHR) system that began in March to be delivered in the next couple of weeks. […]
The Safer Federal Workforce Task Force, led by the White House COVID-19 Response Team, announced this week that Federal agencies “generally” cannot require employees to receive a COVID-19 vaccine or require employees to disclose their vaccination status. […]
Robin Carnahan, President Biden’s nominee for administrator of the General Services Administration (GSA), sailed through a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee confirmation hearing today while offering commitments to create a more user-friendly GSA and support digital infrastructure investments. […]
Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said today he expects legislation will be soon filed in Congress to mandate cyber incident reporting to Federal authorities. […]
The Continuous Diagnostics and Mitigation (CDM) program that aims to improve Federal civilian network defenses is seeing an “extremely busy” 2021 following high-profile cyber breaches targeting government and private-sector networks, and government moves to open up the funding spigot to the program, a senior CDM program official said during MeriTalk’s June 10 “CDM: More Critical Than Ever” webinar. […]
Federal and state government chief data officers (CDO) discussed agency strategies and best practices for data governance at a FedInsider digital roundtable event on June 9 against the backdrop of Federal Chief Data Officer Council efforts to establish government-wide best practices for the management, use, protection, and generation of data. […]
While many Federal agencies are transitioning at least some employees back to physical offices, the State Department is searching for new software to enable remote work. […]
The Department of State’s Foreign Service Institute (FSI) is looking for a cloud-based platform to deliver foreign service training. […]