The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee voted today to confirm the nominations of Russell Vought and Craig Leen as permanent director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and inspector general at the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), respectively, at a business meeting today. […]
The Federal CDO Council has selected Ted Kaouk, CDO at the Department of Agriculture (USDA), to lead the council as chair, according to a June 10 press release from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). […]
“Team Telecom” – a group of Federal government officials tasked with making recommendations on the national security implications of Federal Communication Commission (FCC) telecommunications applications – has failed to properly monitor Chinese government-owned telecommunication carriers, according to a June 9 report from the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee’s Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations (PSI). […]
The Social Security Administration (SSA) is planning to improve customer service delivery and experience through a range of customer service activities including surveys, user testing, interviews, and focus groups. […]
The Department of State is seeking information from industry vendors on how they would implement a 5G Clean Path plan, which would guide 5G network traffic in and out of U.S. diplomatic facilities at home and abroad while ensuring it does not traverse untrustworthy equipment from vendors such as Huawei Technologies or ZTE Corporation. […]
Bill Harrod, Federal CTO at mobility management software maker MobileIron, is looking for changes in Federal bring-your-own-device (BYOD) policies – along with continued drives toward digital transformation – to help sustain and make more secure the turn to widespread telework by government and industry in the COVID-19 pandemic, and beyond. […]
Autonomous cybersecurity is changing the way the government protects and secures its crucial data. By leveraging artificial intelligence and machine learning, agencies can respond to cyber threats in real time and more efficiently than ever. MeriTalk connected with Dr. Matt McFadden, Cyber Director, GDIT to discuss this burgeoning field. […]
Continuous Diagnostics and Mitigation (CDM) Program Manager Kevin Cox said today that the program’s mission has mostly continued without a hitch through the COVID-19 pandemic, while also serving to better inform the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and Federal agencies about the security implications of maximum telework. […]
The National Institute of Standards and Technology’s (NIST) National Cybersecurity Center of Excellence (NCCoE) announced June 8 that it has invited 10 technology providers and industry experts to collaborate on the Protecting Information and System Integrity in Industrial Control System Environments Project. […]
Geoffrey Starks, commissioner at the Federal Communication Commission (FCC) announced the creation of the Digital Opportunity Equity Recognition (DOER) Program. The program, announced on June 8, will “commend organizations, institutions, companies, and individuals who, through their actions and responses to the COVID-19 crisis, have helped to make quality affordable broadband service available to unserved or underserved communities.” A statement from Starks specifically called out organizations that have leveraged the use of broadband to improve healthcare, education, public safety, civic engagement, or other essential services,” as well as entities that have promoted digital education and literacy. […]
For the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), its Continuous Diagnostics and Mitigation (CDM) program and its Quality Service Management Office (QSMO) both serve roles for the agency to provide service excellence to Federal customers. […]
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is calling for comments on four of its digital identity guidelines to improve security and privacy considerations in each document. […]
Sean Connelly, Trusted Internet Connections (TIC) Program Manager at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), detailed at MeriTalk’s CDM Central: Tales from the Frontlines virtual event today how TIC and the Continuous Diagnostics and Mitigation (CDM) program work together to bolster Federal cybersecurity. […]
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency’s (CISA) Continuous Diagnostics and Mitigation (CDM) program has been a key tool for managing cybersecurity risks since Federal employees began maximum telework in March by helping to maintain situational awareness on networks, said Federal CISO Grant Schneider at MeriTalk’s CDM Central: Tales from the Frontlines digital event today. […]
The Departments of Commerce and Health and Human Services are teaming up to take down websites that sell opioids illegally online through a new pilot program with three domain name registries. […]
Bo Berlas, CISO at the at the General Services Administration (GSA), lauded the Department of Homeland Security’ (DHS) government-wide cybersecurity program and its effects in automating cybersecurity tasks for GSA. […]
Since the Continuous Diagnostics and Mitigation (CDM) program launched the minimal viable product version of its new dashboard last month, more Federal agencies have seen the value in choosing a cloud-hosted dashboard due in part to the need for more scalability in light of the coronavirus pandemic, CDM Project Manager Judy Baltensperger said today at MeriTalk’s CDM Central: Tales from the Frontlines virtual event […]
COVID-19-related spending by Federal agencies grew to a total of $15.5 billion as of early June, up from a total of $13 billion as of May 22, according to data obtained from the Federal Procurement Data System. […]
The House Armed Services Committee on June 5 released its markup schedule for the Fiscal Year 2021 National Defense Authorization Act – a must-pass piece of legislation that normally features plenty of technology-related provisions. […]
Election security experts at the Brennan Center for Justice released a new guide June 5 on how to protect elections during the COVID-19 pandemic, specifically calling attention to existing resources from Federal agencies and the need for more Federal funding. […]
A new ACT-IAC study found that of 109 solicitations that have completed the General Services Administration (GSA) In-Scope Review (ISR) process, 79 included the move or expansion of Ethernet or Voice Over IP (VOIP). […]
Unified Platform, a software platform designed to consolidate cyber capabilities and data processing led by the U.S. Cyber Command (CYBERCOM), is set to cost five times its initial program estimate and the program has skipped over key assessments, according to a June 3 Government Accountability Office (GAO) report. […]
Federal privacy legislation that has stalled in Congress for months has a new impetus, as questions about the use of location and health data during the pandemic are bringing privacy considerations to the fore. […]
Two bicameral, bipartisan bills intended to strengthen U.S.-based AI research initiatives were introduced this week. Both bills are focused on maintaining the United States’ global leadership and promote public and private sector collaboration. […]
Sen. Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., wrote letters to ten Federal agencies in an effort to seek answers as to what those agencies are doing to modernize IT systems before the next crisis, like COVID-19, occurs. […]
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is working with about 60 clinical institutions affiliated with the Clinical and Translational Science Awards Program to support the analysis of electronic health records in a new cloud-based database. […]
Laura Stanton said this week that she will take over on Monday as acting assistant commissioner of the Office of Information Technology Category for the General Services Administration’s Federal Acquisition Service. […]
When an April tweet about pandemic relief funding from President Trump jolted an 8,000 percent increase in traffic on the Small Business Administration website, the agency was ready to take the strain, having moved the site from on-prem to cloud a year earlier. […]
The COVID-19 pandemic has driven Federal agencies to leap to maximum telework capacity on short notice. While many were able to kick telework into high gear in only a matter of days because of previous or ongoing IT modernization investments, the requirement to change fast and on the fly underscores the vital need for modernization – in the case of a pandemic or not. […]
The National Science Foundation (NSF) has awarded a $10 million grant to the Pervasive Technology Institute at Indiana University (IU) to deploy a distributed cloud computing system that will help support on-demand research, AI, and enhanced large-scale data analyses for the United States. […]