Private sector IT firms that supply Federal government agencies with advanced technologies acknowledged the minor trend toward better grades on the 13th edition of the FITARA Scorecard, but told MeriTalk they want to see the House Oversight and Reform Committee follow through on aims to align grading categories better newer Federal tech policies that steer toward better cybersecurity and modernization of legacy systems.  […]

The Federal government’s new website for ordering free at-home COVID-19 tests went live on Jan. 18, drawing over 68 million users to the site over the past week without suffering much in the way of notable performance problems. […]

A new report is ranking the U.S. first out of 160 nations in readiness to implement artificial intelligence (AI) in public services delivery to citizens. This was the topline finding in the Government AI Readiness Index, a report by Oxford Insights to determine AI readiness through 42 indicators across 10 dimensions. […]

President Biden delivered a fresh pitch on Jan. 21 for Congress to take up and pass the Senate-approved United States Innovation and Competition Act (USICA) bill. […]

Against the backdrop of a significant rise in cyberattacks against the Federal government and private sector organizations, President Biden has made cybersecurity a critical focus of his administration. His Executive Order on Improving the Nation’s Cybersecurity (EO 14028) gives technology teams marching orders with aggressive deadlines for securing Federal networks, systems, and endpoints. […]

Digital transformation in the Federal government is shifting the focal point of security to the user and device – not the data center. As Federal IT leaders look to keep pace with new modernization and cybersecurity requirements, they need platforms and capabilities that support fresh approaches to security and data. […]

The National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) has announced five contract awards for commercial radar capabilities under the agency’s new Strategic Commercial Enhancements Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) Framework. […]

The Biden Administration announced policy changes today to attract international science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) students as part of a broader effort to make the U.S. economy more competitive. […]

The Office of the Chief Administrator in the House of Representatives is launching a House Digital Service team comprised of technology experts that will help improve members’ access to innovative technology tools, according to Chief Administrative Officer Catherine Szpindor. […]

The latest cyber order released by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) gives Federal agencies and industry the resources to stop or limit cybercriminals from infiltrating their systems; Michael Duffy, an associate director at CISA, said. […]

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has added 22 new fields of study to the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Optional Practical Training (OPT) program for enhancing contributions of nonimmigrant students studying STEM subjects. […]

Although encryption technologies currently work to prevent malicious adversaries from accessing Federal data, Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., is working on legislation that would tackle future quantum computing challenges through the use of algorithms that employ post-quantum cryptography. […]

Reps. Gerry Connolly, D-Va., and Darrell Issa, R-Calif., have launched a new Congressional IT Modernization Caucus that they said will function as an “informal group” of lawmakers dedicated to addressing IT modernization challenges across government, and educating members of Congress on Federal IT issues. […]

The FBI has released a public service announcement (PSA) to warm the public about cybercriminals using Quick Response (QR) codes to steal financial information. […]

The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has been using funds from the Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) fund since 1993, but according to a new report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO), the agency could generate better data to deliver those funds to vulnerable populations in an equitable fashion. […]

Federal agencies have embarked on various IT modernization journeys in the last few years. Still, according to an all-woman panel of Federal IT leaders, a critical factor in successful IT modernization is a diverse workforce, which means hiring more women. […]

Key lawmakers in the House voiced general agreement today that they want to explore making big changes to the semiannual FITARA Scorecard that rates major Federal agencies on progress toward IT-related goals. […]

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has awarded Lumen Technologies an 11-year task order worth more than $1.2 billion to modernize the agency’s IT infrastructure with “a fully integrated wide-area data transport service with secure remote access, contact center, and cloud connectivity solutions.” […]

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) released the finalized ‘IPv6 Considerations for TIC 3.0’ guidance document today, providing security considerations related to implementing the Trusted Internet Connections (TIC) 3.0 as Federal agencies transition to IPv6. […]

Federal agency chief information officers (CIOs) discussed their agencies’ grades on the 13th edition of the FITARA Scorecard at a hearing of the House Government Operations Subcommittee on Jan. 20, and outlined areas where they hope to improve going forward. […]

Sens. Gary Peters, D-Mich., and John Cornyn, R-Texas, introduced legislation last week to protect commercial satellites from cybersecurity threats. […]

The Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) has a new election threats head with the hiring of Jeffrey Wichman as its Intelligence Community Election Threats Executive. […]

Two broad score-keeping decisions by the House Oversight and Reform Committee shook up agency grades on the 13th edition of the committee’s FITARA Scorecard released on Jan. 20, with those changes likely to have a continuing impact on future scorecards results. […]

The largest Federal agencies trended toward higher grades on key IT-related performance categories in the House Oversight and Reform Committee’s FITARA Scorecard version 13 released by the committee on January 20. […]

Deputy Federal CIO Maria Roat said today she will retire from government service on March 31, capping off a Federal career that began with U.S. Navy service in 1981 and has since led ever-upward through the ranks of Federal IT leadership. […]

In this new year, agencies continue to embark on digital transformation journeys, modernizing IT applications and infrastructure. Federal technology leaders discussed their agency’s 2022 digital transformation plans and goals at ATARC’s Digital Transformation Summit on Jan. 18. […]

President Biden today signed a National Security Memorandum (NSM) intended to improve the cybersecurity of National Security, Department of Defense (DoD), and Intelligence Community (IC) Systems. […]

The Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC) completed a framework to allow electronic health information to be more easily shared among providers and individuals called the Trusted Exchange Framework and Common Agreement (TEFCA). […]

Rep. Jim Langevin, D-R.I., announced Tuesday he will not seek reelection in November, ending a 22-year career in Congress marked by groundbreaking work in cybersecurity policy.  […]

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Office of Electronic Health Records Management (OEHRM) is looking for a dashboard that will help to coordinate its Electronic Health Records Modernization (EHRM) program with the Department of Defense’s (DoD) Defense Health Agency (DHA). […]