DHS Secretary Mayorkas Answers Questions on CISA, Cyber Talent for Senate Subcommittee May 26, 2021 | 4:07 pm In a Senate Appropriations Committee review of the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) fiscal year (FY) 2022 budget request today, DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas emphasized the importance of building resilience among the nation’s cybersecurity and the cyber workforce. […]
Workforce Identified as Backbone to Building up Smart Cities May 26, 2021 | 3:57 pm Connected cities are not just seeking ways to transform their technology infrastructure, but also looking to build a 21st-century workforce across critical sectors to meet the challenges of innovative transformation. During the ACT-IAC Emerging Technology and Innovation event today, IT officials from across the country spoke to how workforce scarcity is the real capital that’s […]
Bipartisan Bill to Strengthen Encryption Laws Introduced in the House May 26, 2021 | 3:06 pm Reps. Ted Lieu, D-Calif., and Nancy Mace, R-S.C., led a bipartisan group of legislators in reintroducing the Ensuring National Constitutional Rights for Your Private Telecommunications (ENCRYPT) Act. […]
PSC Urges Congress to Include Cyber, IT Funding in Infrastructure Package May 26, 2021 | 2:39 pm The Professional Services Council (PSC), which represents government contractors, urged Congress in a May 21 letter to include funding for cybersecurity and IT modernization in an upcoming infrastructure funding package that aligns with President Biden’s American Jobs Plan. […]
Post-Pandemic Citizen Service Demand Drives IT Ops Management Push May 26, 2021 | 2:33 pm With the United States and the rest of the world emerging from the shadow of pandemic to reengage with whatever “normal” life brings next, demands for how government should provide vital services to citizens – and the IT resources needed to improve delivery of them – have changed the service equation for good. […]
Matt Olsen Tapped for Key DoJ National Security Division Post May 26, 2021 | 2:12 pm President Biden announced today he plans to nominate Matt Olsen for Assistant Attorney General (AG) for the National Security Division at the Department of Justice (DOJ). […]
Keith Nakasone Stepping Away From GSA June 1 May 26, 2021 | 12:57 pm Keith Nakasone, the General Service Administration’s (GSA) IT Category Deputy Assistant Commissioner, will step down from his post on June 1, GSA confirmed to MeriTalk. In his place, Cheryl Thornton-Cameron will step into his role in an acting capacity. […]
Bill Preventing Civil Service ‘Schedule F’ Assignments Heads to Full House May 26, 2021 | 9:40 am A bill that would take action to block any future moves to assign Federal workers to newly created “excepted” service schedules was approved by the House Oversight and Reform Committee by voice vote on May 25 after some contentious debate. […]
House Oversight Clears Bill to Wrap CIOs into Agency Performance Plans May 26, 2021 | 9:26 am The House Oversight and Reform Committee on May 25 approved by voice vote a bill introduced last month that would make sure that Federal agency CIOs – along with chief data, financial, and human capital officers – are involved in the process of how agency leaders form performance plans for their departments. […]
GSA TTS Chief Aims to Speed Tech Development by Clearing Hurdles May 25, 2021 | 4:39 pm Dave Zvenyach, director of the General Services Administration’s (GSA) Technology Transformation Services (TTS) organization, said today he is aiming for TTS to help Federal agencies speed technology development in several areas. But he explained that in some cases, TTS assistance also takes the form of less tech-flashy work such as preparing agencies for new deployments by working through governance and policy issues. […]
DoD Research and Engineering Nominee Calls for Overhaul of DoD Investment Strategy May 25, 2021 | 3:56 pm Heidi Shyu, President Biden’s nominee for under secretary for research and engineering at the Department of Defense (DoD), said today she wants the DoD to change its internal investment strategy and prioritize investments in emerging technologies over sustaining legacy systems. […]
GAO: Congress Should Create an Entity to Collect Comprehensive Historical Cyberattack Data May 25, 2021 | 3:54 pm The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) of 2021 gave the Government Accountability Office (GAO) marching orders to complete a study of the United States cyber insurance market, and GAO’s findings reinforced a recommendation by the National Cyberspace Solarium Commission for Congress to create an agency specifically tasked with collecting better data. […]
NASA Watchdog Says Cybersecurity Efforts are ‘Disorganized,’ New Contract Shows Promise May 25, 2021 | 3:48 pm A new report from NASA’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) shows the agency is exposed to a “higher-than-necessary risk from cyber threats,” but a new contract shows promise for NASA to secure its systems more effectively. […]
Bipartisan Bill Introduced to Ensure DoD Fiscal Responsibility May 25, 2021 | 3:35 pm A bipartisan bill introduced in the Senate on May 19 would require that the Department of Defense (DoD) pass a full independent audit beginning fiscal year (FY) 2022, and if each military branch and part of DoD fails to return clean audit results, it would return one percent of its budget to Treasury. […]
Federal CIO Martorana Urges Innovation, Drops Hints on Telework, Data Strategy May 25, 2021 | 3:09 pm Federal CIO Clare Martorana hinted at possible changes coming to Federal telework policy and the Office of Management and Budget’s (OMB) Federal Data Strategy during an address today at ACT-IAC’s Emerging Technology and Innovation virtual conference. […]
JAIC’s Ethical AI Lead Marks Progress on Operationalizing Principles May 25, 2021 | 1:38 pm Having adopted the Defense Innovation Board’s (DIB) ethical AI principles last February, a senior official with the Department of Defense’s (DoD) Joint Artificial Intelligence Center (JAIC) provided an update today on how the department is approaching those principles a year later. […]
IRS Looking for Help to Crack Seized Cryptocurrency Wallets May 25, 2021 | 1:09 pm With more and more people putting their trust in cryptocurrencies, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is beginning to research how to crack and decrypt crypto wallets that have been subject to seizure and forfeiture, according to a May 20 request for information (RFI) posted to SAM.gov. […]
NIAC Report to Focus on Cybersecurity Workforce May 24, 2021 | 4:08 pm President Biden’s National Infrastructure Advisory Council (NIAC) is preparing a report for the White House National Security Council (NSC) focused on “challenges facing the critical infrastructure workforce and the risks to national security posed by a lack of skilled workers,” and paying special attention to the cybersecurity workforce. […]
Over 1 Million Households Enroll in Emergency Broadband Benefit Program May 24, 2021 | 3:44 pm In the first week of the Emergency Broadband Benefit Program, over one million households enrolled to benefit from the subsidy program, according to Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel. […]
USAF’s ABMS Ready to Move to Next Stage of Development May 24, 2021 | 2:45 pm The U.S. Air Force (USAF) is ready to take the next step with its Advanced Battle Management System (ABMS), after saying the program successfully met “ambitious” key benchmarks. […]
GSA Rolls Out New Sam.gov Website With Improved Security, Functionality May 24, 2021 | 1:48 pm The General Services Administration (GSA) announced today that it has completed the integration of beta.SAM.gov and SAM.gov. […]
House Bill Would Boost DoE Supercomputing Capabilities May 24, 2021 | 1:05 pm Rep. Jay Obernolte, R-Calif., introduced a bill May 18 that aims to accelerate the advancement of supercomputing programs at the Department of Energy (DoE). […]
Federal Agencies Ramping AI Pilots, Leaning Into Efforts at the Network’s Edge May 24, 2021 | 12:31 pm Federal agencies are increasingly turning to artificial intelligence (AI) for advanced technology solutions, but face challenges operationalizing AI on larger scales at the agency level. […]
Army Clicks With Remote Collaboration Tools, Hopes to Expand Telework May 24, 2021 | 12:17 pm The U.S. Army was able to successfully utilize remote collaboration tools during the COVID-19 pandemic that allowed about 350,000 soldiers to feel connected while teleworking – despite being physically separated. […]
If You’re Not Vaccinated, Swipe Left May 24, 2021 | 11:48 am According to the White House COVID-19 Response Team and Public Health Officials, dating sites like Bumble, Tinder, Hinge, Match, OkCupid, BLK, Chispa, Plenty of Fish, and Badoo are adding features that are meant to encourage vaccinations. […]
Employee Investment ‘Imperative’ to Speeding Digital Transformation, Experts Say May 24, 2021 | 9:50 am In an age where Federal agencies are trying to accelerate their digital transformation efforts, Department of Defense (DoD) leaders and IT experts say agencies must invest in their employees in order to speed up modernization. […]
Polling Backs Need for More Federal Cybersecurity Investments, Threat Sharing May 21, 2021 | 3:08 pm Following a string of high-profile cyber attacks against private sector and government organizations over the past several months, more than half of Americans surveyed by The Harris Poll believe further cybersecurity investments are essential to combat the threat, and that the Federal government, the military, and the private sector should share cyber threat and attack data to help in the fight. […]
Federal Agencies Focusing on Increasing Accessibility to Data and Upskilling Workforce May 21, 2021 | 2:40 pm Data has become integral to Federal agencies and their decision-making process, and Federal officials are increasingly finding ways to upskill their workforce to help, officials said May 13. […]
VA Awards $1.1 Billion Benefits Management Contract to Booz Allen May 21, 2021 | 1:20 pm The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has awarded a $1.1 billion contract to Booz Allen Hamilton to assist the department with its Benefits Integration Platform (BIP) initiative. […]
Tech Groups Pushing for $750M CISA FY22 Budget Bump May 21, 2021 | 1:06 pm A group of tech trade groups is telling Congress that the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) needs a larger budget next year to start putting in place long-term security improvements to meet the rising tide of sophisticated cyberattacks against government and industry. […]