The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) issued a reminder today of security considerations regarding the use of virtual private network (VPN) solutions as telework ramps up due to spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus. […]
The COVID-19 outbreak has created a flood of information to sift through for the Federal workforce. MeriTalk will attempt to collect and disseminate information as clearly as possible regarding the Federal workforce and IT policies as they relate to the Coronavirus. […]
The Office of Management and Budget released guidance dated March 12 to all heads of Federal departments and agencies to “maximize telework flexibilities” for the portions of the Federal workforce that are most at risk of severe illness from the COVID-19 coronavirus. […]
The director of the White House’s Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) and government scientists from countries around the world are calling for publishers to make COVID-19-related research available to the public including in formats where they can apply artificial intelligence (AI) to the task of analyzing the data. […]
Despite tech and efficiency benefits, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) – which oversees Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and the 11 Federal Home Loan Banks – documented “third-party, information security, and business resiliency risks” in its transition to and use of the public cloud. […]
President Donald Trump signed the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Act of 2019, solidifying $1 billion in funding for smaller telecommunications providers to rip out and replace equipment from Chinese firms, such as Huawei and ZTE. […]
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) requested $706 million in appropriated funds for Fiscal Year 2021. An increase of $76 million from the FY2020 enacted level, the agency aims to improve its internal IT infrastructure and its Science, Technology Assessment, and Analytics (STAA) audit team. […]
The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) today released a toolkit broadcasters can use in their response to COVID-19. […]
“We didn’t think that we needed to invent a new agency when we got one [CISA] that’s working,” said Solarium co-chair, Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, “But we did think that there was something missing and that was leadership from the top.” […]
The General Services Administration (GSA) is cancelling the Federal Acquisition Service Training (FAST) 2020 conference and all associated Program Management Review meetings. […]
The Department of Defense (DoD) has a renewed focus on modernizing its hiring process and investing in cyber education to improve recruitment and retention stats as it looks ahead at its Fiscal Year 2021 budget. […]
Sen. Mark Warner sent a letter to the acting director of national intelligence (DNI) and the director of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to issue clear guidance ensuring that security clearances will not be jeopardized due to financial impacts of COVID-19. […]
The first round of cybersecurity job opportunities for graduates of the Federal Cyber Reskilling Academy has been posted on the USAJobs Open Opportunities site, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), the Chief Information Officers Council, and the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) announced March 11. […]
Sens. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., and Rick Scott, R-Fla., said today they introduced legislation that would ban the use of the TikTok app on Federal government-provided devices out of concern that the company providing the service – ByteDance – has close ties to the Chinese government and could be compelled to share user data with the government. […]
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) finalized two rules that would help give healthcare patients more control over their health data. […]
House members voted 395-13 on March 10 to adopt recommendations from the Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress on establishing a centralized human resources (HR) system and modernizing House IT resources. […]
Implementing a proposed Federal grant program designed to improve state and local government cybersecurity would cost a total of $2.89 billion over the next six years including both expected grant totals and the cost to run the program, according to an estimate from the Congressional Budget Office. […]
Despite high salaries and growth potential, the tech industry is struggling to hire enough cybersecurity experts. […]
The Cyberspace Solarium Commission’s long-awaited report on how the U.S. can better defend itself against cyber threats focuses on a handful of major themes: […]
The Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs passed multiple cybersecurity bills, including the Cybersecurity Vulnerability Identification and Notification Act of 2019 and the Cybersecurity State Coordinator Act of 2020 at a March 11 markup. […]
Office of Management and Budget and NASA Solutions for Enterprise-Wide Procurement are cohosting the second annual Best-in-Class (BIC) Fair on March 18 to teach participants the value of BIC category management principles. […]
No Category Set!
Federal government CIOs and private-sector tech leaders turned out in force last night at USO-Metro’s 38th Annual Awards Dinner to celebrate mission, and most of all to show support for U.S. military personnel and their families. […]
The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) and several Federal agencies are planning more collaboration with the tech industry on innovative responses to the COVID-19 outbreak, as discussed today in a meeting between public and private sector representatives. […]
Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Ala., told Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) Director Christopher Krebs that Congress would not approve CISA budget cuts contained in the President’s Fiscal Year 2021 Budget Proposal. […]
The Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee today approved legislation on broadband connectivity, protecting the public from online scams, and promoting industries of the future at a markup session March 11. […]
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is working on a DevOps guidance with an emphasis on the inclusion of security into the process. […]
Drones, facial recognition technology, and autonomous vehicles are a few of the technologies that the human capital team at the Department of Homeland Security is considering when hiring these days. […]
Federal CIO Suzette Kent said at the Micro Focus Government Summit today that preparing for the next decade of public sector modernization must include proper Fed training for cyber skills alongside the tech upgrades. […]
The Securities and Exchange Commission said it is “encouraging” all employees at the agency’s Washington headquarters facility to telework until further notice after it discovered late Monday that a headquarters employee may have the COVID-19 coronavirus. […]
Rep. Mike Gallagher, R-Wis., a member of the Cyberspace Solarium Commission that is set to release recommendations March 11 on how to better defend the U.S. against cyber threats, said today the commission hopes to spark quick action by Congress on at least some of those recommendations. […]