The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has finalized vulnerability disclosure policies (VDPs) for the Federal government and issued a memorandum to agencies today establishing the processes for identification, management, and remediation of security vulnerabilities. […]

CenturyLink said on Sept. 1 that the company has attained FISMA (Federal Information Security Management Act) High certification for its federal network operations centers and security operations centers.  […]

Following Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe’s decision to cancel scheduled election security briefings, Democratic House leaders wrote to his office asking to reschedule the regular, in-depth briefings instead of substituting them with written reports. […]

The nation’s lead election security agency in conjunction with the Federal Bureau of Investigation said it has not seen any attacks on voter registration databases or voting systems this year. […]

Reps. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., and Bobby Rush, D-Ill., introduced a bill to mandate studies by the Department of Commerce and Federal Trade Commission on emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, blockchain, and quantum computing. […]

The National Science Foundation (NSF) is launching a new initiative to invest $25 million in research projects dedicated to foundational data science principles. […]

Shane Barney, Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) at the Department of Homeland Security’s U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) component, on Sept. 1 credited increased use of data automation for improving security operation center (SOC) operations at the agency. […]

Lieutenant General Thomas Todd, incoming deputy commanding general for Acquisition and Systems Management at the Army Futures Command (AFC), outlined his priorities for the new role today, including collaborations with industry and an iterative approach to technology. […]

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and its Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) component agency want to expand use of biometrics with a new rule that would implement the technology for identity verification, document production, records management, and even to prove familial relationships. […]

As robotic process automation (RPA) enters the Federal enterprise, determining uses for attended and unattended automation has become an increasingly important to agency officials. […]

Former Deputy Secretary of Defense Robert Work was not at the Department of Defense when the Joint Artificial Intelligence Center was established in 2018, but did offer recommendations on the center’s name and focus. […]

The Department of Defense’s (DoD) Joint Artificial Intelligence Center (JAIC) is considering setting up a nonprofit manager for its new prototype AI Acquisition Business Model, according to a request for information (RFI) posted August 29. […]

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) released a new interim final rule in today’s Federal Register detailing Federal Acquisition Security Council (FASC) guidelines for managing supply chain risk, and recommending the removal and exclusion of IT and communications that fall below the standard. […]

Victoria Coleman will replace Peter Highnam, currently serving as acting director, atop the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. […]

Back in August, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) consolidated 11 different contract opportunities under an Enterprise Infrastructure Solutions (EIS) vehicle into a single contract with telecommunications giant, Verizon. […]

Cybersecurity agencies of the nations in the “Five Eyes” intelligence alliance released a joint cybersecurity advisory to serve as a “playbook” for investigating incidents and highlight technical approaches to uncovering malicious activity. […]

In a pivot to focus on IT modernization, the Social Security Administration (SSA) is embracing agile development with much success, according to a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report released August 31.  The government watchdog agency said, however, that the agency would benefit from more clarity about the role of contracting officials in the new model.  […]

The Department of Health and Human Services has appointed Perryn Ashmore acting CIO, following the departure of former CIO Jose Arrieta on August 28. […]

The Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Data Privacy Office said in an August 14 report that its use of Computer Matching Agreements (CMA) under the 1988 Computer Matching and Privacy Protection Act (CMPPA) saved taxpayers several hundred million dollars in 2019 through the use of technology that enables DHS to compare data from multiple automated systems. […]

In the spring, schools were forced to shut down to stem the spread of COVID-19, and this fall schools are struggling to figure out how to either reopen safely or shift to distance learning to meet student needs. […]

A new publication by the National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST) details how cloud computing is hurting forensic science investigation efforts, and calls for more research into standards and tech that could mitigate those challenges. […]

The first group of assessors for the Department of Defense’s new cybersecurity standard will begin training today, according to a press release from the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification Accreditation Body. […]

With the billion-dollar Technology Modernization Fund (TMF) investment in the HEROES Act stalled in Congress, Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va., is saying “so far Congress, frankly, has failed” to provide agencies with the capital needed to overhaul legacy IT systems. […]

The Air Force has named Lauren Knausenberger as deputy CIO, an Air Force spokesperson confirmed to MeriTalk today. Knausenberger fills the position left by Bill Marion at the end of April. […]

The FY20 deadline is looming for Department of Defense (DoD) fourth estate agencies to migrate more than 100 data centers to milCloud® 2.0. To help advance migration and bring awareness to the new technologies and capabilities available on milCloud® 2.0, GDIT and DISA, in conjunction with MeriTalk, are launching the first-ever milCloud® 2.0 Virtual Bootcamp Event. […]

In the 20th century, literacy in reading, writing, and mathematics might have been the requisites to inform participation in democratic and economic systems,  but over the past half century, a new form of necessary literacy has been emerging – cyber literacy. […]

The Cyber Navigators Act, H.R. 8011, would provide additional election-specific IT support to provide help monitoring systems and digesting data from cybersecurity information sharing and analysis centers, said Rep. John Katko, R-N.Y., one of the bills cosponsors. […]

A new report released August 26 from the Partnership for Public Service recommends data-driven hiring and innovative talent management to maintain a strong Federal workforce and overcome mission-critical skills gaps. […]

As large scale telework continues across the Federal government, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security (CISA) released a remote vulnerability and patch management guide yesterday to supplement the Trusted Internet Connection (TIC) 3.0 Interim Telework Guidance released in April. […]

The Department of Energy and White House Office of Science and Technology Policy today named nearly two dozen members from DoE National Laboratories, the tech sector and academia to the National Quantum Initiative Advisory Committee that will advise the Trump administration on policies related to quantum information science. […]