President Trump issued an executive order late Tuesday that will close all Federal government executive departments and agencies on Dec. 24, and excuse their employees from work. The order gives department and agency heads leeway to determine that certain offices and installations will remain open on Dec. 24 “for reasons of national security, defense, or […]
The House voted Dec. 16 to approve legislation that would provide $1 billion to smaller-sized private sector communications service providers to remove from their networks equipment purchased from China-based equipment makers Huawei and ZTE, and replace that gear with equipment that does not pose a threat to U.S. national security. […]
While improving the management of data across agencies is an ongoing challenge for Federal agencies, leveraging geospatial data as a strategic asset is turning into an area of opportunity for the Departments of Energy and Transportation (DoT), officials from both agencies said on Dec. 17. […]
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) announced today that CIO Howard Whyte is stepping down effective Jan. 3 to join the private sector. […]
The House voted today to approve two bills comprising the bipartisan budget agreement announced earlier this week that would fund the Federal government for the remainder of Fiscal Year 2020 and deliver a 3.1 percent pay raise to Federal civilian employees. […]
Alongside a Federal employee pay raise and $25 million for the Technology Modernization Fund (TMF), the bipartisan and bicameral Fiscal Year 2020 budget proposal includes IT funding boosts across agencies with an emphasis on cybersecurity. […]
Tenable announced the appointment of Marty Edwards as vice president of operational technology security. […]
A bill backed by members of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee would give the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) the power to issue administrative subpoenas to internet service providers (ISPs) in order to identify vulnerabilities in critical infrastructure. […]
The United States Transportation Command (USTRANSCOM) is looking to support its Joint Enabling Capabilities Command (JECC) across its network and the various Department of Defense (DoD) networks it uses, as noted in a request for information (RFI) released December 13. […]
Sens. Gary Peters, D-Mich., Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., and Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., have introduced new legislation to aid workers who lose their jobs to automation. […]
The Federal government took important steps forward with artificial intelligence (AI) technology policy in 2019 with the AI Executive Order, the DoD AI strategy, and the OPEN Government Act. With that said, however, weaving AI into our Federal DNA means integrating with (often aging) agency infrastructure and rethinking how we solve problems and deliver services. […]
A compromise budget agreement between House and Senate negotiators has allocated $25 million for the Technology Modernization Fund in Fiscal Year 2020. […]
Federal civilian employees stand to get a 3.1 percent annual pay increase under terms of a Fiscal Year 2020 budget deal that has been agreed to by House and Senate negotiators. […]
The Department of Defense (DoD) began development of the Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure (JEDI) environment on Dec. 11, according to an article on the agency’s website. […]
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has announced the winning team of the agency’s first annual President’s Cup Cybersecurity Competition. […]
A new Office of Inspector General (OIG) report found that the U.S. International Trade Commission is successfully managing the Windows operating system software on its ITCNet system. […]
The General Services Administration (GSA) and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) are having problems with Technology Modernization Fund (TMF) fee collection and project cost estimations, according to a Dec. 12 Government Accountability Office (GAO) report. […]
Infrastructure and workforce have “a long way to go” in the campaign to build out “smart cities” across the U.S., the co-chairs of the Congressional Smart Cities Caucus said on Dec. 10. […]
The biggest downside impacts of tech-fueled automation may come in the form of major labor market dislocation and social costs connected with that – rather than permanent job losses – said James Bessen, Director and Founder of Research on Innovation at Boston University School of Law, at a Brookings Institution event Dec. 12. […]
Rep. Robin Kelly, D-Ill., introduced legislation on Dec. 10 that would provide $40 million in grants for state and local governments to purchase gunfire detection technologies. […]
The Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP) saw a spike in authorizations from 2017 to 2019, but the program is still not used in all cloud acquisitions and agencies have gaps in implementing controls, according to a report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) released December 12. […]
A new bill introduced in the House – the Strengthening State and Local Cybersecurity Defenses Act (H.R. 5394) – would require the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) to offer more outreach and support to state and local governments. […]
18F, the digital services delivery hub of the General Services Administration, launched a National Security and Intelligence Portfolio to help national defense agencies acquire new digital solutions, according to a Dec. 10 post on the agency’s blog. […]
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is looking to implement a zero-trust architecture, and increase cloud adoption, as the agency looks to the recompete of its NASA Integrated Communications Services (NICS) contract, a December 11 request for information notes. […]
The Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) is exploring a move for its enterprise resource planning (ERP) system from a Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) environment to a secure cloud environment, according to a request for information released December 9. […]
The aviation industry needs to prioritize information sharing and expanding public discussion if it wants to harden itself against cyberattacks, according to a report released by the Atlantic Council on Dec. 11. […]
House and Senate negotiators have agreed to a bipartisan compromise deal to ensure funding for the Federal government through the end of Fiscal Year 2020, according to reports from multiple media outlets today. […]
Federal agencies and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) need to continue notching progress on IT acquisitions, operations, and cybersecurity necessary to meeting FITARA (Federal Information Technology Acquisition Reform Act) requirements, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) said. […]
The Defense Digital Service (DDS) is seeking out a cloud-hosted Software as a Service (SaaS) to “improve, streamline, and automate its hiring process,” according to a Dec. 9 request for information (RFI). […]
The Treasury Department Office of the Inspector General (OIG) reported that the agency’s cyber threat indicators in Calendar Year (CY) 2017 and CY2018 were “adequate and aligned with the provisions of CISA [the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act of 2015]” in an audit released on Dec. 10. […]