The Department of Energy (DOE) supports legislative efforts in Congress to fund more investment in power grid cybersecurity nationwide, DOE Assistant Secretary Daniel Simmons testified at a Nov. 6 Senate Subcommittee on Energy hearing about current legislation. […]
A new bill backed by a bipartisan group of leaders on the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee aims to boost the Federal cybersecurity workforce with new guidelines for agencies, clearer career paths for the workforce, and improved coordination between agencies. […]
The Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) today released its Cyber Essentials guide, which it describes as “a starting point for small businesses and government agencies to understand and address cybersecurity risk as they do other risks.” […]
A bill introduced in the House by Reps. Anna Eshoo, D-Calif., and Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., on Nov. 5 – the Online Privacy Act of 2019 – would create new user private rights, place the onus on companies to protect user data they collect, and establish a new Federal agency to “enforce privacy protections, and strengthens enforcement of privacy law violations.” […]
The Federal government’s civilian, military, and intelligence agencies issued a statement Nov. 5 reiterating Federal support for election security at national, state, and local levels. […]
U.S. Chief Technology Officer Michael Kratsios said Nov. 5 that more work is needed to realize “explainable” artificial intelligence (AI) technology, and said the government will offer further regulatory guidance soon on the technology’s use. […]
A “year one strategy” on the Federal Data Strategy and a Chief Data Officer (CDO) council, like the Chief Information Officer (CIO) council, are almost ready for release, according to Federal CIO Suzette Kent. […]
Two senior technology officials at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) spoke in positive terms today about the benefits that cloud services are bringing to the agency, and counseled focusing attention on security responsibilities for other agencies also underrating cloud service adoption. […]
As part of the Federal Data Strategy, the Department of Commerce is looking for experts to help Federal agencies use their data for decisionmaking as part of the newly formed Advisory Committee on Data for Evidence Building, according to an upcoming Federal Register post. […]
The National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO) endorsed S.?2749, the?DOTGOV?Act of 2019 on Nov. 4. The legislation, introduced by Sens. Gary Peters, D-Mich., and Ron Johnson, R-Wis., ranking member and chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, respectively, and Sens. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., and James Lankford, Okla., aims to “strengthen local government cybersecurity defenses by switching to the .gov domain for websites and email addresses.” […]
The General Services Administration (GSA) today announced the award of its Second Generation Information Technology (2GIT) Blanket Purchase Agreements (BPAs) that have an estimated value of $5.5 billion over five years. […]
In today’s society, can an artificial intelligence (AI) algorithm truly be unbiased? That question sparked some serious debate among a panel of experts from the Brookings Institution last week. […]
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) lacks the internal controls necessary to make risk-based decisions for the security of its budget systems, a report from the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) found. […]
The Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) on Nov. 4 explained several upcoming FY2020 and beyond industry contract awards for information technology (IT) projects and initiatives at its Forecast to Industry 2019 event. […]
The General Services Administration’s (GSA) financial and award data was of “higher” quality and in compliance with Office of Management and Budget (OMB), Treasury Department, and Digital Accountability and Transparency (DATA) Act standards as of late 2018, according to a GSA Office of Inspector General (OIG) report. […]
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) reported on Oct. 31 that the Energy Cybersecurity Act of 2019 would cost $832 million to implement over the next 10 years, with $355 million of that spent during the first five years. […]
The Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) announced upcoming FY2020 industry awards for information technology (IT) projects and initiatives. […]
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) performed well on its fiscal year 2019 FISMA audit, reaching a Level 4 and meeting the threshold for effectiveness, according to a report released October 31 by CFPB’s inspector general. […]
Federal IT officials from a diverse range of agencies said on Oct. 29 they are taking initial steps to employ robotic process automation (RPA) and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies to streamline workflows, and expressed optimism that the technologies will make a big difference in agency efficiency over the next few years. […]
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is looking at robotic process automation (RPA) technologies to help with determination of responsibility in agency IT contracts, according to a request for information released November 1. Responses are due by November 15. […]
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) announced the kick-off of its annual Infrastructure and Security and Resilience Month running through the end of November. […]
The Treasury Department received mixed results on its fiscal year 2019 FISMA audit, with few weak spots identified but still falling below the level of effective, according to the audit released October 25 by the department’s inspector general. […]
The Federal Maritime Commission (FMC), the agency regulating U.S. international ocean transportation, is not responding to cybersecurity vulnerabilities in a timely manner, according to a FISMA audit from its Office of the Inspector General (OIG). […]
The Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA) continues to meet Federal Information Security Modernization Act (FISMA) requirements with few areas of concern, according to a report by the FLRA Office of the Inspector General (OIG) released on Oct. 30. […]
Defending Digital Campaigns (DDC), a new nonprofit dedicated to providing affordable cybersecurity products, services, and information, announced its first president, CEO, and board members on Oct. 31. […]
The Defense Innovation Board (DIB) on Oct. 31 released recommendations and principles for the ethical design, development, and deployment of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies at the Department of Defense (DoD). […]
A report by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission’s (CPSC) Office of Inspector General (OIG) found that CPSC is making progress in implementing Federal Information Security Modernization Act (FISMA) requirements, but still have more work to do in that area. […]
The Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) released a request for information on artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) technologies that can detect and combat cyberattacks as they occur. […]
Senators and Federal government officials sparred over the country’s 5G-readiness and supply chain security at a hearing today of the Senate’s Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. […]
When thinking about robotic process automation (RPA), one might imagine advanced robotics assuming job functions alongside Tony Stark (of Marvel Comics Iron Man fame) in a lab, but the National Science Foundation (NSF) wants agencies to think of RPA as more of a software management project. […]