The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) yesterday issued a warning that cyber actors are increasingly exploiting the Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) to conduct malicious activity. […]

Whole-of-government collaboration on quantum computing appears to have kicked up yet another notch today with an announcement that the National Institute of Standards and Technology has reached a deal to establish a Quantum Economic Development Consortium (QEDC). […]

New acquisition techniques can help contracting professionals and Federal IT leaders work together to bring new technology into government in a fast and efficient manner, said acquisition leaders during FCW’s Accelerate GOV conference on Thursday. […]

The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee on Thursday voted to approve bills that would elevate the role of the Federal CIO, and create a series of minimum functionality and security requirements for all Federal government agency public-facing websites and digital services. […]

Facebook said it informed users on Friday the company discovered attackers using a new technique to potentially take over user accounts–putting 50 million accounts at risk and forcing the company to take preventative action on 90 million accounts. […]

The Department of Energy’s new office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and Emergency Response (CESER) has already begun work to provide support to the nation’s energy grid and critical infrastructure cybersecurity, and the head of the new office appeared in front of the House Energy and Commerce Committee Thursday to discuss the role of CESER within DoE. […]

Pentagon officials have been pretty clear about their belief that artificial intelligence is changing the game for military operations, saying that AI will penetrate “every corner” of the Department of Defense, in the words of Brendan McCord, head of machine learning at the Defense Innovation Unit. DoD Chief Information Officer Dana Deasy lists AI among his four most important strategic areas. Defense Secretary James Mattis reportedly pushed for a “whole of country” approach earlier this year as the White House was announcing its Select Committee on Artificial Intelligence. […]

Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert Wilkie on Wednesday offered his 60-day report on the VA’s electronic health record (EHR) modernization effort, among other agency priorities, and emphasized the benefits that a successful modernization push will yield. […]

Rep Will Hurd, R-Texas, chairman of the House IT subcommittee, questioned today whether Google’s decision in June to not renew a contract with the Defense Department for development of artificial intelligence technologies was influenced by what the congressman characterized as possible “influence operations” by the Chinese government. […]

The Office of the CIO of the Department of Housing and Urban Affairs sent an email on Thursday asking employees to stop streaming the Senate Judiciary Committee’s hearing regarding Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, a HUD spokesperson confirmed to MeriTalk. […]

The U.S. Army announced it has made 135 awards, totaling $12.1 billion, on its Information Technology Enterprise Solutions 3 Services (ITES-3S) contract. […]

With artificial intelligence (AI) the topic du jour on Capitol Hill, Sens. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii; Cory Gardner, R-Colo.; Rob Portman, R-Ohio; and Kamala Harris, D-Calif., on Wednesday introduced the Artificial Intelligence in Government Act that would establish a Federal AI advisory board that aims to chart paths forward in the technology’s development. […]

The General Services Administration (GSA) today announced that it awarded a 10-year, $2.5 billion blanket purchase agreement (BPA) for software-as-a-service (SaaS) solutions that will modernize the Federal government’s civilian payroll, work schedule, and leave management systems. […]

With new guidelines on the horizon for the Trusted Internet Connections (TIC) initiative, the Department of Homeland Security is looking to design recommendations that allow for the employment of future technologies while maintaining acceptable levels of risk, said TIC Program Manager Mark Bunn during the FCW Accelerate GOV conference on Thursday. […]

The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee on Wednesday voted to approve a handful of bills that place a strong emphasis on cybersecurity, IT supply chain security, and the enhancement of digital citizen services. […]

As the Federal government shifts its cloud strategy from “Cloud First” to “Cloud Smart,” IT leaders at the Infor Government Forum described how their previous cloud migration efforts have shifted their agencies’ mindsets and brought new successes to their department. […]

The Department of Defense’s release last week of its upgraded cyber strategy understandably drew attention for its focus on the threats from China and Russia in a re-emerging, artificial intelligence-fueled great power competition reminiscent of the Cold War. […]

The Senate Armed Services Committee’s cybersecurity and personnel subcommittees held a joint hearing today to examine the cyber operational readiness of the Department of Defense and heard from leaders of both the military and civilian side of the DoD cyber force about the mounting challenges they face. […]

The House late Tuesday voted to approve H.R. 6229, which would reauthorize the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). […]

The House late Tuesday voted to approve H.R. 6735, a bill that directs the Homeland Security Secretary to establish a vulnerability disclosure policy for the agency’s websites. […]

A gaggle of tech and communications sector bellwethers presented a united front today at a Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee hearing on data privacy and protection issues, saying they support a bill to address those issues but sharing strong preferences for federal legislation that would preempt state law and appoint the Federal Trade Commission as the chief watchdog. […]

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) today approved by a 3-1, party-line vote a series of steps that its Republican-majority commissioners argue will speed the pace of infrastructure installations necessary for carriers to provide 5G wireless services, but which have drawn strong protest from states and localities in the run-up to today’s vote who object to restrictions on their ability to govern. […]

House IT Subcommittee Chair Will Hurd, R-Texas, and Ranking Member Robin Kelly, D-Ill., today introduced legislation to reauthorize, rename, codify, and elevate the role of the Federal CIO, a position initially created as part of the E-Government Act of 2002. The bill, called the Federal CIO Authorization Act of 2018, is designed to create a “clearer IT reporting structure within the Administration,” the lawmakers said in a release.   […]

House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., has appointed Rep. Jim Langevin, D-R.I., and former Rep. Patrick Murphy, D-Pa., to the recently created Cyberspace Solarium Commission, a 14-member public-private panel charged with developing consensus and actionable strategy to protect and defend the U.S. in cyberspace. […]

President Trump on Tuesday announced the appointment of Victoria Espinel to a four-year term  on the White House’s Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations. […]

The Commerce Department’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration has issued a request for public comment “on ways to advance consumer privacy while protecting prosperity and innovation.”  The comment solicitation, NTIA indicated, is unlikely to lead to any rulemaking process at least in the near term.  […]

The National Institute of Standards and Technology on Tuesday released new draft guidance that aims to address both the cybersecurity and privacy risks stemming from the use of Internet of Things (IoT) devices. […]

The Defense Department (DoD) has renewed its focus on equipping the warfighter with the best technology. Alongside new changes, they’re proceeding at machine speed to streamline that process. IT innovation through audacious experimentation has been a DoD hallmark throughout the years, and has led to storied research and development (R&D) accomplishments. But on that path, some Pentagon projects have gone amiss. […]

LaVerne Council, national managing principal of Enterprise Technology Strategy and Innovation at Grant Thornton, spoke today at the Infor Government Forum about the future opportunities afforded by artificial intelligence (AI), and sought along the way to debunk myths that have inspired some apprehension from the public about the emerging technology. […]

Funding needed for further U.S. research and development of quantum information sciences (QIS) and the computing and other advances that QIS is expected to yield, along with the pressing need to develop a highly skilled workforce to leverage those expected advances, dominated discussion today at a hearing of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee examining the Department of Energy’s (DoE) efforts in the QIS field. […]