Sens. Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., Cory Gardner, R-Colo., Marco Rubio, R-Fla., and Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.V., reintroduced the Advancing Innovation and Reinvigorating Widespread Access to Viable Electromagnetic Spectrum (AIRWAVES) Act on July 23. The legislation will “encourage the Federal government to continue to free up spectrum for commercial licensed and unlicensed use and leverage the success of spectrum auctions to help close the urban-rural divide,” according to the bill’s sponsors. […]
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) BI is looking to map its IT architecture as it implements Technology Business Management (TBM), and is investigating if industry can meet the bureau’s needs. The FBI issued a request for information for a commercial tool on July 23, with responses due by August 20. […]
Federal IT is on the right path and is making progress on modernization, but Congress will continue to push agencies to modernize faster and address slowdowns in processes, including FedRAMP, said Representative Gerry Connolly, D-Va. […]
The Federal Communications Commission announced on July 22 the creation of six new working groups to assist the FCC’s Communications Security, Reliability, and Interoperability Council (CISRIC) VII in carrying out its work. […]
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) is looking for proposals for IT Infrastructure Support Services on a contract that could run 7.5 years and total up to $487.5 million. […]
The Senate voted today to confirm the nomination of Dr. Mark Esper as Secretary of Defense. […]
Department of Agriculture (USDA) CIO Gary Washington said today that his agency is focusing on boosting its FITARA (Federal Information Technology Acquisition Reform Act) grades by the time the House Oversight and Reform Committee issues its next set of scores – expected in December – and is confident that the agency can accomplish that goal. […]
Gary Washington, CIO at the Department of Agriculture (USDA), spoke enthusiastically today about the agency’s ongoing approach to emerging technologies – including robotic process automation (RPA), artificial intelligence (AI), and blockchain – and said the technologies have the potential to become “a very large part of our future.” […]
Following the Federal government’s settlement with Equifax regarding its 2017 data breach, Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., pledged to renew his push towards passing data privacy legislation. In a statement on July 22, Wyden urged the passage of his Consumer Data Protection Act, which he initially introduced in November of 2018. […]
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is looking for support for its Chief Data Officer as the department looks to improve its data practices and standards. […]
Advancements in encryption technology could be making us less safe, Attorney General William Barr said at the International Conference on Cybersecurity today. […]
The National Security Agency (NSA) is forming a Cybersecurity Directorate within the agency to combine the agency’s intelligence and cyber defense activities, NSA announced today. […]
The National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) urged the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in a July 15 letter to keep telework policies in place, and argued that reducing allowed telework could be a factor in many employees deciding to leave the department. […]
The Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA) announced on July 22 that it has joined the White House’s Pledge to America’s Workers and is committing to certify 625,000 worker over the next five years. […]
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) did not fully assess and authorize all of its cloud systems and did not effectively communicate with the FedRAMP program management office, leaving its cloud security at risk, according to an inspector general report published July 17. […]
The Senate on July 8 unanimously approved the Defending the Integrity of Voting Systems Act, which was sponsored by Sens. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., and Lindsey Graham, R-S.C. […]
The Consumer Technology Association (CTA) announced today that it has hired Jamie Susskind as its new vice president of policy and regulatory affairs. […]
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is looking to expand its footprint in the cloud by creating direct connections to cloud service providers, according to a solicitation released July 15. Responses are due by July 29. […]
The House of Representatives has scheduled a vote this week on a bill that would direct the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to craft rules regarding unwanted robocall and robotext messages that make sure those communications comply with the consumer protection and privacy purposes of Section 227 of the Communications Act. […]
A Congressional Budget Office (CBO) report estimates that the State and Local Cybersecurity Act of 2019 (S. 1846) would cost the government $31 million to implement between 2019 and 2024. […]
Credit reporting agency Equifax said today it has agreed to pay $671 million to settle government investigations and legal actions related to a 2017 data breach that exposed information on about 147 million U.S. consumers. […]
A bill introduced on July 18 by Rep. Dusty Johnson, R-S.D., would establish a rotating consortium of universities with cyber expertise to advise the Department of Defense (DoD) on cybersecurity issues and coordinate academic feedback to DoD requests for assistance. […]
Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Dan Coats announced on July 19 that Shelby Pierson will serve as the first Election Threats Executive (ETE) to oversee U.S. election security efforts. […]
The Senate Judiciary Committee Tech Task Force met for the first time on July 18. The task force is charged with addressing tech industry issues on privacy, data security, censorship, antitrust and competition. […]
Fight for the Future announced July 18 that it has launched an interactive map which tracks “where in the U.S. facial recognition technology is being used and where it is being resisted, and a tool-kit for local activists who want to help kickstart a ban in their city or state.” […]
Jonathan Spalter confirmed on Twitter July 18 that he will stay on as USTelecom’s CEO and president for the next three years. […]
The General Services Administration (GSA) and the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) have teamed up to establish an Electronic Records Management (ERM) market research tool that will allow agencies to more easily identify vendor services to meet their needs. […]
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) detailed a program it is launching and is seeking research proposals for to help the Defense Department (DoD) understand zero-knowledge proofs in a July 18 news release. […]
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued a request for information (RFI) on July 16 for Information Assurance Compliance System (IACS) tools that can support FISMA (Federal Information Security Modernization Act) compliance checks and reporting. […]
The Federal CIO Council announced in a July 16 blog post that it will launch a Federal Mobility Group (FMG) composed of existing Federal mobile tech programs. […]