As the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) activates its “fourth mission” duties to provide lifesaving aid during the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, Chief Data Officer Kshemendra Paul said at a May 27 Federal Data Strategy Conference that scaling telemedicine has been a “huge success story” of the agency’s capabilities. […]

Have you finally reached the end of Netflix? Maybe it is time to turn off the streaming service, and turn to museums to fill your entertainment void […]

The United Kingdom’s cybersecurity agency said this week it will review the role of China-based network equipment maker Huawei in UK-based 5G networks – a move that comes days after the United States announced it will further restrict Huawei’s access to the U.S. technology supply chain. […]

The Senate Armed Services Committee announced the markup schedule for the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for FY2021 today. […]

As Congress begins work on future COVID-19 relief bills, a group of bipartisan legislators wrote to House and Senate leadership urging them to include funding for state and local government (SLG) IT infrastructure in future relief bills. […]

The U.S. government is seeking input for its implementation plan for 5G infrastructure and deployment while also seeking feedback on how the country should collaborate internationally and prepare for future iterations of wireless technologies. […]

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) hired Mojdeh Bahar, former assistant administrator for technology transfer at the Department of Agriculture’s Research Service, as the second associate director for innovation and industry services (ADIIS), per a May 22 press release. […]

A new bill introduced by Rep. Morgan Griffith, R-Va., would task the Department of Commerce with conducting a quantum computing study to outline economic benefits of the technology, and identify and mitigate supply chain risks. […]

The U.S. Census Bureau is seeking industry input on a new acquisition strategy to revamp its cybersecurity practices over the next decade, according to a May 20 request for information (RFI). […]

Ross Guckert replaced the retiring Chérie Smith as Program Executive Officer of PEO EIS on May 21. […]

The manager of the Federal government’s airwaves petitioned the organization which oversees airwaves’ commercial use, the Federal Communications Commission, to reconsider its April decision to allow the Virginia-based company Ligado to operate in a spectrum band that the military and others claim could cause interference. […]

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) identified in a new report 168 new actions that Congress and Federal agencies could to take to improve efficiency and effectiveness across the Federal government, including two new recommendations involving information technology. […]

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced May 21 it is partnering with the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) to promote the use of $50 million in funding from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act to help close the digital divide during the COVID-19 pandemic. […]

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) released a new chatbot this week to respond to frequently asked COVID-19 questions, including triaging symptoms, telehealth troubleshooting, and rescheduling appointments. […]

The same day that the United States’ Department of Energy and Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency teamed up to release an infographic of best practices for industrial control systems, their counterparts across the pond released their guidance. […]

The U.S. Air Force admitted in a May 20 request for information (RFI) that the agency lacks an Enterprise Data Loss Prevention Program (E-DLP) to protect sensitive information, but is now seeking a new approach to data protection with a proof of concept for an E-DLP at one of its bases. […]

The National Institute of Standards and Technology released Special Publication 800-137A, guidance on how to assess Information Security Continuous Monitoring (ISCM) programs for commercial entities as well as Federal, state, and local government organizations. […]

The U.S. Army is seeking intelligent automation, augmentation, and analytics (IA3) services and solutions “to harness the power of data, while improving operational efficiency and effectiveness” across the Department of Defense and other Federal agencies, according to a May 20 request for information (RFI). […]

Rep. Tim Ryan, D-Ohio, believes that the Federal government needs to help state and local governments figure out how to bridge the digital divide as the COVID-19 pandemic demonstrates a need to expand broadband to areas that don’t have it and to provide better services. […]

Federal agencies and departments have spent more than $13 billion on COVID-19 related contracts since February – including an additional $3 billion in just the past nine days. […]

Federal CIO Suzette Kent said today the rapid IT transformations that have taken place over the last two months of the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic should serve as a proof point for what the Federal government is capable of going forward. […]

The Senate today confirmed Rep. John Ratcliffe, R-Texas, to become the next Director of National Intelligence (DNI), by a vote of 49 to 44.   […]

In a move to ward off foreign adversaries, Sens. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., Mike Rounds, R-S.D., and Rep. Anna Eshoo, D-Calif., led the charge to encrypt phone calls between the chambers to protect communications against foreign surveillance. […]

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is considering a new approach to the Strategic National Stockpile, a “supply chain IT control tower” that would allow officials a full, comprehensive view of emergency supplies. […]

Google Cloud said May 20 it clinched a deal with the Defense Department’s (DoD) Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) to build a secure cloud management solution to address cyber threats globally.  […]

In a letter to the Department of Transportation (DoT) and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., and Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., called for the expansion of drone use to facilitate contact-free delivery of medical supplies and other needed equipment during the COVID-19 pandemic. […]

Nick Ward, Chief Information Security Officer at the Department of Justice (DoJ), said the agency is proceeding “full steam ahead” on efforts to explore adoption of zero trust security models, with the more distributed nature of DoJ’s workforce in the coronavirus pandemic providing impetus to that effort. […]

The Spectrum IT Modernization Act, which advanced on a voice vote out of the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee on May 20, takes aim at revamping the way the Federal government manages the airwaves. […]

Apple and Google are launching the Exposure Notification application programming interface (API) that will enable apps created by public health agencies to work more effectively in contact tracing of COVID-19. […]

A Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) national recruiter exposed sensitive information including locations, phone numbers, and emails of more than 1,300 American University students following a virtual job fair on May 15. […]