Senators and Federal representatives spoke about the challenges of and potential solutions to issues in Federal hiring – including in cybersecurity and IT – at a Senate Homeland Security Regulatory Affairs and Federal Management Subcommittee hearing today. […]
In an effort to become a more modern and technologically advanced office, the U.S. Copyright Office is working on a pilot program for its digital recordation system, beginning in the spring of 2020. […]
During today’s Senate Banking, House, and Urban Affairs Committee hearing, legislators heard from experts from the private sector, government, and academia regarding regulations needed for blockchain technologies. […]
The Department of Defense (DoD) purchased $32.8 million of commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) IT products with cybersecurity flaws using government purchase cards, exposing the lack of controls on purchasing COTS items, according to an inspector general report released July 26. […]
Microsoft announced July 29 that it acquired BlueTalon, a data privacy firm. […]
The Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA),the Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center (MS-ISAC), the National Governors Association (NGA), and the National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO) released new recommendations to help state, local, and tribal governments safeguard against ransomware, and urged governments to take “immediate action” to prevent attacks. […]
Sens. Ed Markey, D-Mass., and Mike Lee, R-Utah, pressed the Department of Homeland Security in a July 26 letter to deliver an overdue report on biometric identification technology viability. That report, the senators said, was due to be delivered on July 2. […]
A new survey from the Internet Innovation Alliance (IIA) finds that data privacy and security concerns are generally shared across generations, with broad support for a national privacy law. […]
In its Mobile Threat Landscape Report, released today, cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike highlighted the “key types of mobile malware observed so far in 2019, along with their typical deployment mechanisms.” The report also identified both how and why some adversary groups and cybercriminals are targeting mobile devices for both intelligence and financial gains and takes a forward-looking approach to understand potential changes in the threat landscape. […]
The Department of Justice (DoJ) has awarded a 15-year, $984 million task order on the Enterprise Infrastructure Solutions (EIS) contract to AT&T, the company announced in a July 29 press release. […]
The American Council for Technology – Industry Advisory Council (ACT-IAC) has updated its IT Management and Maturity Model to mirror the changes in the FITARA scorecard. […]
The National Science Foundation (NSF) announced it will hold a workshop next month that will focus on artificial intelligence (AI) applications to improve wireless spectrum efficiencies. […]
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is proposing to create a pilot program within the Universal Service Fund (USF) that supports “connected care” for low-income Americans and veterans. […]
Dan Coats, the Director of National Intelligence, will step down on August 15, with President Trump naming Rep. John Ratcliffe, R-Texas, as his nominee to replace Coats as the head of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI). […]
The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) needs to do more to help Federal agencies with FISMA (Federal Information Security Modernization Act) compliance, according to a recent Government Accountability Office (GAO) report. […]
FITARA, FedRAMP, and 21st Century IDEA are all shaping Federal IT modernization efforts, explained Rich Beutel and Mike Hettinger at ServiceNow’s Knowledge 2019 Conference. […]
The Department of Energy (DoE) has appointed Chris “Rocky” Campione Chief Information Officer, according to the agency’s website. […]
Rep. Jerry McNerney, D-Calif., co-chair of the House AI Caucus, said last week that artificial intelligence (AI) technologies have the potential to create “tremendous public good,” but also warned of risks the technology poses including job losses. […]
A principal author of Senate legislation that would pump $2.2 billion of Federal funding into development of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies over the next five years said last week that investment would help a host of industry sectors including healthcare, energy, and agriculture. […]
An inspector general (IG) for the Department of Defense (DoD) found internal control weaknesses relating to contractors installing cybersecurity controls that protect networks and systems containing DoD controlled unclassified information (CUI). […]
Government agencies are excited to implement artificial intelligence (AI) and automated technologies, but should remain aware of the risks and challenges of doing so, says a new report from the Partnership for Public Service and the IBM Center for the Business of Government. […]
The House Committee on Oversight and Reform approved the Federal Rotational Cyber Workforce Program Act of 2019 on July 25. […]
Most government agencies have met Federal mandates to establish cyber risk executives and establish policies to make risk-based decisions on cybersecurity, but many agencies still need to establish cyber risk strategies, conduct risk assessments, and address gaps in existing risk management policies, according to a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report released July 26. […]
r00tz Asylum, a nonprofit dedicated to teaching kids ages 8-16 about white-hat hacking, announced July 24 that it would be allowing students to attempt to hack into simulated campaign finance portals at this year’s DEF CON, set for August 8-11 […]
The House Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress voted today to approve 10 recommendations related to modernizing and revitalizing House technology, including one proposal to recreate an offer to advise House members on tech issues. […]
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is in the final stages of planning for its transition to a commercial electronic health record (EHR) system, but faces congressional concern on two fronts: the agency’s inability to reliably define costs for the existing VistA system, and its estimate of $4.8 billion to maintain the system throughout the EHR transition effort. […]
After finding evidence of unfair price comparisons, higher pricing, and undue influence from an employee, the inspector general for the General Services Administration (GSA) recommended that the agency cancel the IT Schedule 70 contract of consulting firm McKinsey in a report released July 23. […]
The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) plans to open later this year an artificial intelligence (AI) policy “observatory,” following the OECD’s approval in May of an intergovernmental standard on AI agreed to by 36 member countries including the U.S. […]
The International Society of Automation has announced the first founding members of its recently created Global Security Alliance, which is will bring together industry stakeholders explore ways to prevent and respond to catastrophic threats to mission-critical operations. […]
The House Select Committee on Modernization heard testimony from state leaders regarding best practices and lessons learned on IT modernization. […]