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The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is taking heat in a May 7 report from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) inspector general (IG) which found that FEMA procurement staff used Google, rather than verified firms from FEMA’s Disaster Response Registry, to arrange a sizeable hurricane-recovery contract. […]

Ajit Pai, FCC Commisioner

Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Ajit Pai announced today that he expects major phone companies to implement the Signature-based Handling of Asserted Information Using Tokens and Secure Telephony Identity Revisited standards this year. The standards, known as SHAKEN/STIR, are caller ID authentication standards which will help combat robocalls. […]

The Intelligence Advanced Research Project Activity (IARPA) has scheduled a Proposers Day event on May 29 for its Space-Based Machine Automated Recognition Technique (SMART) Program. […]

Russia hacking hack cyber-min
IRS

When it comes to monitoring third-party tax software providers and paid tax preparers, the IRS has limited jurisdiction and controls in place to protect taxpayer information from cyberattacks, according to a report from the Government Accountability Office released Thursday, May 9. […]

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David Redl is resigning his position as administrator of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration – a component agency of the Commerce Department influential in a host of communications technology issues including 5G wireless spectrum – according to three Federal Communications Commission (FCC) leaders. […]

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) announced its launch of the Air Combat Evolution (ACE) Program on May 8 to adopt artificial intelligence (AI) in air-to-air dogfighting combat. […]

quantum computing chip ai -min

The White House’s National Quantum Coordination Office is taking a 20-year view of the ongoing effort by the Federal government to create encryption technologies that will not be defeated by quantum computing technologies once quantum tech goes mainstream. […]

A bipartisan group of senators reintroduced the Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Government Act on Wednesday to improve the use of AI across the Federal government by “providing access to technical expertise and streamlining hiring within the agencies.” The bill was previously introduced by the same group of senators in September of 2018, but didn’t receive a vote in the Senate. […]

Cybersecurity flag

Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, and Rep. Mike Gallagher, R-Wis., announced the formal launch of the Cyberspace Solarium Commission (CSC) on May 8. The two lawmakers will lead the 14-person Commission. […]

Cloud computing

Several senior Federal IT officials expressed a fair degree of support for hybrid multi-cloud infrastructure, and for development of artificial intelligence (AI) applications made possible by cloud infrastructure, during a panel discussion at MeriTalk’s Cloud Computing Brainstorm event on Wednesday, May 8. […]

An Office of Personnel Management (OPM) spokesperson confirmed to MeriTalk that Margaret Weichert, OPM’s Acting Director, has accepted an invitation from the House Oversight and Reform Committee’s Government Operations Subcommittee to testify at a hearing to examine the Trump administration’s plan to reorganize OPM. […]

Sean Connelly, senior cybersecurity architect at the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), said today that the official version of the Trusted Internet Connections (TIC) 3.0 policy to be issued later this year by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) won’t be much different than the draft version released by OMB in late December 2018. […]

Technology Transformation Services (TTS) leader Anil Cheriyan provided a caution to government agencies in the midst of cloud migration: don’t sprint off-prem if your main rationale is saving cash up front. […]

Federal CIO Suzette Kent met with members of the National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO) today to discuss strengthening the partnerships between Federal and state governments. […]

The CIA announced Tuesday that it was launching its own dark web website to collect intelligence tips, calling the site its “latest layer.” […]

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Federal money spending government

The board that reviews Federal agency applications for project funding provided by the Technology Modernization Fund (TMF) has been highly selective with the applications it receives and has sent most applicants back to the drawing board to improve their requests, said one of the board members at the AGA/AFFIRM CFO/CIO Summit held on May 7. […]

TMF technology modernization fund gears

While Federal agencies are making progress in moving to the cloud, challenges exist in tracking the cost savings benefits of those moves due to a lack of agency-level guidance and confusion about tracking under guidance from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), according to a report released by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) on Monday, May 6. […]

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The Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity (IARPA) recently launched the Geopolitical Forecasting Challenge 2, which encourages solvers to develop innovative methods for utilizing crowdsourced information to create global issue forecasts. […]

shutdown continues government closed spending-min

Officials from a slew of private sector contractors – ranging from IT services giant Leidos to the owner of a coffee shop leasing space in a Federal building in Washington – urged members of the House Oversight and Reform Committee’s Government Operations Subcommittee to take legislative action to better inoculate contractors against the harsh impacts of any future Federal government shutdown. […]

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