The Democratic National Committee (DNC) appointed Nellwyn Thomas as its new chief technology officer (CTO) – making Thomas the first woman to serve in the position – and Kat Atwater as deputy CTO. This is also the first time that all of the DNC tech team’s senior leadership positions are held by women. Thomas was […]
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) updated its Vetting the Security of Mobile Applications guidance document with a new revision. […]
The Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) FISMA (Federal Information Security Modernization Act) audit for fiscal year 2018, released today by HHS’ Office of the Inspector General (OIG), shows the agency improved its performance in the “Identify” and “Protect” areas of the framework, while holding steady in other areas. […]
The General Services Administration (GSA) announced its launch of a robotic process automation (RPA) community of practice (CoP) this week to prepare Federal agencies to maximize their utilization of emerging RPA technologies. […]
The U.S. Department of the Interior (DoI) issued a solicitation today seeking a contractor to maintain, expand, and promote the production of National Archive Data and Culture (NADAC). […]
Accenture Federal Services (AFS) has opened a cybersecurity center in San Antonio that will provide cybersecurity services to the Defense Department (DoD) and other government agencies. […]
After cutting their social media teeth on Twitter, where they have an impressive 2.58 million followers, the CIA announced it will launch an Instagram account. […]
The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) announced the appointment of 30 experts to serve on the Commerce Spectrum Management Advisory Committee (CSMAC) on April 18. […]
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has made two notable leadership changes recently. […]
Microsoft is building two cloud-based data centers to host classified government data, according to an April 17 news release. […]
The U.S. Army is requesting information on contractors that can provide nationwide web-based public data services for the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Division Command (USACIDC). […]
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced today that its Science and Technology Directorate’s web-based Hurricane Evacuation (HURREVAC) system was used on a larger scale during the 2018 hurricane season than in its 2017 debut, and is looking to become fully operational for the 2019 season. HURREVAC consolidates forecast and planning data to provide emergency […]
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced on Thursday, April 18 that it would cancel its solicitation to add 10 new small business contractors to the agency’s 2.5 billion ONE OIT contract due to a pre-award protest. “After review of the pre-solicitation protest filed and a thorough assessment of the SEC’s business needs, a determination […]
Since FedRAMP introduced the Tailored baseline for Low-Impact Software-as-a-Service (Li-SaaS) in 2017, 11 cloud services at 10 Federal agencies – accounting for 25 percent of all services authorized in 2018 – have achieved Tailored authorizations which has allowed the project management office (PMO) to identify best practices for Cloud Service Providers (CSP) and agencies who may consider a FedRAMP Tailored authorization. […]
With the increasing ubiquity of internet of things (IoT) devices and the vast expansion of the cyber attack surface that those devices create, National Security Agency (NSA) IoT Enterprise Functional Team Lead Arlene Santos is emphasizing the importance of the IoT Cybersecurity Improvement Act reintroduced in Congress last month as way to address the cybersecurity concerns posed by rapid IoT device growth. […]
Serverless computing, the next evolution in cloud computing, offers Federal agencies the opportunity to increase productivity while reducing costs. […]
The IRS released its Integrated Business Modernization Plan on April 18, offering a six-year road map for the $2.7 billion modernization effort at the agency. […]
The U.S. Air Force announced it will add a chief technology officer to help coordinate technical decisions and convert investments into capabilities as part of the service branch’s larger Science and Technology Strategy released Wednesday, April 17. […]
As part of the recent White House executive order on artificial intelligence (AI), Federal agencies will see a push to use AI to improve citizen experience, and an increased effort to catalog investments in AI, said Dr. Lynne Parker, assistant director for artificial intelligence at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP). […]
Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai said on April 17 he will vote to deny an application by China Mobile Ltd. to provide service in the U.S., citing security-related reasons similar to those that led Congress to bar the Federal government from doing business with China-based network equipment maker Huawei. […]
On April 17, a group of senators introduced the Digital Equity Act of 2019 that aims to fund state and local projects to help narrow the “digital divide” by promoting wider access to communications technologies. […]
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) on April 17 provided updates on specific recommendations regarding cybersecurity and IT acquisition for the General Services Administration (GSA) and Office of Management and Budget (OMB), respectively. […]
Suppose that mid-way along the long, complex road to Federal IT modernization, an agency IT manager jotted down a wish-list for the most important big-picture elements of what the promised land should look like? […]
The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) released an update on April 17 on the 13 priority recommendations identified in April 2018 for the Department of Justice (DOJ) with facial recognition software still being a key area for required action by the agency. […]
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) rolled out a letter of open priority recommendations for the Energy Department (DoE), with nuclear modernization and aging legacy IT systems and cybersecurity featured among the seven major areas GAO highlighted. […]
The Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity (IARPA) office released a draft solicitation for innovative solutions for automated broad-area search, monitoring, and analysis of anthropogenic activities – those related to human activity – within its Space-based Machine Automated Recognition Technique (SMART) program. […]
Have you ever wanted a front-row view of the entire sweep of the Federal information technology ecosystem? From the emerging technology labs of Silicon Valley, to the household-name companies that underpin modern tech, to the most innovative government leaders who are putting the latest emerging tech to work in their environments? […]
Boosting the use of cloud services may be the answer to expanding implementation of zero-trust models of cybersecurity across Federal agencies and departments, Education Department CISO Steven Hernandez said at an ACT-IAC meeting today. […]
The Consumer Technology Association (CTA) announced three new leadership promotions on April 17. […]
Starting next week, David Forscey will join think tank Aspen Cybersecurity Group as its new managing director. […]