Smarter Gov Tech, Stronger MerITocracy
rural broadband 5g fcc -min

In a report released Wednesday, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) found that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) could do more to expand broadband access on tribal lands. The GAO offered three recommendations to the FCC, which the agency agreed with. […]

Cybersecurity flag

Senior officials from the Departments of Defense (DoD) and Homeland Security (DHS) told House members on Wednesday that they are busy working out details of a recently finalized cybersecurity coordination agreement focused on improving Federal government cyber defenses generally, and specifically the cyber defenses of critical infrastructure components on which DoD facilities rely, among other areas. […]

DoD Pentagon Military

The Department of Defense’s Inspector General took the agency to task in a Nov. 8 report that says four DoD components failed to fully implement the 2015 Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act (CISA) which aims to encourage sharing of cybersecurity threat data between the government and the private sector. […]

NSF

The National Science Foundation (NSF) launched a new challenge, called the Career Compass Challenge, to try and tackle the cyber and technology workforce shortage in the Federal government. […]

USPS Postal Service

Fraudsters are using the U.S. Postal Services’ (USPS’) Informed Delivery service to perpetrate a multitude of identity theft and credit card fraud schemes, according to an alert the Secret Service sent its law enforcement partners on Nov. 6. […]

Jerry Moran Senator

Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kan., highlighted the benefits of broadband services for rural areas, and with Democratic control of the House coming in January, offered an optimistic view on the prospects of bipartisan broadband expansion legislation. […]

military healthcare, veterans healthcare

The House Committee on Veterans Affairs’ Subcommittee on Technology Modernization met today to review the first 180 days of the Department of Veterans Affairs’ (VA) Electronic Health Record Modernization (EHRM) program, with members of Congress anxious to see evidence of progress in the program and VA officials offering some details that point in that direction. […]

quantum computing chip ai -min

Alex Measure, senior economist at the Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)–who has developed and deployed an artificial intelligence application to help the agency analyze workforce health data–said on Tuesday that convincing agency leaders to pursue AI applications can be the toughest part of the development and deployment journey. […]

Machine learning AI modernization

Federal agency officials said on Tuesday that internal work to develop artificial intelligence (AI) technologies is picking up, but also cautioned that the still-experimental nature of those efforts makes it difficult to predict when products and services will emerge from them. […]

DHS Homeland Security

The House late Tuesday approved long-pending legislation that authorizes the Department of Homeland Security to reorganize its existing National Protection and Programs Directorate (NPPD) in order to create a new component agency–the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency–within DHS. […]

Washington DC capitol federal government-min

With a new session of Congress–and a power shift in the House–looming in January, big tech companies are looking toward 2019 and possible new privacy legislation that will alter the shape of their business models. […]

Federal Cloud Flag

The General Services Administration’s Technology Transformation Services Division on Nov. 9 issued a request for information (RFI) in connection with a market survey of firms that would provide “professional services” in support of the cloud.gov platform. […]

GAO government accountability office

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) issued a report today recommending that four Federal agencies–the Departments of Energy (DoE), Health and Human Services (HHS), Justice (DoJ), and Treasury–take more than three dozen actions to comply with Office of Management and Budget (OMB) requirements aimed at implementing the Federal Information Technology Acquisition Reform Act (FITARA). […]

OPM Office of Personnel Management
Capitol Washington DC Federal
Rob Joyce

The ability of adversaries to attack in cyberspace with low consequence creates the need to impose friction and leads to the tenants of defending forward and continuous engagement with adversaries in cyberspace espoused in the National Cyber Strategy and the Department of Defense (DoD) Cyber Strategy, said Rob Joyce, senior adviser for cybersecurity strategy to the Director of the National Security Agency (NSA). […]

World globe trade

The United States, Russia, and China did not sign the Paris Call for Trust and Security in Cyberspace, a global cyber pact, released Tuesday at Paris Peace Forum by French President Emmanuel Macron. […]

Mobility
Department of Homeland Security DHS

During MeriTalk’s Data Center Brainstorm event on Nov. 7, Steve Rice, deputy CIO at the Department of Homeland Security, highlighted the importance of mobility and how improving access to mobile platforms can further the missions of DHS and its sub-agencies.   […]

John “Jay” Gibson, the Department of Defense’s (DoD) first chief management officer (CMO), announced Friday that he will resign effective Nov. 30. Gibson stepped into the role in February 2018. […]

NSF
identity management-min

A new report released today from One Identity found that Federal agencies lack basic elements of cyber hygiene. The study, conducted by Dimensional Research and sponsored by identity and access management (IAM) solutions provider One Identity found that “while agency leaders recognize IAM’s importance, the majority of agencies have yet to fully adopt recommended guidelines into their cybersecurity program and some even feel their current approach distracts from agency missions.” […]

Capitol Washington DC Federal

This week, the House Veterans Affairs Committee will have its hands full with hearings on two major IT projects at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) that have both recently been subject to scrutiny in the press and in Congress. […]

Cyber America Connected Internet of things

As Federal agencies seek to incorporate an application programming interface (API) strategy into their IT modernization initiatives, a word of caution: make sure you have API-specific security integrated into your IT infrastructure. […]

Internet of Things IoT Data Architecture diagram

The Aspen Cybersecurity Group (ACG), which was formed last year by the Aspen Institute think tank to “translate pressing cybersecurity conversations into action,” has issued several policy recommendations to bolster the security of internet of things (IoT) devices including suggesting that device manufacturers invest more in building in better security, and that manufacturers be held accountable for the security of devices that they make. […]

DHS Homeland Security

Department of Homeland Security Chief Procurement Officer Soraya Correa expects the successor of DHS’ $22 billion Enterprise Acquisition Gateway for Leading-Edge Solutions II (EAGLE II) contract to arrive “before the end of the year.” […]

White House

With recent changes in the Trump Administration dominating the national news, White House officials said this week that they do not see any major course corrections coming from the executive branch on IT modernization. […]

chip hack cybersecurity cyber

The North Korean hackers known as Lazarus Group are now stealing from ATMs to the tune of tens of millions of dollars, according to research Symantec released Thursday. […]

Synack, a crowdsourced security testing firm, announced Thursday the launch of its Synack Veterans Cyber Program which will “recruit, empower, and deploy veterans in the cybersecurity industry.” […]

Categories