A new study mandated by Congress in the wake of the secret waiting list scandal at the Department of Veterans Affairs has uncovered significant evidence that the department’s IT leaders have for years failed to meet the technology needs of clinical professionals treating veterans on the front lines and that those IT failures, along with […]

Cloud computing’s benefits outweigh the risks associated with moving data and applications to the cloud, panelists said at the Cloud Computing Caucus Advisory Group meeting this week. Cultural hurdles and practical concerns about making the transition from legacy systems to cloud computing continue to prevent more rapid adoption of cloud computing initiatives, and Federal agencies […]

The Office of Personnel Management got a wakeup call earlier this year when it discovered millions of files had been hacked, but its nightmare isn’t over yet. The FBI has opened a criminal investigation into the theft of 21.5 million security clearance files. OPM is still plugging the holes and millions of Federal workers, their […]

Employees at the Labor Department wanted larger email inboxes. The department’s chief information officer gave them that and got much more when she moved email to the cloud. “The requirements and the benefits that we expected in the cloud – and the challenges – are as we expected. But there are some benefits, including IT […]

Many senior-level Federal IT managers would like to use big data and think it could improve their missions, but only 16 percent have full-blown big data programs underway, according to a new survey from Unisys Corporation. The survey, conducted this summer by Beacon Technology Partners, was based on interviews with 100 Federal executives, split evenly […]

Rep. Will Hurd (R-Texas) didn’t waste any time at a recent field hearing to say Federal agencies are dragging their feet when it comes to cloud computing. “We deserve a Federal government that harnesses innovative solutions such as the cloud to modernize record keeping, improve critical government functions, maximize security, and be wise stewards of […]

Paul Christman, vice president of Dell Software Federal, spoke with MeriTalk at this year’s Cyber Security Brainstorm in Washington, D.C., about the difficulty of establishing baseline security controls and why automation is key to cybersecurity efforts in government agencies of all sizes. Paul Christman: The MeriTalk Interview View on YouTube […]

Richard Spires, the former chief information officer at the Department of Homeland Security, has been named CEO of Learning Tree International Inc., a Reston, Virginia-based IT and management training provider. Spires, who left DHS in 2013 to lead San Francisco-based security firm Resilient Network Systems, had been an independent member of the board of directors […]

Three members of Congress have been named co-chairs of the Cloud Computing Caucus Advisory Group, the organization supporting congressional efforts to boost cloud computing initiatives throughout the Federal government. Representatives Barbara Comstock (R-Va.), Ted Lieu (D-Calif.), and Mark Walker (R-NC) join founding co-chair Gerry Connolly (D-Va.) on the advisory group. Their participation in the Cloud […]

Have you ever wondered why it’s really taking the government so long to move more than basic email services to the cloud? Well, if you have then you are certainly familiar with the standard cultural and security explanations: Federal IT managers like to be able to see and touch the blinking lights on their servers […]

Ron Ross, a fellow at the National Institute of Standards and Technology, leads the Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA) Implementation Project. He developed the first set of unified information security standards and guidelines for all Federal agencies. Ross recently participated in Q&A for Meritalk.com. MeriTalk: Please describe how you developed the first set of […]

The General Services Administration’s (GSA) digital services team last week introduced a new Federal cloud service intended to help agencies develop applications in the cloud. 18F, the 19-month old digital consultancy that is part of GSA’s Office of Citizen Services and Innovative Technologies, will provide agencies with a Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) solution that rests on its […]

  FedRAMP last week unveiled an online training course to help users understand the new review and approve process. The training is available on the agency’s training page. The new training is intended to help FedRAMP cloud service providers (CSPs) and others understand the lengthy and complex process to receive FedRAMP compliance. According to FedRAMP, […]

Peter Romness, the Cybersecurity Solutions Lead for Cisco U.S. Public Sector, spoke with MeriTalk at this year’s Cyber Security Brainstorm in Washington, D.C., about the security challenges posed by what Cisco refers to as the Digitization of Everything (DoE). Taped on Sept. 23 Peter Romness: The MeriTalk Interview View on YouTube […]

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a new report on how it can expand its information technology capabilities to meet the relentless and growing demands the agency faces. The report, titled “Mission Possible: How FDA Can Move at the Speed of Science,” is the work of the FDA Science Looking Forward Subcommittee, and […]

Rep. Will Hurd (R-Texas) didn’t waste any time at a recent field hearing to say Federal agencies are dragging their feet when it comes to cloud computing. “We deserve a Federal government that harnesses innovative solutions such as the cloud to modernize record keeping, improve critical government functions, maximize security, and be wise stewards of […]

Forty-five percent of Federal agencies reported that they were the target during the past year of a digital insider — an employee with authorized network access who knowingly steals or unwittingly exposes sensitive data. And at least a third of those agencies reported suffering an actual loss of data. But as MeriTalk’s recent survey of […]

The Office of Management and Budget announced a new policy last Friday that effectively bars Federal agencies and departments from buying the laptops or desktops of their choice. In an Oct. 16 memo to all federal agency and department heads, U.S. Chief IInformation Officer Tony Scott and Office of Federal Procurement Policy Administrator Anne Rung […]

With Internet security on everyone’s mind and secure cloud on everyone’s bucket list throughout the Federal government, Verizon is expanding secure access to cloud services for Federal customers on its private IP network. Federal agencies now can securely connect to a growing roster of FedRAMP-certified cloud providers via Verizon’s Secure Cloud Interconnect (SCI) service. Featuring […]

Repeated cyber attacks seemingly have done little to improve cybersecurity awareness among employees. A social experiment over the summer by IT industry group CompTIA resulted in nearly one in five people putting computers at risk by sticking a thumb drive into a device without knowing whether the USB carried a virus or contained other threats. […]

Matt Goodrich, director of the Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP), has announced the hiring of a new ‘agency evangelist.’ Goodrich, who made the announcement during a webinar with Bloomberg Government Wednesday afternoon, said Ashley Mahan will provide much-needed help and expertise in the FedRAMP Program Management Office (PMO). “She’s been supporting the team […]

Retired General Keith Alexander told a group of Federal government and industry experts that the U.S. must do more to protect the Internet and boost cybersecurity. “We are the nation that created the Internet. We ought to be the first to secure it,” Alexander said at the Splunk GovSummitt in downtown Washington on Thursday. Alexander, […]

The Senate passed the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act (CISA) Tuesday by an overwhelming vote of 74-21. The bill, which now goes to the House, would improve cybersecurity by enabling more rapid information sharing on emerging threats between the government and the private sector. Lawmakers struck down five amendments to the bill that were designed to […]

Chief information security officers (CISOs) and other IT executives have become more proactive in their approach to cybersecurity investment and risk management, according to a new study. “Over the past couple of years the landscape has changed dramatically,” researchers at Southern Methodist University’s Darwin Deason Institute for Cyber Security found. “Cyber risk is now a […]

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has released a report calling for better management of Federal IT service contracts at the Department of Defense, Department of Homeland Security, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and the General Services Administration. The Oct. 22 GAO report follows a similar directive issued last week by the Office of Management and […]

Our bad habits make agencies and organizations vulnerable to cyber attacks. So what can agencies do better to improve cybersecurity? Hint: Don’t click on those links. Analytics and two-factor authentication also can help, and organizations must reduce dwell times so they identify cyberattacks more quickly. Matt Alderman, vice president of strategy at Tenable, spoke with […]

Director of National Intelligence James Clapper released a long-awaited implementation plan last week for the intelligence community’s overarching strategy for making more information available to the public about intelligence activities, programs, and oversight mechanisms. The Principles of Intelligence Transparency Implementation Plan comes nine months after Clapper first outlined what those principles were and seeks to […]

Rep. Ted Lieu, D-Calif., has a unique take on Federal IT. That’s because he’s one of just four members of Congress with a degree in computer science. The congressman likes to joke that he’s a “recovering computer scientist,” but his background gives him credibility when he discusses issues like two-factor authentication or IT innovation. That’s […]

18F product lead Bret Mogilefsky shared some thoughts about cloud.gov with FedRAMP411–what it means for Federal agencies and what it took to build the cloud service. […]

Cloud service provider Autonomic Resources’ was the first CSP to earn compliance from FedRAMP and the first to earn compliance from the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA). What’s next? […]