Smarter Gov Tech, Stronger MerITocracy

A White House official said Tuesday it’s critical that Federal agencies start testing quantum-resistant cryptographic algorithms on their IT systems today to ensure critical networks aren’t accidentally shut down when the time comes to transition systems to post-quantum cryptography. […]

As Federal agencies with finance and market-related missions increasingly adopt more modern financial technologies (FinTech), Rep. Wiley Nickel, D-N.C., grilled a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) official today for what he said was lagging other agencies in promoting  modernized technology to help investors. […]

André Mendes, the chief information officer (CIO) at the Department of Commerce (DoC), announced today that he is stepping down from that post at the end of the year. […]

Ann Dunkin

Energy Department’s (DoE) Chief Information Officer Ann Dunkin said today that DoE is driving innovation in quantum technologies and supercomputing, and highlighted some of the ways that those technologies will begin to positively impact the department’s mission in the future. […]

TSA
Pentagon Military Defense DoD

The Defense Department’s (DoD) count of software factories operating across the agency has reached approximately 50 as the Pentagon works to put in place tenets of the software strategy implementation plan that it released in March of this year, said Lily Zeleke, deputy chief information officer (CIO) for the Information Enterprise Office in DoD’s Office of the CIO. […]

Twenty of the 23 civilian Chief Financial Officers (CFO) Act of 1990 agencies have failed to meet the White House’s cyber incident logging requirements by an August 2023 deadline, and according to a Dec. 4 watchdog report, 17 of these agencies were found to be at the lowest level of maturity – tier 0 – in that category. […]

USAJOBS, Federal workforce

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has announced a new “Talent Pools” tool on the USAJOBS website that provides Federal agencies an easier way to share certificates of job candidates across government. […]

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) – along with the National Security Agency (NSA), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the Israel National Cyber Directorate (INCD) – have released a new cybersecurity advisory warning of continued Iranian-backed cybersecurity attacks aimed towards American and Israeli water and wastewater systems (WWS). […]

Cyber workforce

The Federal Cybersecurity Workforce Expansion Act has been reintroduced in the House as part of a bipartisan, bicameral effort to strengthen the nation’s cyber defenses and cybersecurity workforce by creating two new training programs within the Federal government. […]

cyber workforce

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has announced the launch of advertisements for its government-wide Federal Rotational Cyber Workforce Program, meaning Federal cybersecurity employees can now apply to rotational assignments at agencies outside of their own. […]

USDA

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has released its data strategy for fiscal years (FY) 2024 through 2026, with the mission “to realize the full potential of USDA’s data and workforce to make better decisions, maximize the impact of citizen-facing programs, and provide the public with easier access to data that can solve national problems and spark innovation.” […]

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has issued an updated Agile Assessment Guide that features numerous best practices to assess the adoption and use of Agile processes in Federal agencies. […]

Bipartisan legislation introduced in the Senate this week would strip the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) of its authority to use facial recognition technology as part of its airline passenger screening program, and require the agency to get rid of data obtained through the use of facial recognition technology. […]

The Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) – which operates within the Department of Defense (DoD) to accelerate the military’s adoption of leading commercial technologies – is looking to industry for space-based solutions that can supply and augment communications capabilities. […]

generative AI, ChatGPT

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Chief Information Officer (CIO) and first-ever Chief AI Officer (CAIO) Eric Hysen is encouraging “DHS personnel to responsibly use commercial products to harness the benefits of Gen AI and ensure we continuously adapt to the future of work,” according to a memo dated Oct. 24. […]

quantum computing

The House Science, Space, and Technology Committee on Nov. 29 unanimously voted to approve legislation to reauthorize the 2018 National Quantum Initiative Act, which will enable  Federal agencies to continue ongoing research into quantum computing technology. […]

DoD Pentagon Military

The Pentagon’s Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) expects to go public later this month with the first of a series of solicitations to the private sector for help with the Defense Department’s (DoD) Replicator initiative that aims to quickly roll out thousands of inexpensive autonomous systems to counter China’s military mass. […]

U.S. Navy’s Naval Information Warfare System Command (NAVWAR) is moving fast to implement and leverage 5G wireless technology across the service branch and out to the fleet, Navy officials said this week. […]

FCC, Chinese suppliers

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has made progress in its effort to help “rip and replace” untrusted IT equipment from communications service providers’ networks, but FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said on Thursday that the program is in need of more funding as it faces a shortfall of over $3 billion. […]

Soldier modernization DoD Defense Department technology mobile

Legislation introduced in the House and Senate this week aims to speed development of the Defense Department’s (DoD) Joint All-Domain Command and Control (JADC2) initiative – one of the Pentagon’s top modernization priorities. […]

It’s been nearly six months since introduction in the Senate of legislation to reauthorize the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), but the Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee has failed to vote on the bill – even as the FAA’s current authorization expired on Sept. 30. […]

telework

Democratic and Republican members of the House Oversight and Accountability Committee clashed on Wednesday over whether or not current telework policies are helping Federal agencies to be more productive. […]

Identity solutions provider Okta said this week that the hack of its customer support management system disclosed in October impacted many more of its customers than previously thought, but did not impact its FedRAMP High and Defense Department IL4 environments used by the Federal government. […]

Robot

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is looking for vendors to help the agency scale up its robotics process automation (RPA) capabilities to a target level of 35 to 50 automations annually, according to a new request for information (RFI) from the agency. […]

DoD Pentagon Military

The Department of Defense (DoD) is seeking comments ahead of several revisions it plans to make to the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS), according to an advance notice of proposed rulemaking published to the Federal Register on Nov. 17. […]

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