Following her induction into the 2024 class of Cyber Defenders, we were thrilled to catch up with Carolyn Duby – who is the Federal chief technology officer and cybersecurity GTM lead at Cloudera – for an in-depth talk about harnessing data for cybersecurity analytics, the enduring value of the Federal government’s migration to zero trust security, how to proceed safely with artificial intelligence technologies, and the urgency of getting ready for quantum computing. […]

Labor Department (DoL) Chief Information Officer (CIO) Gundeep Ahluwalia is stepping down from his role after more than eight years at the agency, and 12 in the Federal government. […]

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued joint guidance to Federal agencies today that aims to improve the Federal hiring experience for job applicants, managers, and human resources (HR) professionals. […]

The White House’s National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) issued a new report on Monday that offers policy recommendations for the U.S. government in order to advance international cooperation in quantum information science and technology (QIST). […]

The acceleration of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies has reached the tactical edge, where Department of Defense (DoD) leaders are utilizing generative AI (GenAI) and other AI applications to act on data generated where the mission is happening. […]

George Dilger II, who is the Federal regulatory compliance IPv6 SME at Dell Technologies and a new inductee into the Cyber Defenders class of 2024, gave us 20 minutes of his time to shine a powerful light on how high-profile government technology policies can sometimes end up reinforcing one another to improve security. […]

The Office of the National Cyber Director (ONCD) today released a summary report detailing a dozen actions the Federal government is currently taking to advance security in open-source software (OSS). […]

Fresh off his induction into the 2024 class of Cyber Defenders, we were delighted to sit down for a half hour with Gary Barlet – who is public sector chief technology officer at Illumio – for a wide ranging talk about government cybersecurity needs, the criticality of the current zero trust security transition, and the multiple facets of artificial intelligence (AI) technology in the hands of both adversaries and network defenders. […]

The General Services Administration’s (GSA) robotic process automation (RPA) program has helped the agency to reduce repetitive administrative tasks, but a new report from the GSA Office of Inspector General (OIG) finds that the security of the program needs significant improvement. […]

Early results from Federal agencies’ financial transformation initiatives have yielded benefits including improved citizen service and decision-making capabilities, but fewer than half of Federal IT and finance leaders believe their systems are very effective in critical areas such as financial planning, compliance, and data integrity, according to a recent MeriTalk survey conducted in partnership with KPMG. […]

Following his recent induction into the 2024 class of Cyber Defenders, we were happy to grab a few minutes with David Link, the founder and CEO of Reston, Va.-based ScienceLogic, for a conversation about the importance of data observability and protection in cybersecurity as the IT landscape continues to grow ever-more complicated. […]

Marking another revealing chapter in our 2024 Cyber Defenders interview series, we spoke with Philip George, executive technical strategist at Merlin Cyber, for his views on both the encouraging trends – and the challenging ones – on the cybersecurity horizon. Read on as Philip takes us through the importance of tech advancements at the data level, and the security complexities that are flowing from growth in artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) applications. […]

Joyce Hunter, executive director for collaboration and education at Mission-Critical – and one of the recently announced 2024 class of Cyber Defenders – gave us a few minutes of her time to discuss the vital role of education and collaboration in bolstering the cybersecurity workforce. Both of those aims, she said, help to boost awareness not only of opportunities for people to join the cyber workforce, but also the vital role that critical infrastructure plays in today’s world. […]

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) announced today it has selected Lisa Einstein to serve as the agency’s first-ever chief artificial intelligence officer (CAIO). […]

Fresh off his induction into the 2024 class of Cyber Defenders, we spoke with Nat Bongiovanni, who is chief technology officer at NTT DATA Federal Services, for a forward look at both challenges and encouraging trends in cybersecurity, with the double-edged sword of artificial intelligence (AI) taking a prominent view in his outlook. […]

A new report out today by the Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) calls on the Federal government to implement several policy recommendations focused on embracing openness in AI while also calling for active monitoring of risks in powerful AI models. […]

The Biden administration on July 26 published an implementation roadmap for its 2023 National Standards Strategy for Critical and Emerging Technology (USG NSSCET) that strongly endorses an industry-led approach to developing international standards for the development of emerging and critical technologies. […]

The Department of Commerce (DoC) announced today it has reached a preliminary agreement with Amkor Technology for up to $400 million in proposed direct funding under the CHIPS and Science Act to support cutting-edge advanced packaging technology. […]

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) today announced a reorganization that will streamline and bolster technology, cybersecurity, data, and AI strategy and policy functions. […]

While generative AI technology has come a long way in the past couple of years, Federal AI experts explained today that the technology is not yet ready for the government to “fire and forget” the technology – meaning it still requires a human-in-the-loop after deployment. […]

Cricket is the planet’s second largest sport – and the world’s game is catching fire in the United States – so it’s long past time to get in the groove with the 2.5 billion fans worldwide who already take it to heart. […]

Department of Defense (DoD) operations were unaffected by the ongoing Microsoft outage caused by a flawed CrowdStrike security update, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said on Friday. […]

Anne Neuberger, the White House’s deputy national security advisor for cyber and emerging technologies, said that today’s CrowdStrike outage – one of the largest IT outages in history – highlights the need for a tough look at digital resilience capabilities. […]

Frustrations are mounting at the Defense Department (DoD) over outdated information-sharing and communications technologies that hinder effective collaboration with allies and partners, according to a recent report from the Defense Innovation Board (DIB). […]

A new report out Tuesday from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Office of Inspector General reveals that the VA has been unable to collect about $665 million in revenue after it paused operations of its Program Integrity Tool. […]

A bipartisan group of senators introduced a new bill last week that would direct the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) to hire a special liaison to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to coordinate during cybersecurity incidents. […]

Break out your beach party gear for the coolest bash of the summer at MeriTalk Tech Tonic on July 18 at Morton’s The Steakhouse in D.C. Join us from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. where we will beat the heat and celebrate the cutting-edge security pros who are taking home this year’s Cyber Defenders awards. […]

A top official with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said Thursday that generative AI (GenAI) tools used within the Federal government should be risk-evaluated, but that there would be limitations to a program similar to the Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP) for GenAI. […]

Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va., said today that his office is planning to issue the 18th version of the congressional FITARA Scorecard sometime in September. […]

Members of the House Homeland Security Committee this week pushed for increased funding to use emerging technology-driven solutions to combat illicit activity at the U.S.-Mexico border, while witnesses at a subcommittee hearing argued for more highly trained U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) personnel to leverage the advantages that newer technologies can create for law enforcement. […]