Federal CIO Kent Announces Cyber Reskilling Academy
Federal CIO Suzette Kent this morning announced creation of the Federal Cyber Reskilling Academy–a joint effort of the Office of Management and Budget, the Department of Education, and the Federal CIO Council Workforce Committee–to kickstart the Federal government’s efforts to address gaps in the Federal cybersecurity workforce and help retrain Federal employees. […]
Feds Reach IT Modernization Tipping Point
A new report from MeriTalk and the American Council for Technology and Industry Advisory Council (ACT-IAC) finds that Federal finance, IT, and procurement experts believe we’ve reached an IT modernization tipping point. […]
DHS Launches ICT Sector Supply Chain Risk Task Force
The Department of Homeland Security on Oct. 30 announced launch of the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Supply Chain Risk Management Task Force, which the agency said is charged with developing “consensus recommendations” to identify and manage risk to the global ICT supply chain. […]
DHS’ Manfra Discusses FISMA Update, Impact to CDM
Jeanette Manfra, assistant secretary for the Office of Cybersecurity and Communications at the Department of Homeland Security, said today that the new update to Federal Information Security Modernization Act (FISMA) guidance will place even more accountability on department leaders and reflects an evolution in discussions between agencies and DHS. […]
GAO Reports Progress on CHIPS-Funded Semiconductor Projects
One semiconductor project is complete, and others are making progress – that’s the Government Accountability Office’s (GAO) Thursday assessment of efforts under the CHIPS Act to strengthen the domestic semiconductor supply chain. […]
DOD Ties ICAM Deadline to 2028 Audit Goal
The Pentagon has reissued calls for all components to onboard their Internal Control Over Financial Reporting (ICOFR)-relevant systems to an approved identity, credential, and access management (ICAM) solution by the end of fiscal year (FY) 2026, in an effort to support a clean departmentwide audit by FY 2028. […]
NSF Launches ‘Tech Labs’ to Speed Emerging Platform Technologies to Market
The National Science Foundation (NSF) said Friday that it is launching an initiative aimed at accelerating research, development, and innovation (RDI) to boost the commercialization of emerging technologies. […]
FedRAMP 20x Names 3 Cloud Services for Phase 2 Pilot
The General Services Administration’s (GSA) Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP) has named three cloud services that will be participating in the first cohort of the Phase Two pilot recently launched as part of the FedRAMP 20x initiative. […]
GSA Plans Refresh of Major GWACs by End of January
The General Services Administration (GSA) plans to refresh all of its major governmentwide acquisition contracts (GWACs) and multiple award vehicles by the end of January, Federal Acquisition Service (FAS) Deputy Commissioner Laura Stanton said on Thursday evening. […]
Trump Signs Order to Preempt State AI Laws and Push Single Federal Framework
President Donald Trump signed an executive order Thursday to undermine state laws on artificial intelligence (AI), calling instead for a “minimally burdensome” single framework to regulate the AI industry. […]
Pentagon UAP Briefings Added in NDAA
The conferenced version of the fiscal year (FY) 2026 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) gives the Pentagon’s UFO sleuths three specific mandates, including expanded briefings to Congress. […]
Bipartisan Legislation Aims to Create Tech and AI Talent Hiring Teams
Bipartisan legislation introduced in the House and Senate would direct the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to create a centralized artificial intelligence (AI) and technology talent hiring team to streamline federal tech-related hiring. […]
GAO Finds Coast Guard Disability Backlogs
The U.S. Coast Guard has fallen short of its goals for timely evaluations of injured and ill service members and lacks key tools to track the performance of its disability evaluation system, according to a new Government Accountability Office (GAO) report. […]
Automation Accelerates DOD Cloud Readiness, Security, and Resilience
Automation is accelerating how the Defense Department’s (DOD) – rebranded as the War Department by the Trump administration – builds, secures, and operates cloud environments, senior Leidos officials said during a recent webinar, underscoring how automation is reducing approval bottlenecks, strengthening security operations, and preparing defense networks for machine-speed threats. […]
With 80 percent of every Federal IT dollar spent on life support for legacy systems, the Federal IT community is exploring new options to modernize and innovate – virtualization, cloud computing, Flash technology, software-defined options, shared services, and more. MeriTalk is staying close to the leaders on the front lines, bringing you new ideas and lessons learned.
And, as Federal IT leaders work to meet demands of an “always-on” highly mobile government, we bring you the stories and breaking news on balancing productivity with security. Our government IT news includes how agencies manage advanced persistent threats, and the steps that help guard against socially engineered threats. We look at the latest trends in malware, spyware, ransomware, and spear phishing. And – how can Federal agencies protect data from tomorrow’s cyber threats?
The MeriTalk “Industry Insider” column, offers a weekly news roundup of contracts and other activity in the Federal IT industry. Check with MeriTalk daily for the government technology news you need to know, or subscribe to get the latest stories delivered directly to your inbox. You’ll stay up to date with interesting and timely Federal IT stories on cybersecurity, big data, data center modernization, cloud, mobile, and other developments in your community – from what’s next for the MGT Act to the highly anticipated Federal IT revolving capital fund, MeriTalk brings you the trends and breaking IT news to help you modernize, innovate, and transform public sector technology and the missions you support.