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. […]
Trump’s 2027 Budget Request Cuts $5.6B From NASA
President Donald Trump is proposing to cut billions of dollars from NASA’s budget, including significant reductions to science missions, while shifting more funding toward space exploration. […]
FBI Reports Surge in Government Impersonation Scams, $798M in Losses
A surge in cyber scammers impersonating U.S. government officials last year resulted in nearly $800 million in losses, the FBI reported on April 6. […]
GSA’s Proposed AI Contract Policy Faces Resistance From Tech Sector
Technology industry groups are raising concerns that a proposed General Services Administration (GSA) policy to standardize artificial intelligence (AI) contracting terms could conflict with federal acquisition rules and deter vendor participation. […]
Podcast: Fiscal Resilience Under Pressure: Planning for Uncertainty and Disruption
The biggest threat to state and local governments isn’t one budget gap, it’s compounding uncertainty: shifting funding rules, rising compliance demands, and disruptions that trigger spending now and reimbursement later. In this episode of MeriTalking, Gail Emery sits down with Melissa Moore, chief financial officer of Buncombe County, North Carolina, and James Harris, senior manager […]
Pentagon’s FY 2027 Budget Request Cuts R&D Funding Despite Overall Increase
The Trump administration has requested a record-breaking $1.5 trillion defense-spending plan for fiscal year (FY) 2027, but within that big ticket request, Pentagon research and development (R&D) efforts funding would decline. […]
Microsoft Expands Copilot Agents Across Government Clouds
Microsoft announced on April 2 that it is expanding its Copilot capabilities for the U.S. government, including rolling out new Analyst and Researcher agents across the Government Community Cloud (GCC). […]
NSF Cuts Put Spotlight on Another Risk: Selling the Value of US Science
With newly proposed funding cuts to the National Science Foundation (NSF), leaders in government and industry agreed that the United States is struggling to clearly communicate the value of its research investments and translate them into real-world capabilities fast enough. […]
Army Releases Final Solicitation for $50B MAPS Contract
After several rounds of updates, the U.S. Army released the final solicitation for its Marketplace for Acquisition of Professional Services (MAPS) contract on Wednesday, setting the stage for vendors to bid on a 10-year, $50 billion multiple award contract. […]
White House Seeks $4.24B for VA EHRM as 26 New Deployments Are Planned in 2027
The White House is requesting $4.24 billion in fiscal year (FY) 2027 funding for the Department of Veterans Affairs’ (VA) Electronic Health Record Modernization (EHRM) program, as the department plans to deploy the system to 26 additional sites that year. […]
Report Finds Surge in Political Appointees as Career SES Ranks Drop 30% Under Trump
The Trump administration has significantly reshaped the federal workforce, installing political appointees at an unprecedented pace while sharply reducing the ranks of career senior leadership, according to a new report. […]
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.