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.
Thomas Keller Appointed Acting Director of DISA’s JP2 Cyber Center
The Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) has appointed Thomas Keller to serve as acting chief for the agency’s Joint Service Provider (JP2) Cyber Security Center.
OPM Notching Some Progress Against GAO Priority Recs
The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has made some progress over the past year in reducing the number of priority recommendations it has received from the Government Accountability Office (GAO).
SBA OIG Ranks IT, Fraud Among top Challenges
The Small Business Administration (SBA) Office of the Inspector General (OIG) has ranked IT investments as one of the top eight “critically important” challenges for the agency in the OIG’s first half fiscal year (FY) 2023 Semiannual Report to Congress.
GSA’s Hashmi: Login.gov Adoption Curve Heading Up
Just three months after the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) at the General Services Administration (GSA) found that the Federal agency had been misleading users on the standards of its Login.gov identity proofing website, GSA Federal Acquisition Service (FAS) Commissioner Sonny Hashmi said this week that the tool’s adoption curve continues to increase despite the OIG’s findings earlier this year.
How the Agriculture Department is Reimagining Customer Experience
The Department of Agriculture (USDA) is well along in a “reimagining” how the department is handling and improving its customer care experience, said Simchah Suveyke-Bogin, chief experience officer at the agency, today.
Feds Optimizing 5G to Deploy New Comms Capabilities
The Federal government has increased its adoption of 5G wireless technologies to enable agencies to receive and transmit a growing volume of data faster than ever before, government officials said this week.
Senate Bill Aims to Strengthen Cybersecurity in Abraham Accords
A bipartisan group senators wants to authorize cybersecurity cooperation between the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and nations that have signed onto the Abraham Accords countries through a new piece of legislation introduced on May 31.
VA Nominee: Fixing EHR System is Number One Priority
Tanya Bradsher, the Biden administration’s nominee to become deputy secretary at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), told senators at a confirmation hearing on May 31 that her top priority at the agency – if her nomination is confirmed – would be to help fix the troubled rollout of the agency’s Electronic Healthcare Records (EHR) program.
White House, EU Tech Council Report AI Tech Progress
The U.S.-EU Trade and Technology Council (TTC) held its fourth ministerial meeting in Luleå, Sweden this week, unveiling key initiatives for the advancement of artificial intelligence technologies through the countries’ partnership.
MeriTalk Q&A: Amy Gilliland Maps GDIT’s New Tech Investment Strategy
MeriTalk recently sat down with General Dynamics Information Technology (GDIT) President Amy Gilliland to discuss the company’s new technology investment strategy.
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.