The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is seeking input from stakeholders on an update to NIST Special Publication (SP) 800-161: Supply Chain Risk Management Practices for Federal Information Systems and Organizations. […]
For Federal agencies, a zero-trust model means not only knowing who might be on their networks accessing data and information, but making sure a user has an authorized reason to access that information. […]
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is seeking public comment on the Feb. 4 draft of its cyber supply chain risk management guidance. […]
United Kingdom authorities said today they will allow communications service providers to use in their networks a limited amount of equipment made by “high risk vendors,” and impose restrictions on more extensive use of equipment from those firms. […]
The Pentagon has begun the search for a Chief Data Officer (CDO) that will report directly to the Defense Department’s (DoD) Office of the CIO (OCIO) as the department begins transitioning the CDO position to OICO. […]
An Office of Inspector General (OIG) report for the National Security Agency (NSA) found that while the agency has made progress in establishing the full scope of CIO authorities within the agency, the defined authorities and responsibilities of the position remain ambiguous. […]
The American Council for Technology-Industry Advisory Council (ACT-IAC) has proposed an Artificial Intelligence (AI) Playbook for the Federal government on the heels of the AI/Machine Learning Primer from 2019. […]
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has published the definitive version of its privacy risk management framework, after seeking comment on a draft version of the framework last year. […]
The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is missing the mark on records management and privacy requirements to the tune of more than one billion records that contain personally identifiable information (PII), the agency’s Inspector General (IG) said in a recent report. […]
The Departments of Agriculture (USDA), Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and Energy are the first three agencies to begin paying back Technology Modernization Fund (TMF) grants, representatives from each agency confirmed to MeriTalk. […]
MeriTalk recently connected with Cisco’s Will Ash, Senior Director of Security Sales, and Peter Romness, Cybersecurity Solutions Lead, U.S. Public Sector CTO Office, on the current cyber threat landscape, how Zero Trust plays into agencies’ evolving cyber defense plans, and the importance of public-private sector collaboration. […]
Software trade group BSA said the rules proposed under the Securing the Information and Communications Technology and Services Supply Chain executive order may give the Secretary of Commerce “unbounded discretion to review commercial ICT transactions, applying highly subjective criteria in an ad hoc and opaque process that lacks meaningful safeguards for companies.” […]
The tech-savvy edge of Congress is helping the largest Federal agencies improve their IT operations, and the latest FITARA Scorecard proves it. […]
The present and future state of Federal IT has monumental challenges to address – modernization, data utilization, and automation just to name a few – but none are so critical, or enduring, as cybersecurity. It’s the threat that will never fully go away – and where eternal vigilance, and innovation, are the price of liberty. […]
While the Department of Labor (DOL) has consistently complied with Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA) standards, the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) reported on Dec. 23 that the agency’s information security program is, overall, ineffective. […]
The Election Assistance Commission generally complies with Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA) requirements, but the policies in place are not enough to protect agency information, according to a Jan. 2 report released by the EAC Office of the Inspector General (OIG). […]
A privacy impact assessment of the Continuous Diagnostics and Mitigation (CDM) program’s Shared Service Platform has raised no big privacy concerns, according to a report dated Dec. 19, 2019, and reviewed by the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Acting Chief Privacy Officer. […]
Industry leaders shared their predictions for 2020 and beyond with MeriTalk, indicating the path to progress will often track uphill, and around plenty of curves. […]
For the first time in the history of the House Oversight and Reform Committee’s FITARA Scorecard, three agencies received “A” grades and set the bar higher for the 24 CFO Act agencies going forward into 2020. […]
The Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP) and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) released the Open Security Controls Assessment Language (OSCAL) Milestone 2 for public comment. […]
As the year draws to a close, it’s time to look back on the biggest Fed IT moments of 2019. From legislation and personnel changes to executive policies and agency projects, this year has seen a massive push towards Fed IT modernization across the government. […]
The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) made progress during Fiscal Year 2019 on cybersecurity issues, and closed eight prior recommendations from its Office of Inspector General (IG) during the year, according to the IG’s 2019 Federal Information Security Modernization Act (FISMA) audit. […]
The House Oversight and Reform Committee voted to advance the Federal Risk Authorization and Management Program (FedRAMP) Authorization Act to the full House during a work session today. […]
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency’s (CISA) Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Supply Chain Risk Management (SCRM) Task Force approved a new working group to develop SCRM frameworks and best practices. […]
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) announced today that CIO Howard Whyte is stepping down effective Jan. 3 to join the private sector. […]
A compromise budget agreement between House and Senate negotiators has allocated $25 million for the Technology Modernization Fund in Fiscal Year 2020. […]
The General Services Administration (GSA) and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) are having problems with Technology Modernization Fund (TMF) fee collection and project cost estimations, according to a Dec. 12 Government Accountability Office (GAO) report. […]
Federal agencies and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) need to continue notching progress on IT acquisitions, operations, and cybersecurity necessary to meeting FITARA (Federal Information Technology Acquisition Reform Act) requirements, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) said. […]
Members of the House Oversight Government Operations Subcommittee expressed happiness with the progress that Federal agencies have made on their FITARA scores, but remained critical of the Office of Management and Budget’s (OMB’s) guidance on the Data Center Optimization Initiative (DCOI) due to the policy’s revised guidelines on what constitutes a data center. […]
Federal CIO Suzette Kent today hailed the results of the House Oversight and Reform Committee’s FITARA (Federal Information Technology Acquisition Reform Act) Scorecard 9.0 which shows a rising trend in agency grades and solid progress on a number of important Federal IT fronts. […]