Apple announced on Wednesday that the company will allow users in the United States to download the data that Apple has collected about them–a feature previously only available to citizens of the European Union. […]

Three members of the Technology Modernization Fund (TMF) board and Federal Deputy CIO Margie Graves spoke today about fund’s ongoing efforts including the transferable effect of some of the board’s decision principles and how they tie into the larger IT modernization ecosystem. […]

Federal CIO Suzette Kent provided a demonstration this morning at the American Council for Technology and Industry Advisory Council’s (ACT-IAC) Imagine Nation ELC Conference to help envision a future for government services that may not be that far away. […]

The Senate on Thursday voted to approve three nominations to the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board (PCLOB). […]

Federal customer experience professionals offered advice this week to agencies looking to improve their customer experience and highlighted resources that their agencies have utilized to improve customer service. […]

Continuous Diagnostics and Mitigation (CDM) Program Manager Kevin Cox said today that all 23 CFO Act agencies covered under CDM are now connected and feeding data to the Federal government-wide cybersecurity threat dashboard. […]

Regardless of whether Chinese hackers really did infiltrate more than two dozen U.S. companies and multiple government agencies through a supply-chain hardware hack, the bombshell report by Bloomberg Businessweek throws light on an ongoing problem facing the Department of Defense, among others. […]

The hype around cloud services in the Federal government could lead to substantial increases in adoption over the next year, according to new research conducted by MeriTalk. […]

Christopher Krebs, Department of Homeland Security under secretary for the National Protection and Programs Directorate (NPPD), said Thursday that NPPD is focusing on the cybersecurity fight of both today and tomorrow, through the various coordinating centers that fall under NPPD’s purview. […]

Following the long-awaited passage of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) Act in the Senate, the head of the organization set to be elevated as the nation’s official cybersecurity agency expressed his satisfaction at how congressional approval of a simple name change will reinforce the authority of the Federal government’s lead organization in cyberspace. […]

In recent comments regarding the Technology Modernization Fund (TMF), Rep. Will Hurd, R-Tex., said that he is “pretty sure that we have resolved the issue with TMF,” and expects Congress to include the full $150 million in an upcoming minibus funding bill. […]

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen said today that DHS’ National Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Center (NCCIC) will provide a resource center on Election Day that will actively respond to threats of cyber intrusion when voters go to the polls on November 6. […]

New acquisition techniques can help contracting professionals and Federal IT leaders work together to bring new technology into government in a fast and efficient manner, said acquisition leaders during FCW’s Accelerate GOV conference on Thursday. […]

The Department of Energy’s new office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and Emergency Response (CESER) has already begun work to provide support to the nation’s energy grid and critical infrastructure cybersecurity, and the head of the new office appeared in front of the House Energy and Commerce Committee Thursday to discuss the role of CESER within DoE. […]

The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee on Wednesday voted to approve a handful of bills that place a strong emphasis on cybersecurity, IT supply chain security, and the enhancement of digital citizen services. […]

House IT Subcommittee Chair Will Hurd, R-Texas, and Ranking Member Robin Kelly, D-Ill., today introduced legislation to reauthorize, rename, codify, and elevate the role of the Federal CIO, a position initially created as part of the E-Government Act of 2002. The bill, called the Federal CIO Authorization Act of 2018, is designed to create a “clearer IT reporting structure within the Administration,” the lawmakers said in a release.   […]

The Commerce Department’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration has issued a request for public comment “on ways to advance consumer privacy while protecting prosperity and innovation.”  The comment solicitation, NTIA indicated, is unlikely to lead to any rulemaking process at least in the near term.  […]

CrowdStrike announced Thursday that it received an agency FedRAMP authorization which it said will allow the company “to significantly expand its footprint in the Federal government to meet demand from Federal agencies for its endpoint protection technologies.  […]

Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, today introduced the Advancing Cybersecurity Diagnostics and Mitigation Act in the Senate. The House version of the bill (HR 6443), sponsored by Rep. John Ratcliffe, R-Texas, passed the House earlier this month. […]

The Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology Directorate (DHS S&T) today announced awards to five research organizations as part of a new program aimed at identifying network and internet disruptions that could “significantly impact critical infrastructure systems” and “other essential systems on which society is dependent.” […]

Whether House and Senate budget negotiators will agree to fund the Technology Modernization Fund (TMF) for FY 2019 remained an open question late Thursday following a public hearing by legislators working to reconcile differences in the House and Senate versions H.R. 6147, the “minibus” appropriations bill that includes FY 2019 budget measures for Interior, Environment, Financial Services, General Government, and a host of other areas. […]

Members of the Technology Modernization Fund (TMF) board and the fund’s executive director today provided a wide range of TMF updates regarding funding and coordination with lawmakers, on the same day that House and Senate conferees met to reconcile differences in appropriations bills that will ultimately decide the fund’s spending power for FY 2019. […]

A new report published today by the Government Accountability Office is calling attention to persistent agency difficulties in complying with the Federal Information Technology Acquisition Reform Act (FITARA), as well as difficulties with finding skilled acquisition professionals across the Federal government. […]

Elizabeth Cain, the executive director of the Technology Modernization Fund (TMF), estimated that there are “about a dozen” projects in the fund’s pipeline, and that new awards are around the corner. […]

The Internet Association (IA), a tech association whose members include Amazon, Google and Microsoft, today released its list of six principles–transparency, controls, access, correction, deletion and portability–that the group says should guide future Federal-level privacy legislation and regulation. […]

Federal CIO Suzette Kent said today at an event hosted by the Professional Services Council that the Federal government is currently seeing a “nexus of three critical elements” that provides an unprecedented opportunity for innovation in IT. […]

The House of Representatives on Tuesday agreed by voice vote to approve HR 6430, the Securing the Homeland Security Supply Chain Act of 2018, which grants the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary authority to exclude certain contractors from doing business with the Federal government to address “urgent national security interests” and curb supply chain risks. […]

The House of Representatives today approved by voice vote HR 6443, the Advancing Cybersecurity Diagnostics and Mitigation Act, which would codify the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Continuous Diagnostics and Mitigation (CDM) Program into law. […]

Christopher Krebs, Under Secretary for the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) National Protection and Programs Directorate (NPPD), described how DHS’ National Risk Management Center (NRMC) is pinpointing the critical functions in American infrastructure and setting actionable tasks during an interview with Government Matters. […]

New Continuous Diagnostics and Mitigation (CDM) DEFEND task orders will allow the Department of Homeland Security to be “more surgical” and “more precise” about how it helps agencies get cybersecurity capabilities, particularly for CDM’s newly-expanded category of mobile devices, CDM Program Manager Kevin Cox said Thursday at an event organized by ATARC. […]