The GSA is concerned that current cloud procurement methods are leading to confusion and a lack compliance with FedRAMP requirements. To curb the contract discrepancies, the GSA released a new RFI seeking industry input to “identify examples of preferred contract language agencies should incorporate to convey FedRAMP requirements in their solicitations,” according to a FedRAMP blog. […]
Yesterday’s release of the FITARA Scorecard 5.0 did not look promising for Federal agencies. In today’s Oversight and Government Reform IT Subcommittee FITARA hearing, the committee shared their concerns and sought answers from agency officials testifying. […]
As Federal CIOs brace for tomorrow’s Oversight and Government Reform IT Subcommittee FITARA hearing, it’s not great news on the fifth FITARA report card. […]
The Inspector General of the Small Business Administration (SBA) found that the agency’s IT leadership needs to address the Federal Information Technology Acquisition Reform Act (FITARA) and cybersecurity threats. […]
The White House Office of Management and Budget issued a memorandum for agencies to submit their Federal Information Security Modernization Act reports to the Government Accountability Office by March 1, 2018. […]
The new administration has left little doubt that consolidation is a top priority. The first budget calls for deep cuts across most agencies. If achieved, these reductions are likely to put the squeeze on already stressed IT budgets. The search for creative solutions can and must intensify. The U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is pursuing a hybrid cloud model that will simultaneously address optimization, security and budget priorities—blazing a trail for other Federal agencies to follow. […]
As the deadline to renew the National Security Agency’s surveillance powers looms, proposed bills and speculations of bills drive the conversation on national security versus privacy. Senate Republicans led by Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., proposed a bill in June to completely renew Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act without any changes or sunset provision. Section 702, which expires at the end of the year, allows the NSA to collect data from foreign nationals without obtaining a warrant. […]
The Supreme Court announced Oct. 16 that it will hear a case on data privacy that relates to Microsoft’s data centers in Ireland. The Department of Justice filed a petition last year requesting an en banc rehearing of the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals case, which sided in favor of Microsoft that American service providers are not required to honor warrants seeking data outside the United States. […]
The FBI needs access to encrypted files in order to protect the nation against cyber crime, according to Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein. “Encryption is essential,” Rosenstein said “It is a foundational element of data security and authentication. It is central to the growth and flourishing of the digital economy. We in law enforcement have no desire to undermine encryption. But ‘warrant-proof’ encryption poses a serious problem.” […]
The U.S. Government Publishing Office named Tracee Boxley its new chief information officer on Oct 5. Boxley served as acting CIO since November 2016, where she led the IT department’s modernization of technology infrastructure, completed the migration of several legacy systems, and strengthened cybersecurity technology. […]
A bipartisan group of senators proposed legislation to extend certain provisions in the Federal Information Technology Acquisition Reform Act. The extension would add two years to agencies’ data center consolidation efforts. The bill is the same as the FITARA Extension amendment that was adopted by the House of Representatives in July. […]
The General Services Administration announced Sept. 28 the launch of the FedRAMP Tailored Baseline for Cloud Service Providers with Low-Impact Software-as-a-Service Systems. […]
Rep. Will Hurd, R-Texas, said that he plans to track the IT modernization working capital fund, which will come from his Modernization Government Technology Act, on the FITARA scorecard. […]
Government doesn’t take the dangers of metadata security seriously enough, members of industry said at an Institute for Critical Infrastructure event on Sept. 26. They cited the passage of SJ 34, which reduced regulations on Internet service providers’ use of metadata generated by their customers. […]
In order to get more government agencies to transition to the cloud, agency experts said that the procurement process has to become easier and clearer. […]
The CIO Council is hosting a governmentwide cybersecurity hiring event Nov. 6-7. The Federal government is seeking information technology and cybersecurity professionals to fill hundreds of positions needed to modernize legacy IT and strengthen the cybersecurity of Federal networks and critical infrastructure. […]
The Government Accountability Office found that of the 24 agencies required to participate in the Data Center Optimization Initiative, 22 said they were making limited progress toward the 2018 performance targets. […]
The American Civil Liberties Union described full adoption of artificial intelligence at any cost as a “recipe for tyranny.” Ben Wizner, director of the ACLU Speech, Privacy, and Technology Project, wrote in a blog post that the government needs to consider the rights of citizens as artificial intelligence becomes more ingrained in society. “Liberty is […]
The Government Accountability Office found that the National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration needs to clarify its policies for ensuring the privacy of drivers of connected vehicles. Thirteen of the 16 selected automakers in GAO’s study sell connected vehicles, and those 13 reported collecting, using, and sharing data on the cars’ locations and operations. […]
President Donald Trump nominated John Sherman, to be chief information officer of the Intelligence Community under the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, on Aug. 18. […]
Four Federal CIOs in the past week have indicated they will leave their positions, and experts are divided over whether that signals a deeper disruption within the IT community or is simply a culmination of normal timing and policies in a new administration. […]
Sens. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, and Ron Wyden, D-Ore., sent a letter to White House Counsel Don McGahn asking for the Trump administration’s rationale in publishing the emails sent by many citizens to critique the President’s Advisory Commission on Election Integrity, many of which contained sensitive personal information. […]
Congress will likely be putting bipartisan pressure on the White House to fill critical IT positions in Federal agencies and prioritize modernization efforts, Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va., predicted at the ServiceNow Town Hall. […]
Treasury Department Chief Information Officer Sonny Bhagowalia has been reassigned as a detailee at the Bureau of Fiscal Services, according to a department spokesperson. In the new role, Bhagowalia will continue working on cybersecurity and technology projects. Deputy CIO Eric Olson will become acting CIO. […]
The House of Representatives adopted Rep. Gerry Connolly’s, D-Va., amendment to extend certain provisions of the Federal Information Technology Acquisition Reform Act. The FITARA Extension amendment continues three provisions that were set to expire over the past couple of years: Federal data center consolidation, transparency and risk management of major IT systems, and IT portfolio, program, and resource reviews. […]
FedRAMP can open business opportunities within the country and abroad for fledgling companies, according to Doug Bourgeois of Deloitte. […]
A firm understanding of grading mechanisms and reporting practices is the way to success, according to an official from the United States Agency for International Development, the first agency to ever receive an A on the Federal Information Technology Acquisition Reform Act scorecard. […]
The National Security Agency could use traffic shaping, rerouting Internet traffic to a location better suited for surveillance, The Century Foundation found in a report. […]
Acting agency CIOs are keeping pace with their permanent counterparts, the latest Federal Information Technology Acquisition Reform Act scorecard indicates. […]
Johnson Joy was named chief information officer of the department of Housing and Urban Development on June 14. […]