As some Federal offices begin looking ahead toward reopening when the COVID-19 pandemic slows, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is still largely pushing for maximum telework despite its rolling plan to reopen, an agency spokesperson confirmed to MeriTalk. […]

A small number of Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff began to return to work at the agency’s offices on June 15 in the first phase of a three-part re-opening plan, according to an NRC spokesperson. […]

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration is continuing to dispute a unanimous decision in April by the Federal Communications Commission to grant Ligado access to a spectrum band adjacent to a band used by the Defense Department for Global Positioning System. […]

The Department of State has been monitoring local conditions in the D.C.-metro area during the Coronavirus pandemic, with the expectation of entering Phase I of Diplomacy Strong today. […]

The General Services Administration (GSA) and the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) awarded two contracts on June 15 to move forward with implementation of their cloud adoption and customer experience Centers of Excellence (CoE). […]

The recently established Artificial Intelligence and Technology Office (AITO) at the Department of Energy (DOE) expressed interest in hosting sector-specific grand challenges that advance AI tech innovation to support U.S. AI leadership, per a June 10 request for information (RFI). […]

Bill Hunt, Chief Enterprise Architect at the Small Business Administration, detailed today some of the steps that SBA took to use the cloud for the Paycheck Protection Program established under the CARES Act in March to help fund payroll costs for small businesses hurt by the coronavirus pandemic. […]

The Chief Records Officer for the U.S. Government said agencies are “making progress” towards the Dec. 31, 2022 goal of transferring only electronic records to the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), but added many agencies are concerned about resources as they strive to meet the unfunded mandate. […]

The General Services Administration (GSA) announced that it will be awarding it’s $7.5 million Contract Acquisition Life-cycle Management (CALM) system pilot phase task order to Sevatec. […]

The Social Security Administration (SSA) is planning to improve customer service delivery and experience through a range of customer service activities including surveys, user testing, interviews, and focus groups. […]

The Department of State is seeking information from industry vendors on how they would implement a 5G Clean Path plan, which would guide 5G network traffic in and out of U.S. diplomatic facilities at home and abroad while ensuring it does not traverse untrustworthy equipment from vendors such as Huawei Technologies or ZTE Corporation. […]

The National Institute of Standards and Technology’s (NIST) National Cybersecurity Center of Excellence (NCCoE) announced June 8 that it has invited 10 technology providers and industry experts to collaborate on the Protecting Information and System Integrity in Industrial Control System Environments Project. […]

Geoffrey  Starks, commissioner at the Federal Communication Commission (FCC) announced the creation of the Digital Opportunity Equity Recognition (DOER) Program. The program, announced on June 8, will “commend organizations, institutions, companies, and individuals who, through their actions and responses to the COVID-19 crisis, have helped to make quality affordable broadband service available to unserved or underserved communities.” A statement from Starks specifically called out organizations that have leveraged the use of broadband to improve healthcare, education, public safety, civic engagement, or other essential services,” as well as entities that have promoted digital education and literacy. […]

For the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), its Continuous Diagnostics and Mitigation (CDM) program and its Quality Service Management Office (QSMO) both serve roles for the agency to provide service excellence to Federal customers. […]

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is calling for comments on four of its digital identity guidelines to improve security and privacy considerations in each document. […]

Sean Connelly, Trusted Internet Connections (TIC) Program Manager at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), detailed at MeriTalk’s CDM Central: Tales from the Frontlines virtual event today how TIC and the Continuous Diagnostics and Mitigation (CDM) program work together to bolster Federal cybersecurity. […]

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency’s (CISA) Continuous Diagnostics and Mitigation (CDM) program has been a key tool for managing cybersecurity risks since Federal employees began maximum telework in March by helping to maintain situational awareness on networks, said Federal CISO Grant Schneider at MeriTalk’s CDM Central: Tales from the Frontlines digital event today. […]

The Departments of Commerce and Health and Human Services are teaming up to take down websites that sell opioids illegally online through a new pilot program with three domain name registries. […]

Bo Berlas, CISO at the at the General Services Administration (GSA), lauded the Department of Homeland Security’ (DHS) government-wide cybersecurity program and its effects in automating cybersecurity tasks for GSA. […]

Since the Continuous Diagnostics and Mitigation (CDM) program launched the minimal viable product version of its new dashboard last month, more Federal agencies have seen the value in choosing a cloud-hosted dashboard due in part to the need for more scalability in light of the coronavirus pandemic, CDM Project Manager Judy Baltensperger said today at MeriTalk’s CDM Central: Tales from the Frontlines virtual event […]

COVID-19-related spending by Federal agencies grew to a total of $15.5 billion as of early June, up from a total of $13 billion as of May 22, according to data obtained from the Federal Procurement Data System. […]

A new ACT-IAC study found that of 109 solicitations that have completed the General Services Administration (GSA) In-Scope Review (ISR) process, 79 included the move or expansion of Ethernet or Voice Over IP (VOIP). […]

Federal privacy legislation that has stalled in Congress for months has a new impetus, as questions about the use of location and health data during the pandemic are bringing privacy considerations to the fore. […]

Two bicameral, bipartisan bills intended to strengthen U.S.-based AI research initiatives were introduced this week. Both bills are focused on maintaining the United States’ global leadership and promote public and private sector collaboration. […]

Sen. Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., wrote letters to ten Federal agencies in an effort to seek answers as to what those agencies are doing to modernize IT systems before the next crisis, like COVID-19, occurs. […]

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is working with about 60 clinical institutions affiliated with the Clinical and Translational Science Awards Program to support the analysis of electronic health records in a new cloud-based database. […]

Laura Stanton said this week that she will take over on Monday as acting assistant commissioner of the Office of Information Technology Category for the General Services Administration’s Federal Acquisition Service. […]

When an April tweet about pandemic relief funding from President Trump jolted an 8,000 percent increase in traffic on the Small Business Administration website, the agency was ready to take the strain, having moved the site from on-prem to cloud a year earlier. […]

The National Science Foundation (NSF) has awarded a $10 million grant to the Pervasive Technology Institute at Indiana University (IU) to deploy a distributed cloud computing system that will help support on-demand research, AI, and enhanced large-scale data analyses for the United States. […]

Assessors for the new cybersecurity standard for contractors of the Department of Defense have not yet been selected, but a Department of Homeland Security official praised DoD’s efforts and said his department is looking toward their example. […]