Federal government agencies must work on improving mobile device security, as people are increasingly attached to their devices and attackers can wield a variety of new threats that can expose agencies’ passwords, personal information and networks, industry officials said this week. […]
Sen. Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, on Wednesday voiced strong criticism of the Federal government’s spending to promote STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) education in the United States, saying that some of the Federal investment is duplicative and inefficient. […]
The flagship model for organizational cybersecurity policies just got a new coat of paint. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) on April 16 released version 1.1 of its Framework for Improving Critical Infrastructure Cybersecurity , which updates the agency’s original voluntary cybersecurity framework for critical infrastructure sectors issued in 2014. […]
A new report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) this week raises concerns that the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) isn’t properly protecting its IT systems. The agency spends about $1.5 billion annually on IT investments to support its missions. […]
The Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation today approved S. 2418, the Rural Reasonable and Comparable Wireless Access Act of 2018. […]
Out with the old, in with the new–that was the message from Windsor this weekend as the Meghan-Harry union shattered outdated norms. […]
The Director of the Office of Personnel Management said this week that the Federal government should take cues from the private sector “gig economy” to leverage quick talent acquisition and short-term work, drawing forceful pushback from a government employees union. […]
It’s only traditional for heroes to ride off into the sunset–and, appropriate that the sun sets in the West. Dr. Barry West, senior advisor and senior accountable official for risk management at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), announced plans to hang up his government IT spurs the end of this month. […]
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has signed a 10-year, $10 billion Electronic Health Record (EHR) contract with Cerner to modernize the agency’s healthcare IT systems, VA Acting Secretary Robert Wilkie announced late Thursday. […]
The Department of Justice (DoJ) announced today that a Federal jury convicted Ruslans Bondars, a resident of Latvia, on three counts related to his operation of “Scan4you,” an online counter-antivirus service. […]
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen emphasized at a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee hearing this week the importance of shoring up United States cyber defenses, and said that effort would be helped by adequate funding and reorganization of a key DHS department. […]
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) today unveiled a new five-pronged strategy aimed at managing “national cyber risk,” and in particular, U.S. “cyber and critical infrastructure security.” […]
Government and industry experts told members of the House Subcommittee on Research and Technology yesterday that blockchain technology pilots and trials are yielding promising results for supply chain and government operations applications. […]
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) said today that the agency’s CIO, Adrian Gardner, will leave that position to become executive director of recovery communications technology in FEMA’s Caribbean Area Division. […]
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on May 10 approved a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) that could supply more spectrum to commercial carriers to provide 5G wireless services. […]
The Federal government invests $150 billion annually in Federal research and development. And the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) wants to make sure the Federal government–and taxpayers–are getting the best return on investment (ROI) possible. […]
Sen. Edward Markey, D-Mass., said on Wednesday he filed a petition to force a vote by the full Senate on a Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution that would overturn network neutrality rules approved by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in December 2017. […]
In a report released today, the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Office of the Inspector General (OIG) sounded the alarm regarding EPA’s handling of IT property in a number of regions around the country, and said it offered the agency an extensive list of administrative fixes to those problems. […]
Federal government officials and a member of Congress influential in government IT spending debates said late last month that billions of additional savings look to be ripe for the picking through elimination of duplicative services, and that Congress is working on ways to beef up the pursuit of those savings. […]
A new government-wide strategic plan on Category Management covering FY18-FY20 and released in late April aligns with the President’s Management Agenda and declares the Enterprise Infrastructure Solutions contracting vehicle one of its key IT components. […]
The Department of Homeland Security expects 17 more Federal agencies to have new task orders finalized by the end of summer to support further rollout of the Continuous Diagnostics and Mitigation Program, according to CDM Program Manager Kevin Cox. […]
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) was in the hot seat during last week’s Senate Committee on Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs hearing. […]
The Department of Homeland Security is providing weekly vulnerability scorecards to 106 Federal agencies every Monday, said Rob Karas, the agency’s Director of National Cybersecurity Assessments and Technical Services-NCATS, at the Tenable GovEdge 2018 Conference Thursday. […]
Tenable announced that it recently discovered a critical remote code execution vulnerability in two Schneider Electric applications used in manufacturing, oil and gas, water, automation, and wind and solar power facilities. […]
A gathering of crows is called a murder. A bunch of kangaroos is called a mob. And a gathering of IGs is–no, not a nuisance–it’s called CIGIE–the Council of Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency. And, CIGIE’s annual Top Management and Performance Challenges–TPMC report–boiled down IG reports from 61 different agencies–and leads with IT and security management issues across the government. […]
Maria Roat, smart business innovator CIO at SBA, knows her way around the jobs that define government IT–because she’s held most of them. She’s precisely the kind of professional we all want to see on the MGT Technology Modernization Fund board–a lean forward, pragmatist. Roat is a military veteran who has also walked a mile in the contractor’s shoes–she notes she’ll never drop an RFP before the Christmas holidays. Like Suzette Kent, she stresses the importance of the Federal workforce. […]
Kevin McAleenan, commissioner of the Department of Homeland Security’s U.S. Customs and Border Protection group, told lawmakers last week that CBP is investing to modernize infrastructure, ports of entry, and mobile technologies across its land-sea-air security operations. […]
Cometh another Congressional hearing on the Department of Homeland Security–DHS–and its ability to lock down the entire nation’s cyber infrastructure. Cometh more finger pointing. The Government Accountability Office–GAO–released a report on DHS’ uphill battle for cybersecurity. With no ostensible end to this job, it’s easy to tell Sisyphus to push harder. […]
Changes are afoot at the Pentagon. President Trump selected Lt. Gen. Bradford “B.J.” Shwedo as the next CIO of the Joint Staff, Defense Secretary James Mattis announced Wednesday. Shwedo will replace Coast Guard Vice Adm. Marshall B. Lytle. […]
The Department of Homeland Security’s National Programs and Protection Directorate–NPPD–is one step closer to its first permanent undersecretary in more than a year. Tuesday, Christopher Krebs, who currently serves as acting undersecretary, had an overwhelmingly positive confirmation hearing with the Senate Committee on Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs. […]