The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) needs to do a better job collecting necessary data from its Countering Violent Extremism (CVE) Grant Program – which funds efforts to reduce and prevent extremist violence in the United States – the Government Accountability Office (GAO) said in a report that found that DHS didn’t obtain data on the performance of grantees for 2017-2019. […]
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has unveiled three key leadership appointments including the agency’s deputy director, and two covering hot-button security posts. […]
The General Services Administration’s (GSA) insider threat program (ITP) is failing to adequately protect GSA personnel, facilities, and systems from insider threats, according to a recent report from the agency’s Office of Inspector General. […]
President Biden announced several senior appointments on Feb. 19 plans to the Departments of Health and Human Services (HHS), Education, and Veterans Affairs (VA), including Chiquita Brooks-LaSure as Administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). […]
A group of House Democrats is urging the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) to allocate COVID-19 vaccinations for the Federal workforce, many of whom are considered essential workers. […]
The National Science Foundation (NSF) is collaborating with Amazon on a program to support research focused on fairness in artificial intelligence and announced the program’s first cohort of 2021 awardees. […]
The Occupational Safety and Health Association (OSHA) needs to reevaluate its reporting compliance standards and fix the current deficiencies in the system, according to a report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO). […]
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) announced the establishment of an international strategy, CISA Global. […]
The Federal Communications Commission voted on Feb. 17 to seek public comment on possible changes to how it implements a $1.9 billion program to help network service providers replace equipment in their networks made by China-based Huawei, ZTE, and any other providers that the Federal government may deem as risky to national security. […]
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) updated its Technology Assessment (TA) Design Handbook to include more recently published literature, recent GAO team experiences, and submitted comments from external experts and the public. Per GAO, the Technology Assessment Design Handbook is meant to give GAO staff and other users tools and guidance when designing technology assessments. It […]
The Department of Justice (DoJ) announced it has indicted three North Korean military hackers as part of a series of cyberattacks intended to steal and extort more than $1.3 billion of money and cryptocurrency from financial institutions and companies. […]
Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, is asking the FBI and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to provide more information on the recent attempt by cyber criminals to poison the water supply at an Oldsmar, Fla. water treatment facility. […]
Nick Andersen, who held senior cybersecurity positions at the Department of Energy (DoE) and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) over the past few years, has joined communications services provider Lumen as the chief information security officer for the public sector. […]
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), FBI, and the Treasury Department have issued a joint cybersecurity advisory about North Korean malicious activity known as “AppleJeus.” […]
Kevin Smith has taken over as CIO of the Federal Housing Finance Agency in Jan. 2021, according to his LinkedIn page. Smith has a wide range of Federal experience, having served for five years as the CIO of the U.S. Census Bureau and six years with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office as Deputy CIO […]
The General Services Administration (GSA) announced today that a new version of Regulations.gov will launch on Feb. 18. The new website, which has been in beta testing since July 2019, will help improve the integrity of the public commenting process, GSA explained in a press release. […]
The General Services Administration (GSA) announced several key leadership positions today, including Laila ElGohary as White House Liaison, who brings substantial technology experience to the position. […]
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) created a Positioning, Navigation and Timing (PNT) Profile using its Cybersecurity Framework that can be used as part of a risk management framework to assist organizations in managing risk to systems, networks, and assets that use PNT services. […]
With IoT devices exploding in popularity and use in recent years, Reps. Suzan DelBene, D-Wash., and John Katko, R-N.Y., reintroduced a bill that would direct the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to collect data from devices that connect to the Internet to ensure there is enough spectrum capacity. […]
The Treasury Department’s Bureau of Engraving and Printing (BEP) employees have a new fashion accessory to wear to work – a contact-tracing device that utilizes 4G cellular data with the Amazon Web Services (AWS) cloud to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. […]
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has made progress on implementing its new electronic health records (EHR) system, but should postpone deployments of the system at additional locations because additional testing will likely identify issues that need to be resolved first, the Government Accountability Office said in a new report. […]
The prospects for Snow Days for most Federal workers may be melting away in the Washington, D.C. area even as the 2021 winter season stays stormy, and the COVID-19 pandemic persists. […]
The IRS announced on Feb. 9 that Nancy Sieger will become CIO of the tax agency, after serving as the acting CIO since June 2019. […]
Building resiliency in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic was an essential aspect of keeping the Federal workforce humming and managing a hybrid workforce of the future. […]
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) is proposing a rule change that would provide rate incentives for electric companies that go “above and beyond” current regulations in their cybersecurity investments. […]
The Senate voted late Monday to confirm President Biden’s nomination of Denis McDonough as secretary to the Department of Veterans Affairs. The vote was 87-7. […]
The Department of Justice (DoJ) has dropped a legal challenge to California’s net neutrality statute – a lawsuit filed by the Trump administration in 2018. The withdrawal of the lawsuit to block the state law provides an opportunity for net neutrality rules to return on a Federal level. […]
Sens. Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., and Bill Cassidy, R-La., reintroduced legislation on Feb. 3 that would work to improve information sharing between health IT systems to aid in the distribution and administration of COVID-19 vaccines. […]
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued another update – now up to three in total – in its search for solicitations that would improve the agency’s Data Center and Cloud Optimization (DCCO) efforts. […]
Think about technology from a restaurant perspective – every Federal agency is a pizzeria, providing citizens with one service. The goal – pivot from pizzeria to GrubHub – allowing citizens to identify essential technology, while agencies serve as the enabler, or “delivery service.” Being a positive digital disruptor will enhance the customer experience, IT experts said Feb. 3 during MeriTalk’s Power of Prediction: Federal IT Operations Management (ITOM) webinar. […]