A new survey found that Federal chief data officers are showing signs of progress in implementing their new responsibilities, while challenges to the full scope of their missions remain. […]
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) today released its strategy to “ensure the security and resilience of 5G technology” in the United States. […]
Fifteen Democratic Senators penned a letter to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on August 20, pushing Chairman Ajit Pai to increase funding for and improve transparency about rural healthcare operations. […]
In recent months, the Small Business Administration (SBA) has shifted its IT modernization priorities dramatically to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, the agency said. […]
In a letter to the Government Accountability Office (GAO), Democrat House Representatives are asking for a review of the Trump administration’s recent order to have hospital data on coronavirus be reported to a private contractor through the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) rather than through the CDC. […]
Education Department CIO Jason Gray told Sen. Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., that the agency does not have the necessary authorities from Congress to set up a working capital fund under the Modernizing Government Technology (MGT) Act, but said if it received that authority the department would use the money exclusively to finance IT modernization projects. […]
While much attention has been focused on the Census Bureau’s ongoing 2020 decennial survey, another bureau operation whose impact will stretch well beyond then has proceeded with much less recognition – a training program to modernize the way employees deal with data. […]
The Department of Energy (DOE) is providing up to $21 million to support research in AI and machine learning (ML) solutions related to fusion energy. […]
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has made significant progress with its DATA Act reporting, but the agency’s Office of the Inspector General (OIG) says that more improvements are necessary to meet the legislation’s objective of transparency in Federal spending. […]
The National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA) has recommended that the Office of Space Commerce (OSC) within the Department of Commerce be selected to conduct Space Situational Awareness (SSA) and Space Traffic Management (STM) duties, including IT and data-related aspects of those functions. […]
The Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) National Urban Security Technology Laboratory (NUSTL) is seeking information on thermal screening for emergency responders and protective services to detect fevers at point of entry, according to a July 29 request for information (RFI). […]
The Election Infrastructure Government Coordinating Council (GCC) – which includes members of the U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC) and informs how the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) works with state and local authorities to protect election systems critical infrastructure – declared on August 20 that the election community is fully prepared to handle the final stretch leading up to the 2020 general elections. […]
Brian Harrell, assistant director for infrastructure security at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), is leaving his current post to take a role in the private sector, an agency spokesperson confirmed to MeriTalk today. […]
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Office of the Inspector General (OIG) found that the USDA is not properly disciplining employees or contractors for improper uses of IT resources. OIG found that a lack of clear policies and procedures were to blame for the lack of accountability. […]
As the final weeks of the nation’s first census conducted primarily online conclude, a Census Bureau official said the website of the 2020 decennial survey has experienced no downtime during peak operations as a result of a move to the cloud. […]
At the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) offices responsible for managing emergency communications, the coronavirus pandemic has required officials to adapt natural disaster plans to the unique challenges of the public health crisis, government officials said today. […]
According to a new Government Accountability Office (GAO) report, the Department of Homeland Security’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency doesn’t comprehensively analyze inspection or complaint information to identify trends, and doesn’t have assurance that complaints are addressed. […]
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is embracing a new cybersecurity routine after the ongoing public health crisis placed a new target on the agency and malicious actors boosted their efforts to infiltrate the agency and access sensitive data, HHS CISO Janet Vogel said this week. […]
Cybereason, a Boston-based cybersecurity firm, has held a series of election security events over the past couple of years in order to provide law enforcement with opportunities to think proactively about ways to ensure that elections are safe and secure. They held their latest event August 19 by Zoom, including officials from the FBI and CISA. […]
Department of Energy CIO Rocky Campione has named Emery Csulak Principal Deputy CIO, effective August 31, according to an agency email obtained by MeriTalk. […]
The Federal Communications Commission has scheduled a Forum on 5G Open Radio Access Networks (Open RAN) for September 14. […]
The National Science Foundation has awarded $10 million in grant funding to the cloud computing testbed Chameleon, which enables systems and networking innovations by “providing thousands of computer scientists with the bare metal access they need to conceptualize, assemble, and test new cloud computing approaches.” […]
The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) told the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) that it needs to do a better job to verify wireless device identity, although it said that based on audit results IRS was employing effective strategies and protocols to authenticate network user identities. […]
The Department of Energy and Microsoft are leading a new consortium using AI to improve the first responder experience based on a prototype from the Department of Defense’s Joint Artificial Intelligence Center (JAIC). […]
A Government Accountability Office (GAO) report found that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Indian Health Service, and Small Business Administration (SBA) are using security tools given to them by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) as they’re intended: to identify hardware and software on their networks that may have vulnerabilities and insecure configurations. But GAO said the agencies have more to do manage their network in order to optimize the value of the tools. […]
Guy Cavallo is taking over as Principal Deputy CIO at the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) effective Sept. 14. […]
As state and local leaders continue to grapple with the COVID-19 pandemic, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) released an update to its Essential Critical Infrastructure Workers Guidance. Version 4.0, released today, provides guidance for jurisdictions and critical infrastructure owners to ensure that essential workers can work safely while supporting ongoing infrastructure operations across the nation. […]
The Department of Energy (DoE) is funding $37 million in artificial intelligence and machine learning research and development (R&D) to improve data and operations at the agency’s scientific user facilities. […]
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is proposing four principles to determine the degree to which decisions made by AI are “explainable,” and hopes that effort helps to jumpstart debate on what should be expected of decision-making technologies. […]
The Census Bureau hired a deputy director for data to help ensure “the 2020 Census data products are of the highest quality.” As of August 16 statistics, the Census Bureau’s Total Self-Response Rate for the 2020 Census was 63.8%. […]