White House

Following reports of a possible cyberattack late Sunday night, officials at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and at the Department of Defense (DoD) prep Federal networks for an uptick in cyberthreats as employees move to telework to fight the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak. […]

FCC

More than 65 communications service providers have signed on to the Keep Americans Connected Pledge issued by Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai to promote sustained connectivity during disruptions caused by the coronavirus. […]

COVID-19

It was a fast-moving weekend for the Federal government and its evolving responses to, and planning for, impact of the spreading COVID-19 coronavirus.  Here’s a quick look at some of the top developments of interest to the Federal IT community: […]

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) in a memo dated March 15 asked Federal agency and department heads to offer “maximum telework flexibilities” to all current telework-eligible Federal employees in the National Capital Region (NCR). […]

The COVID-19 outbreak has created a flood of information to sift through for the Federal workforce. MeriTalk will attempt to collect and disseminate information as clearly as possible regarding the Federal workforce and IT policies as they relate to the Coronavirus. […]

Despite tech and efficiency benefits, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) – which oversees Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and the 11 Federal Home Loan Banks – documented “third-party, information security, and business resiliency risks” in its transition to and use of the public cloud. […]

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) requested $706 million in appropriated funds for Fiscal Year 2021. An increase of $76 million from the FY2020 enacted level, the agency aims to improve its internal IT infrastructure and its Science, Technology Assessment, and Analytics (STAA) audit team. […]

“We didn’t think that we needed to invent a new agency when we got one [CISA] that’s working,” said Solarium co-chair, Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, “But we did think that there was something missing and that was leadership from the top.” […]

General Services Administration GSA

The General Services Administration (GSA) is cancelling the Federal Acquisition Service Training (FAST) 2020 conference and all associated Program Management Review meetings. […]

Sen. Mark Warner sent a letter to the acting director of national intelligence (DNI) and the director of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to issue clear guidance ensuring that security clearances will not be jeopardized due to financial impacts of COVID-19. […]

The first round of cybersecurity job opportunities for graduates of the Federal Cyber Reskilling Academy has been posted on the USAJobs Open Opportunities site, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), the Chief Information Officers Council, and the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) announced March 11. […]

Sens. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., and Rick Scott, R-Fla., said today they introduced legislation that would ban the use of the TikTok app on Federal government-provided devices out of concern that the company providing the service – ByteDance – has close ties to the Chinese government and could be compelled to share user data with the government. […]

funding

Implementing a proposed Federal grant program designed to improve state and local government cybersecurity would cost a total of $2.89 billion over the next six years including both expected grant totals and the cost to run the program, according to an estimate from the Congressional Budget Office. […]

capitol washington dc senate house congress-min
NIST

Drones, facial recognition technology, and autonomous vehicles are a few of the technologies that the human capital team at the Department of Homeland Security is considering when hiring these days.  […]

General Services Administration GSA

Kris Rowley, the chief data officer (CDO) at the Generals Services Administration (GSA) will be leaving the agency to join the private sector. His last day will be Friday, March 13 according to an email obtained by MeriTalk. […]

HUD Urban Development

The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is seeking out a cloud-based technical solution for its Single Family Acquired Asset Management System (SAMS), a legacy system that’s integral to managing HUD’s portfolio of homes with a total value of between $3 billion and $6 billion. […]

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) late last week issued a practical checklist to help executives “think through” infrastructure protection, supply chain, and cybersecurity issues in light of the COVID-19 coronavirus, and potential effects to workforce and operations. […]

GSA General Services Administration

Final Guidance for the Multi-Award Schedule (MAS) Modification is now available from the General Services Administration (GSA) for contractors and put together with industry feedback. […]

DHS Homeland Security

The Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) is warning the public to be aware of malicious actors using COVID-19, also known as the coronavirus, to attack victims with fraudulent links, attachments, and other forms of cybercrime. […]

DoD

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) said in a new report that the Defense Department (DoD) needs to do a better job managing some aspects of a pilot project with Federally-funded research and development centers (FFRDC) sponsored by DoD that aims to streamline those centers access to sensitive data.     […]

OPM Office of Personnel Management

In a letter to Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Director Dale Cabaniss, Democratic senators urged the agency to improve its plan to protect Federal employees from income insecurity and disciplinary action as they work to comply with COVID-19, also known as coronavirus, safeguards. […]

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