Smarter Gov Tech, Stronger MerITocracy

The Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency – the organization which oversees nearly all of the Federal government’s security clearances – is scheduled to host a virtual security conference to kick off the second annual National Insider Threat Awareness Month in early September. […]

The COVID-19 pandemic has made all levels of government radically change how they operate. From shifting their workforce to telework to delivering government services digitally, Federal, state, and local governments have had to pivot the way they work, while still delivering on their mission. […]

FCC, Chinese suppliers

Starting August 13, a new Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Council rule will ban Federal agencies from buying products or utilizing services from China-based tech companies such as Huawei and ZTE. A July 23 memo from the Department of Defense (DoD) outlines contracting responsibilities as agencies adjust to the transition. […]

cloud

Defense Information Systems Agency’s (DISA) milCloud® 2.0 – in combination with Oracle’s Exadata Database Machine platform – is paving quicker and easier pathways to advanced data analytics capabilities such as artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning technologies, subject matter experts from both companies said during a July 22 webinar, “milCloud 2.0: Leveraging the Latest Tech for the Mission,” hosted by MeriTalk and GDIT. […]

Pentagon Military Defense DoD

Per new figures from the Office of the CIO, the Department of Defense (DoD) accommodated more than one million personnel on telework as of mid-June, compared to the 95,000 employees that worked remotely prior to the coronavirus pandemic. […]

The Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) has released a list of AI ethics and principles to guide the intelligence community (IC) on its use and development of AI and AI tools. […]

Pentagon Military Defense DoD

The Marine Corps is partnering with Verizon to launch a “living lab” at the Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Miramar to explore ways the military and Department of Defense (DoD) agencies can use 5G to transform operations in areas ranging from communications to base security. […]

Pentagon Military Defense DoD
Senate hearing Congressional-min

Establishing a data-driven government, Federal officials suggested today, requires recognizing data management as a team sport, putting change “champions” into positions of responsibility, and educating the workforce to realize the value of the day they are collecting. […]

Army DoD military Defense AI

A Federal network environment that supports classified telework is coming soon to agencies within the intelligence community, Jennifer Zbozny, director of the Software Engineering Center at the Army’s Communications-Electronic Command, confirmed at an event today. […]

While the commander of U.S. Cyber Command emphasized action in protecting the elections on July 20, so too did a group of over 30 former government officials in a letter to House and Senate leadership. […]

Air Force

The House Appropriations Committee this week approved its defense funding bill for fiscal year 2021 on a vote of 30 to 22. The bill includes $694.6 billion in new discretionary spending authority for the Department of Defense, and a slight decrease in funding for research, development, test, and evaluation of new technologies. […]

The coronavirus pandemic hasn’t slowed the government’s progress on managing the Federal background check inventory, which has returned to a stable state of roughly 200,000 cases, according to a quarterly report on the Security Clearance, Suitability/Fitness, and Credentialing Reform Cross-Agency Priority (CAP) goal action plan from the President’s Management Agenda. […]

Efforts to improve the U.S. Coast Guard’s Marine Information for Safety and Law Enforcement (MISLE) data system have fallen short, and the Coast Guard plan to replace the system, according to the Government Accountability Office (GAO). […]

Cybersecurity

CMMC Academy, an initiative of the cybersecurity firm Celerium, has set a July 22 event to walk companies through the certification process for the Department of Defense’s Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC). […]

Pentagon Military Defense DoD

While the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) says that a pandemic was never a part of its strategic plan, the agency has released figures showing how it quickly prepared its workforce to continue operations including a 1,000 percent increase in virtual private network (VPN) access for its joint partners. […]

Cyber Attack
Pentagon Military Defense DoD

At the Department of Defense’s (DoD) Defense Innovation Unit (DIU), leaders rely on crafting problem statements, quick prototyping, and commercial competition to fuel mission critical innovation, Director of Strategic Engagement Mike Madsen explained at the July 15 FCW DoD Cloud Workshop. […]

DoD Pentagon Military

The Department of Defense (DoD) has named Michael Kratsios as acting under secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering. The designation is effective July 10 and Kratsios will continue to serve as Federal CTO and deputy assistant to the president at the White House’s Office of Science and Technology Policy. “In seeking to fill this […]

FCC, Chinese suppliers
Army DoD military Defense AI

The newest Joint Artificial Intelligence Center (JAIC) mission initiative in “joint information warfare” is making progress, according to Nand Mulchandani, who took over as acting director of the Defense Department AI development center last month. […]

Air Force

At Hanscom Air Force Base in Massachusetts, it has been the job of two people to check visitors into the base, and manually enter their information into a system for a background check. Those days are numbered because of a robotics process automation program, according to the base’s director of communication and information. […]

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