Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on March 31 previewed six “sprints” planned by DHS and its Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) component throughout 2021 to bolster Federal cybersecurity across a range of areas including ransomware, industrial control system (ICS) security, and workforce development. […]

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has added James Saunders to its CIO Office as Senior Advisor for Cybersecurity, OPM confirmed to MeriTalk. […]

The Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has released supplemental directions to help agencies root out and mitigate vulnerabilities in their Microsoft Exchange on-premises products. […]

The Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Office of Justice Programs (OJP) assigned inaccurate monitoring priority levels for some Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) grants from fiscal years 2017 through 2019, due in part to issues with the technical processes used to transfer data from the Grants Management System into the Grant Assessment Tool (GAT). […]

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) first started operations on July 21, 2011, amid the modern data boom. Shannon Files, the director of Enterprise Data Services for CFPB, shared just how the agency built out a data platform as a “startup” agency. […]

The White House named Nabeela Barbari, a national security veteran, to President Biden’s National Security Council (NSC). Barbari will serve on the NSC as the nation’s director of resilience and response. […]

The Biden administration is proposing that the Federal government take a giant leap into the national broadband service market – traditionally the province of the private sector – in order to close persistent service availability and affordability gaps across the United States. […]

As agencies have continued to close data centers by participating in the Office of Management and Budget’s (OMB) Data Center Optimization Initiative (DCOI), adapting to new technologies and cybersecurity must be front of mind for these closures, a Government Accountability Office expert said today. […]

The Biden Administration today proposed in its $2 trillion American Jobs Plan to invest upwards of $90 billion in Federal government-directed research and development (R&D) spending in a host of technology areas including AI. […]

The Department of Defense’s (DoD) Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) program is under internal review at the Pentagon with an eye toward “potential improvements” to implementation of the program, a DoD spokesperson confirmed to MeriTalk. […]

Several Federal financial regulatory agencies published a request for information (RFI) today looking to learn more about financial institutions’ use of AI, challenges when using the technology, and risk mitigation practices. […]

Key points for the U.S. military in the ongoing competition for AI dominance include maintaining focus and making sure that units are integrating AI and other technologies strategically, Lt. Gen. Michael Groen, director of the Department of Defense’s (DoD) Joint AI Center (JAIC), said March 30. […]

The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the adoption of telehealth dramatically, but there is still a long way to go in terms of broadband and infrastructure, experts say. […]

The ongoing “Sunburst” cyber-espionage campaign that resulted in the SolarWinds Orion and Microsoft Exchange breaches represents a strategic failure by the U.S., rather than simple IT inadequacy, according to a report by the Atlantic Council. […]

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is seeking information on a contractor that can provide cybersecurity research, development, and implementation support services and subject matter expertise on task areas of various priority levels. […]

The Federal government needs to both understand and work with the private sector when it comes to cybersecurity and innovation, Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines said today. […]

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has released draft guidance to help local election officials reduce the risk of cyberattacks on election systems, and is seeking public comment on the draft. […]

The Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP) has released guidance for scanning for vulnerabilities in cloud containers. […]

A group of bipartisan senators wrote a letter to Jennifer Granholm, Department of Energy (DOE) secretary, to voice their support for keeping the Office of Cybersecurity, Energy, Security, and Emergency Response (CESER). […]

A bipartisan group of House legislators urged internet service providers (ISPs) and trade associations to participate in and help make consumers aware of the newly created $3.2 billion Emergency Broadband Benefit (EBB) Program. […]

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) issued a request for information (RFI) regarding the private sector capabilities to support key capabilities of an Incident-Driven Video Recording System (IDVRS) program – body-worn cameras (BWC), video management systems (VMS), IT infrastructure, cloud-based storage systems, and other interrelated systems supporting incident-driven recordings. […]

Somewhere around half of all ongoing projects at the Department of Defense’s (DoD) Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) are currently utilizing AI in some form, DARPA Deputy Director Dr. Peter Highnam said March 24. […]

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has released a Special Notice (SN) to get more information about researching and developing “third wave” AI theory, and ways to address limitations seen in first and second wave AI technologies. […]

The FedRAMP Program Management Office (PMO) announced March 24 that it has recently joined YouTube. The PMO said its channel will serve as “a one-stop source for quick, simple, informative videos on FedRAMP tutorials, and program updates.” […]

As adversaries from overseas continue to threaten the cybersecurity of U.S. companies and organizations, National Security Agency (NSA) director and U.S. Cyber Command (CYBERCOM) chief Gen. Paul Nakasone told senators today that Defense Department (DoD) agencies need to be able to operate more freely within the U.S. to deal with those threats swiftly. […]

House Science, Space and Technology Committee Ranking Member Frank Lucas, R-Okla., is reintroducing legislation proposing the U.S. double its investments in research funding across several Federal agencies and create a national science and technology strategy. […]

Federal officials should focus on crafting policies that support the use of AI in cybersecurity, and continue to develop the AI workforce, the Information Technology Industry Council (ITI) recommends in a March 24 report. […]

Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., and Rep. Ted Lieu, D-Calif., reintroduced the Cyber Shield Act, which would create a voluntary system to certify cybersecurity protections for internet of things (IoT) devices. […]

Preventing cyberattacks is more important than ever and the National Security Agency’s (NSA) Cybersecurity Collaboration Center is working with government and industry partners to share information and tackle cybersecurity as a “team sport.” […]

After incorporating some of the National Security Commission on AI’s recommendations in the Fiscal Year (FY) 2021 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), Reps. Jim Langevin, D-R.I., and Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., hope to incorporate more of the commission’s final recommendations in the FY 2022 NDAA. […]