While data management is becoming more intertwined with tech initiatives, two data officials at the May 27 Federal Data Strategy Conference said that communication and collaboration between chief data officers and other offices within Federal agencies are keys to their success. […]

Eleven GOP members of the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee have requested a briefing on a cyber alert issued by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and FBI on May 13. […]

As the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) activates its “fourth mission” duties to provide lifesaving aid during the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, Chief Data Officer Kshemendra Paul said at a May 27 Federal Data Strategy Conference that scaling telemedicine has been a “huge success story” of the agency’s capabilities. […]

The United Kingdom’s cybersecurity agency said this week it will review the role of China-based network equipment maker Huawei in UK-based 5G networks – a move that comes days after the United States announced it will further restrict Huawei’s access to the U.S. technology supply chain. […]

As Congress begins work on future COVID-19 relief bills, a group of bipartisan legislators wrote to House and Senate leadership urging them to include funding for state and local government (SLG) IT infrastructure in future relief bills. […]

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) hired Mojdeh Bahar, former assistant administrator for technology transfer at the Department of Agriculture’s Research Service, as the second associate director for innovation and industry services (ADIIS), per a May 22 press release. […]

A new bill introduced by Rep. Morgan Griffith, R-Va., would task the Department of Commerce with conducting a quantum computing study to outline economic benefits of the technology, and identify and mitigate supply chain risks. […]

The U.S. Census Bureau is seeking industry input on a new acquisition strategy to revamp its cybersecurity practices over the next decade, according to a May 20 request for information (RFI). […]

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) identified in a new report 168 new actions that Congress and Federal agencies could to take to improve efficiency and effectiveness across the Federal government, including two new recommendations involving information technology. […]

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced May 21 it is partnering with the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) to promote the use of $50 million in funding from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act to help close the digital divide during the COVID-19 pandemic. […]

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) released a new chatbot this week to respond to frequently asked COVID-19 questions, including triaging symptoms, telehealth troubleshooting, and rescheduling appointments. […]

The U.S. Air Force admitted in a May 20 request for information (RFI) that the agency lacks an Enterprise Data Loss Prevention Program (E-DLP) to protect sensitive information, but is now seeking a new approach to data protection with a proof of concept for an E-DLP at one of its bases. […]

The U.S. Army is seeking intelligent automation, augmentation, and analytics (IA3) services and solutions “to harness the power of data, while improving operational efficiency and effectiveness” across the Department of Defense and other Federal agencies, according to a May 20 request for information (RFI). […]

Rep. Tim Ryan, D-Ohio, believes that the Federal government needs to help state and local governments figure out how to bridge the digital divide as the COVID-19 pandemic demonstrates a need to expand broadband to areas that don’t have it and to provide better services. […]

Federal CIO Suzette Kent said today the rapid IT transformations that have taken place over the last two months of the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic should serve as a proof point for what the Federal government is capable of going forward. […]

In a move to ward off foreign adversaries, Sens. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., Mike Rounds, R-S.D., and Rep. Anna Eshoo, D-Calif., led the charge to encrypt phone calls between the chambers to protect communications against foreign surveillance. […]

In a letter to the Department of Transportation (DoT) and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., and Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., called for the expansion of drone use to facilitate contact-free delivery of medical supplies and other needed equipment during the COVID-19 pandemic. […]

Apple and Google are launching the Exposure Notification application programming interface (API) that will enable apps created by public health agencies to work more effectively in contact tracing of COVID-19. […]

A Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) national recruiter exposed sensitive information including locations, phone numbers, and emails of more than 1,300 American University students following a virtual job fair on May 15. […]

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Federal IT operations are providing a resilient fabric that enables accelerated delivery of vital services to citizens during an unprecedented public health crisis. As government IT operations reach their new steady-state and map the path to further modernization, MeriTalk is surfacing the untold stories – and lessons – of those efforts. In the latest installment of CIO Crossroads, we examine the Labor Department’s performance eight weeks into the fray. […]

Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, agencies like the Small Business Administration (SBA) and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) have made the telework transition much easier for their personnel because of cloud-based systems. […]

Ransomware accounted for 61 percent of malware-based data breach incidents over most of 2019, according to the Verizon 2020 Data Breach Investigations Report, reflecting that financial gains are the top motivator for three-quarters of threat actors. […]

The Senate Commerce Committee advanced key pieces of IT legislation out of markup during today’s business meeting. […]

The National Institutes of Standards and Technology’s (NIST) National Cybersecurity Center of Excellence (NCCoE) is asking industry to demonstrate products and technical expertise to support its project entitled, 5G Cybersecurity: Preparing a Secure Evolution. […]

2020 marks the start of a new era in government IT. Federal, state, and local government IT leaders are quickly scaling work from home support levels, despite many organizations lacking needed infrastructure and security controls for a perimeterless work environment. […]

Consolidating Federal data centers through adoption of cloud and shared services has the “greatest potential” for streamlining the use of Federal resources, according to Thomas Santucci, director of the Data Center and Cloud Optimization Infrastructure Program Management Office at the General Services Administration (GSA). […]

A Defense Department (DoD) research official said this week that his office’s “number one priority” is making sure the military has access to advanced microelectronics, while calling quantum technologies a much longer-term play. […]

The CIOs of the Agriculture (USDA) and Transportation (DoT) Departments said today that workforce productivity trends have been stable or improved since both agencies turned to large-scale telework in March to combat spread of COVID-19. […]

In a project between ACT-IAC’s Emerging Technology Group and the Acquisition Community of Interest (COI) important takeaways were found for improving training, implementing modern techniques, and integrating appropriate tools for improving the Federal acquisition process. […]

The final version of National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Special Publication 800-207 on zero trust could be released as soon as this month, with an opportunity for industry collaboration coming this fall, a NIST official confirmed today. […]