The spread of COVID-19 has drastically changed how government IT thinks of resiliency. Resiliency and continuity of operations planning were reserved for potential disaster scenarios – how agencies might respond should an attack or system shutdown occur, and how to recover. […]
More than 140 Federal legislators urged Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Ajit Pai to improve the agency’s communication with low-income families regarding the FCC’s Lifeline program. […]
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has more than tripled the numbers of agency employees teleworking on a daily basis since February, an agency spokesperson told MeriTalk. […]
The National Security Agency (NSA) released a guide on April 24 to help Federal agencies make decisions about which collaboration and video chat services to use during telework, as the government continues to adjust to mass telework orders. […]
ECS Federal was awarded an $83 million artificial intelligence (AI) contract with the U.S. Army on April 23 to help prototype the tech over the next three years. […]
House Science, Space, and Technology Committee Ranking Member Frank Lucas, R-Okla., introduced legislation April 23 to support the Federal research enterprise’s ability to fight COVID-19 and other infectious diseases. […]
Before the Department of Defense (DoD) can fully embrace new artificial intelligence (AI) technology, the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) is doing the behind-the-scenes data prep to get workers and defense technology ready for the transition. […]
Taking the kids to their doctor’s appointments may become easier – and a lot more fun – as the National Institutes of Health (NIH) seeks to turn pediatric onboarding into a video game with real-life rewards. […]
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) updated its request for an on-premise cloud provider to support National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences’ (NIEHS) research environment. […]
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) will lead as the first formally designated Quality Service Management Office (QSMO) for cybersecurity services, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) announced today. […]
The Department of Energy (DoE) has moved the vast majority of its workforce – 85 percent – to telework to help stem the spread of COVID-19, a DoE official confirmed to MeriTalk. […]
The Pandemic Response Accountability Committee (PRAC) launched its website and Twitter account today, and appointed Robert Westbrooks as Executive Director of the committee. […]
We’ve all done it – it’s really easy to do. […]
Following a May 2017 disruption in the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) Electronic Comment Filing System (ECFS), the Government Accountability Office (GAO) made numerous cybersecurity recommendations that the agency still has not implemented. […]
The General Services Administration (GSA) issued a human-centered design Evaluation and Buying Guide today to help Federal agencies seek out tech that improves the customer experience. […]
Federal agencies are making progress on the Federal Data Strategy 2020 Action Plan, having completed seven early milestones with three on their way to being completed. […]
As a part of its CHARIot Challenge, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is launching Internet of Things (IoT) and augmented reality (AR) challenges to improve public safety communications for first responders. […]
Maryland Governor Larry Hogan, Virginia Governor Ralph Northam, and D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser wrote a joint letter to the Trump administration urging them to not prematurely reopen Federal offices. Each of us have made tough decisions about which employees in our governments are performing essential roles and must still report to work locations, and which […]
Sixteen Democratic senators, led by Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., are requesting more funds for the General Services Administration (GSA) Technology Transformation Service (TTS) and the United Stated Digital Service (USDS) to upgrade COVID-19 coronavirus economic relief tech at the state and local levels. […]
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) released a white paper on how to mitigate the risks of software vulnerabilities through adopting a Secure Software Development Framework (SSDF). […]
The Office of Personnel Management released guidance on April 22 to agencies on how to implement sections of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act that involve emergency paid sick leave. […]
How’s this for an emergency drill within the eye of the swirling coronavirus storm? As America social distanced, Federal IT has literally brought us together – as a government, and as a nation. As government IT operations achieve steady-state amid the demands of the pandemic, let’s begin to lift the veil on that story, starting with the Small Business Administration (SBA). […]
As political leaders and public health experts look to both stem the spread of COVID-19 and work towards economic recovery, the use of contact tracing for those testing positive for the novel coronavirus has come to the forefront. While he praised the idea of contact tracing, Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., urged Vice President Mike Pence to data privacy at the forefront of any policy decisions. […]
As we enter week six of telework, I find myself looking for small bits of normalcy. Finding new ways to support local businesses that I enjoy frequenting the most has helped achieve that. Rewinding to early March, I packed up my essentials at the 300Brand offices and thought I’d be back in a few short weeks. In those early days, I saw a lot of my favorite local businesses scrambling to launch virtual offerings. Yoga studios were streaming classes on social media, coffee shops were offering online ordering, and neighborhood restaurants were adding delivery for the first time. Were these options perfect? No. But they were helping us all get by. […]
The Small Business Administration (SBA) transitioned to telework “without missing a beat,” quickly implemented new programs, and scaled to adjust to a mass number of new users amid the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic thanks to prior IT modernization and cloud transitions, per CIO Maria Roat. […]
The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) is requesting that Federal government offices meet a list of preconditions before reopening to employees. […]
Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) Accreditation Body (AB) Chair Ty Schieber and Department of Defense (DoD) Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment Katie Arrington shared new insights on what CMMC-AB looks like and how companies can expect to interact with it. […]
Rep. Grace Meng, D-N.Y., introduced a bill to the House on April 21 to provide support for internet devices during emergencies related to COVID-19. […]
In a Department of Defense (DoD) press conference on April 22, U.S. Air Force General John E. Hyten and Deputy Defense Secretary David Norquist laid out a four-tiered testing program for service members. […]
The Department of the Interior (DOI) has tripled its remote work numbers amid the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic as agencies were instructed to maximize telework. […]