In a Nov. 7 letter, Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., urged Secretary of Defense Mark Esper and National Security Agency (NSA) Director Gen. Paul Nakasone to conduct a cybersecurity audit of mobile voting app Voatz to “determine whether it can reliably protect the votes of U.S. servicemembers against foreign hacking.” […]
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has taken an ad-hoc approach to cloud adoption instead of following its cloud strategy, and did not fully implement security measures, according to a report from the SEC’s inspector general released November 7. […]
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report on Nov. 8 providing updates and recommendations on the Digital Accountability and Transparency Act of 2014 (DATA Act). The report offered two recommendations for the Treasury Department. […]
The U.S. Election Assistance Commission Office of the Inspector General (OIG) on Nov. 1 released an audit plan for $380 million grant funding appropriated in 2018, which includes audits of election security grant funds for six states. […]
The National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA) is featuring government adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies among 12 “grand challenges” that the group has identified as the biggest challenges that face governments through the 2020s. […]
The Department of Justice (DOJ) said in a Federal Register posting that it plans to develop a new system that will serve as its central Identity, Credential, and Access Management (ICAM) record repository for DOJ Identity Services. […]
A new study suggests that organizations should shift their cybersecurity focus to defending non-Windows infrastructure, such as Linux, while deemphasizing attribution of Advanced Persistent Threats (APTs) to any particular nation-state. […]
The Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Science and Technology (S&T) Directorate has announced the award of a contract to Mavennet Systems to adapt its oil and gas industry blockchain security technology for use by DHS’s Custom and Border Protection organization to track cross-border oil imports. […]
Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va., chairman of the House Government Operations Subcommittee, said today he would consider adding compliance with the 21st Century Integrated Digital Experience Act’s (IDEA) website modernization standards to the Federal Information Technology Acquisition Reform Act scorecard produced twice a year by the House Oversight and Reform Committee. […]
Sen. Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., announced Nov. 7 that she has joined the Senate Cybersecurity Caucus, a bipartisan group that is intended to “provide a platform for Senators and their staffs to stay informed on major policy issues and developments in cybersecurity.” […]
Marc Barrachin, managing director of New Product Development at S&P Global Market Intelligence, and Algirde Pipikaite, project lead of Industry Solutions at the Centre for Cybersecurity, World Economic Forum, renewed calls for a global standard for reporting cyberattacks in a Nov. 6 Harvard Busines Review article. […]
The Library of Congress is modernizing its IT and taking a hybrid cloud approach to its storage infrastructure, agency leaders told senators during a November 7 hearing of the Senate Rules and Administration Committee. […]
As the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) focuses on returning to the moon by 2024, cyber resiliency belongs in every step of the process, according to NASA CIO Renee Wynn. […]
One year after the relaunch of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) official website, VA.gov, the agency praised streamlined citizen services, integration of veterans’ health data with an iOS app, and its virtual veteran services capabilities at the Veterans Digital Transformation Breakfast on Nov. 7. […]
Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., told Defense Secretary Mark Esper in a Nov. 6 letter that the Defense Department (DoD) must act quickly to weed out Chinese-made surveillance gear in use at DoD facilities. […]
U.S. Chief Technology Officer Michael Kratsios delivered a strong plea today for broad policy cooperation between the U.S., European countries, and other allies in the development and deployment of artificial intelligence (AI) and 5G wireless communications technologies. […]
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., suggested this week that the Federal government make a massive investment in artificial intelligence (AI) research and other technologies through a new Federal agency created for that purpose, with a $100 billion budget over five years. […]
The National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence (NSCAI) this week released its initial assessment on the national security potential of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies, and specified five key areas where it said U.S. policy needs to change. […]
The Federal government is poised to issue a lengthy list of directions in the near future that will irrevocably launch agencies into a new era of data awareness, leverage, practice, and usage – along with all of the practical and policy work that goes along with it. […]
The Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) today released its Cyber Essentials guide, which it describes as “a starting point for small businesses and government agencies to understand and address cybersecurity risk as they do other risks.” […]
A bill introduced in the House by Reps. Anna Eshoo, D-Calif., and Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., on Nov. 5 – the Online Privacy Act of 2019 – would create new user private rights, place the onus on companies to protect user data they collect, and establish a new Federal agency to “enforce privacy protections, and strengthens enforcement of privacy law violations.” […]
The Federal government’s civilian, military, and intelligence agencies issued a statement Nov. 5 reiterating Federal support for election security at national, state, and local levels. […]
U.S. Chief Technology Officer Michael Kratsios said Nov. 5 that more work is needed to realize “explainable” artificial intelligence (AI) technology, and said the government will offer further regulatory guidance soon on the technology’s use. […]
A “year one strategy” on the Federal Data Strategy and a Chief Data Officer (CDO) council, like the Chief Information Officer (CIO) council, are almost ready for release, according to Federal CIO Suzette Kent. […]
Two senior technology officials at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) spoke in positive terms today about the benefits that cloud services are bringing to the agency, and counseled focusing attention on security responsibilities for other agencies also underrating cloud service adoption. […]
The National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO) endorsed S.?2749, the?DOTGOV?Act of 2019 on Nov. 4. The legislation, introduced by Sens. Gary Peters, D-Mich., and Ron Johnson, R-Wis., ranking member and chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, respectively, and Sens. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., and James Lankford, Okla., aims to “strengthen local government cybersecurity defenses by switching to the .gov domain for websites and email addresses.” […]
The General Services Administration (GSA) today announced the award of its Second Generation Information Technology (2GIT) Blanket Purchase Agreements (BPAs) that have an estimated value of $5.5 billion over five years. […]
In today’s society, can an artificial intelligence (AI) algorithm truly be unbiased? That question sparked some serious debate among a panel of experts from the Brookings Institution last week. […]
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) lacks the internal controls necessary to make risk-based decisions for the security of its budget systems, a report from the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) found. […]
The Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) on Nov. 4 explained several upcoming FY2020 and beyond industry contract awards for information technology (IT) projects and initiatives at its Forecast to Industry 2019 event. […]