Smarter Gov Tech, Stronger MerITocracy
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modernization IT-min

The Federal government spends at least $90 billion annually on IT, according to Performance.gov. And, Chris Liddell, deputy chief of staff for policy coordination, has said that the government could spend more than double that–up to $200 billion on IT each year. That type of spending could lead to innovation and efficiencies for Feds, but the path forward is often obstructed by end-of-life devices and unwieldy maintenance costs. […]

Washington DC capitol federal government-min

A group of 15 Democratic senators introduced a new piece of data privacy legislation on Wednesday. The legislation, named the Data Care Act, will, according to the bill’s lead sponsor Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, “require websites, apps, and other online providers to take responsible steps to safeguard personal information and stop the misuse of users’ data.” […]

Capitol Washington DC Federal

As MeriTalk reported earlier this month, the Senate today took action on the 21st Century Integrated Digital Experience Act (IDEA Act) and passed the legislation under unanimous consent. […]

cloud computing concept -min

Expect to see more data breaches, attacks on critical infrastructure in the cloud, and more research into vulnerabilities into cloud computing in 2019, according to studies on upcoming threats in the new year. […]

Military AI DoD Defense

A panel of Federal government artificial intelligence experts spoke on the importance of AI, ethical concerns, and use cases at the CXO Tech Forum on AI and Big Data in Government on Wednesday. […]

In today’s Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, the Committee dug into what it called “China’s non-traditional espionage against the United States.” During the hearing, senators heard from cybersecurity, and intelligence experts about China’s attempts to use cybersecurity attacks and intellectual property theft to advance its global standing. […]

Federal Cloud Flag

Federal officials are looking at 2019 as the year of the hybrid cloud, as agencies shift from the Cloud First policy of moving pell-mell into as-a-service models to the Cloud Smart policy, which focuses more on making cloud work with legacy systems and serving agency missions. […]

Internet of Things IoT sensors devices internet-connected smart city

Rep. Robin Kelly, D-Ill., will introduce new legislation this week to “address cyber vulnerabilities created by the adoption of Internet-connected devices,” and specifically cyber threats of internet of things (IoT) devices owned and used by the Federal government. […]

The National Security Agency and Central Security Service inducted five new individuals to the NSA/CSS Hall of Honor on Nov. 28, according to a Dec. 7 NSA/CSS press release. […]

Cloud computing

A growing challenge for development and security operation teams (DevSecOps) as they move workloads to cloud infrastructures is how to ensure that functions in the cloud adhere to their agency’s compliance and security policies. Cloud infrastructures are flexible and offer opportunities for settings to be changed or misconfigured, opening more access points for data breaches, system downtime, and costly compliant violations. […]

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elections, voting, election security, midterms

The House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations today released a report identifying core strategies to address and prevent cybersecurity incidents. After gathering input through hearings, briefings, reports, and roundtables, the subcommittee developed six specific priorities to create stronger protections against cyberattacks. […]

cloud computing concept -min

IT security provider Zscaler said this week it is one of four cloud service providers selected to pursue Joint Authorization Board (JAB) FedRAMP certification, at the High Impact level, through the FedRAMP Connect program. […]

The General Services Administration announced that Anil Cheriyan will be the new director of the agency’s Technology and Transformation Services unit and deputy commissioner of the Federal Acquisition Service, replacing acting director Kelly Olson in early January. […]

Machine learning AI modernization

A panel of Federal leaders agreed today they aren’t worried that artificial intelligence (AI) and robotic process automation (RPA) technologies will leave Federal employees out of work, rather, they see the technologies as an opportunity to help an overloaded workforce further agency missions. […]

elections, election security, voting

Rod Turk, the Commerce Department’s acting CIO who will be retiring next month, said in a wide-ranging discussion today that the Federal government is approaching the “tipping point” in its IT modernization efforts, and that requirements put in place in recent years to strengthen the hand of Federal CIOs in pushing modernization are resulting in less “rogue” tech projects at agencies. […]

Trump
Blockchain link

Blockchain technology’s popularity has grown in recent years to full buzzword status, but government agencies are fine-tuning their use cases for the technology and picking their blockchain projects wisely, said Mark Fisk, partner in IBM Digital for Global Business Services. […]

Quora, a popular Q&A website, announced Monday that it was the victim of a data breach which exposed 100 million users’ data, including account information and private messages. […]

ACLU

Jon Callas has left his post as a senior security expert at Apple to become a technology fellow at the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), according to a report from Reuters. […]

Robotic Process Automation

When it comes to robotic process automation (RPA), Federal and industry experts with experience find business units driving the push instead of IT departments, and find the need for quality work is a major factor alongside the highly touted efficiency gains. […]

Military AI DoD Defense

Further development of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies has the potential to tip the scales in cybersecurity in favor of the defender, said Air Force Lt. Gen. Bradford Shwedo, director for Command, Control, Communications and Computers/Cyber, and CIO for Joint Chiefs of Staff, today at an event organized by the Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association (AFCEA). […]

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Cybersecurity cyber

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