A gathering of crows is called a murder. A bunch of kangaroos is called a mob. And a gathering of IGs is–no, not a nuisance–it’s called CIGIE–the Council of Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency. And, CIGIE’s annual Top Management and Performance Challenges–TPMC report–boiled down IG reports from 61 different agencies–and leads with IT and security management issues across the government. […]

While the Federal government continues to preach IT modernization and data center shutdowns, the odds are mounting. […]

Kevin McAleenan, commissioner of the Department of Homeland Security’s U.S. Customs and Border Protection group, told lawmakers last week that CBP is investing to modernize infrastructure, ports of entry, and mobile technologies across its land-sea-air security operations. […]

Americans don’t trust the Federal government. The Pew Research Center found that only 18 percent of Americans say they trust the Feds.  It’s small wonder we have a disruptor in chief in the White House.  […]

Users have the reputation of being the weakest link in cybersecurity, because of their potential to undo the most fortified cyber setup with an exposed password or absent-minded click in a phishing email. They’re the guy who forgets to lock one door in an otherwise secure building, or the kid who unwittingly reveals where the family keeps an emergency house key. […]

Cometh another Congressional hearing on the Department of Homeland Security–DHS–and its ability to lock down the entire nation’s cyber infrastructure. Cometh more finger pointing.  The Government Accountability Office–GAO–released a report on DHS’ uphill battle for cybersecurity. With no ostensible end to this job, it’s easy to tell Sisyphus to push harder. […]

Reps. Bill Foster, D-Ill., and Mark Takano, D-Calif., deserve a big thumbs up for introducing legislation on Thursday to reopen the Office of Technology Assessment–OTA. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., will lead the charge in the Senate. […]

Machine learning innovation is kicking into high gear. Investment in this field and data science increased 9.3 percent in 2016 to $2.4 billion, according to Gartner. On top of that, the Federal government is increasing its focus on machine learning, with the MGT Act, Technology Modernization Fund, and the President’s Management Agenda all supporting transformation efforts. […]

Conventional wisdom is that it takes a fairly long time to detect a cybersecurity breach. Typically, most research suggests, it takes two to three months, possibly longer. That may not be the case anymore, though, according to a recent report. […]

The Government Accountability Office–GAO–released a report exploring how Medicare beneficiary data are being shared with external organizations. When caring for patient record data, it seems government needs a better bedside manner and more. […]

Government employees are playing Russian roulette every time they open their inbox. […]

The Pentagon has a lot of dogs in the artificial intelligence fight. Now it seems to be setting up shop to get those puppies groomed and ready for the big show. […]

As government cyber warriors recover from their red-eye journey back from the RSA conference, there’s news on the leadership progression at the top cyber operational position in government. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) named Paul Beckman as the DHS HQ CISO. Formerly deputy CISO for DHS HQ, Beckman replaces, who recently retired from government service.  […]

The internet has never been an especially safe place, but at least one small corner of it–email–was less perilous for most users in 2017. […]

In another example of how far the cyber domain is pervading every aspect of warfare, military units are beginning to add cyber protection testing to vehicles before they hit the road. […]

Joe Ayers, public sector lead for Hewlett Packard Enterprise–HPE–is a competitor and a coach. If you’re confused by the various flavors of HP, HPE is the $28 billion server, storage, and networking business. But to understand HPE, like understanding Ayers, you need to think outside the box. […]

Bot-driven cyberattacks and other fast-spreading malware have been making some pretty big waves of late. The Mirai botnet, for example, launched several record-setting Distributed Denial-of-Service–DDoS–attacks starting in September 2016. […]

At the RSA Cybersecurity Conference in San Francisco, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen made it clear that the United States has “a full spectrum of response options” to defend against cyber attacks and hacks. […]

The Department of Defense (DoD) Empire just struck back with answers to more than 1,000 questions that vendors posed regarding the Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure (JEDI) cloud contract. DoD just released its second draft request for proposal after responding to concerns of 46 vendors and two associations. […]

Uncle Sam’s Russopobia got a shot in the arm from a recent Department of Interior (DOI) Inspector General report. […]

Last month, the Department of Homeland Security issued a rare public alert about a large-scale Russian cyber campaign targeting U.S. infrastructure. The news raised serious concerns about vulnerabilities in the nation’s power grid and other critical infrastructure assets.   […]

It’s not often that anyone aspires to “go slow” to reach their goals, but for Shane Barney, Acting Chief Information Security Officer for the U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services, it’s part of the plan. […]

As every serious runner knows, preparing for a big race can be a daunting task; it takes time, patience, and determination to succeed.  Once the training schedule begins, the runner must be diligent with sticking to the task.  By neglecting even one workout, the runner can risk losing progress, and not finish the race. […]

Yogi Berra told us it’s like déjà vu all over again–and cyber stalkers let out a huge yawn at yesterday’s House Armed Services Committee hearing on cyber operations. This torturous exercise in reviewing technology security and public safety challenges associated with critical infrastructure was studded with the clichés and platitudes that set our nation up for a massive kinetic cyber attack. […]

Security is the great white whale of Federal IT–even as we make progress, it is just out of reach. Late last month, Zscaler announced it had prioritized rigorous security standards by achieving the Service Organization Control (SOC) 2, Type II Certification. […]

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s marathon Congressional sessions in front of both the House and Senate have produced countless talking points and incendiary sound bites. […]

The world over, folks ask the same two questions every day–what’s for dinner, and what’s the weather forecast? In the government IT space, every day we’re all asking about the cloud forecast. A recent report from P&S Market Research provides new insights on the global government’s cloud appetites. […]

The Government Accountability Office–GAO–recently released a report on an artificial intelligence forum it held in Washington, D.C. last summer. It shows that government’s thinking about the ups and downs of thinking machines. Two highlights to make you think.  […]

On any given day, you might find Mike Maiorana traveling across the country to meet with his most valued stakeholders–his customers and his team. But it wasn’t always digital jet setting for the Jersey boy who graduated from Rutgers in 1990 with a marketing degree. […]

Cybersecurity is at the heart of IT modernization. While modern technologies provide agility and convenience, a core requirement of new solutions is the ability to respond to new threats. […]