Smarter Gov Tech, Stronger MerITocracy

Federal agencies with central roles in executing on President Biden’s May 2021 cybersecurity executive order are taking steps to standardize DevSecOps software development disciplines across government, agency officials said on July 12. […]

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo pleaded with congressional leadership today for quick action to approve COMPETES Act legislation – also known as the Bipartisan Innovation Act – that has been hung up for several weeks in a House-Senate conference committee. […]

DCOI data center server room infrastructure hyperconverged cloud storage architecture

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) said in a new report that Federal agency offices of inspector general (OIGs) are finding uneven results in their reviews of how well those agencies are complying with obligations to report spending data under the Digital Accountability and Transparency Act of 2014 (DATA Act). […]

Veterans Affairs

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is in the process of developing and piloting several projects in artificial intelligence (AI) as the agency prepares for the next frontier in health IT – human-machine interactions – the agency’s AI lead said on July 12. […]

Rep. Jim Langevin, D-R.I., one of the leading voices on cybersecurity in Congress, is pushing for an amendment to the FY2023 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) to include two items he has long advocated – the creation of a class of a “systemically important” critical infrastructure providers, and the formation of a government Bureau of Cyber Statistics. […]

CDC

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) needs to re-design its data management system to ensure that it collects and delivers timely, accurate, and complete air passenger information to support contact tracing by local public health authorities, according to a recent report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO). […]

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is working to develop a system that generates trust scores before allowing access to its network or applications, according to the chief information security officer (CISO) of the agency’s Management and Operations Division. […]

EPA Environmental Protection Agency

To better manage and protect against cybersecurity risks the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) must establish an enterprise-wide cybersecurity risk assessment framework, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) said in its latest annual priority recommendations report to the agency. […]

Developing a cybersecurity risk management strategy would improve the Department of Energy’s (DOE) efforts to manage cybersecurity risks and protect the nation’s electric grid, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) said in its latest annual priority recommendations report to the agency. […]

The Department of the Treasury is seeking public input on carrying out its mandate in the White House’s executive order (EO) to ensure the responsible development of digital assets, including cryptocurrencies. […]

DoD

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) is recommending in a new report that the Defense Department (DoD) adopt a more centralized and “robust” strategy to mitigate a variety of risks faced by Defense Industrial Base (DIB) companies that supply the Pentagon and do a better job keeping track of the results of those mitigation efforts. […]

modernization

Chief technology officers (CTOs) from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Department of Labor (DoL), U.S. Marshals Service, and the Naval Information Warfare Systems Command (NAVWAR) this week shared what their top priorities are going forward to ensure technology in government continues to evolve. […]

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Rep. Ritchie Torres, D-N.Y., introduced legislation on July 1 that would require the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) to investigate and report on the impact of the 2020 SolarWinds cyberattack on Federal agency networks and U.S. critical infrastructure. […]

FBI

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), and Department of the Treasury (DoT) released an advisory on July 6 that attributes ransomware attacks launched against healthcare and public health (HPH) organizations to North Korean state-sponsored organizations. […]

cybersecurity

The Department of Justice (DoJ) is targeting increased efforts to fight ransomware-driven cyber attacks – amid a host of other improved cybersecurity approaches – as one of a number of new agency priority goals in DoJ’s 2022-2026 Strategic Plan published on July 1. […]

Among the Government Accountability Office’s (GAO) new list of priority open recommendations to the Department of Education (DOE) one common thread continues to jump out – improving data quality to ensure the well-being and education of school-age children. […]

CISA
quantum computing

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has announced the first group of winners from its six-year quantum-resistant cryptographic algorithm competition.

The first group of four winners designed encryption tools to withstand assaults from future quantum computers. They will become part of NIST’s post-quantum cryptographic standard, which is expected to be finalized in two years. […]

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), FBI, Treasury Department, and the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) have released a joint cybersecurity advisory warning of MedusaLocker targeting vulnerabilities in Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) to conduct ransomware attacks. […]

Cybersecurity
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The North Atlantic Treaty Organization is launching a new one billion euro (U.S. $1.04 billion) defense technologies investment fund that is likely to cover tech including artificial intelligence, NATO Secretary Jens Stoltenberg said on June 30 at a press conference in Madrid. […]

CISA

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has issued guidance for users of Microsoft Exchange Online to switch from Basic Authentication, or “Basic Auth,” to Modern Authentication, or “Modern Auth” – which supports multi-factor authentication (MFA) – by the beginning of October. […]

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) declared on June 29 its adoption of a new “strategic concept” that names Russia as the “most significant and direct threat” to NATO allies’ security and stability, wraps cybersecurity initiatives more tightly into the alliance’s strategy, and establishes a Defense Innovation Accelerator “to bolster our technological edge.” […]

AI

A senior General Services Administration (GSA) official involved with artificial intelligence (AI) deployments throughout the Federal civilian government emphasized this week that creating broad-based trust in AI technologies is the key to maintaining the personal freedoms of American citizens over the long term. […]

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