Significant tax benefits can occur when taxpayers invest in Qualified Opportunity Funds, which invest in Opportunity Zones that were created by Congress, and the IRS says that over 6,000 of these funds invested about $29 billion in Opportunity Zones through 2019, but plans to ensure funds comply with requirements depend on data that isn’t readily accessible. […]

An FBI official did not deny prior reports that the agency held the decryption key from the Kaseya ransomware attacks for multiple weeks without giving it to parties victimized by the attacks but told the House Oversight and Reform Committee at a Nov. 16 hearing that it chose to do so in the interest of figuring out how to achieve the widest-ranging impact from the key. […]

The Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) published a comprehensive framework on responsible usage of artificial intelligence (AI) to help Federal officials and contractors align technology and AI programs with the Department of Defense’s (DoD) Ethical Principles for AI. […]

The Federal government has transitioned from a “Cloud First” to a “Cloud Smart” strategy intended to guide agencies in leveraging cloud technology without compromising security. However, accomplishing this is a team effort, Federal officials said during a SCGov panel discussion on November 16. 

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The Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) released new Cybersecurity Incident and Vulnerability Response Playbooks today, completing a vital assignment from President Biden’s Cybersecurity executive order (EO). […]

The Biden administration issued its cybersecurity executive order (EO) in May 2021, giving marching orders to Federal agencies to move to zero trust security architectures, among other directives. During a SCGov panel discussion today, Federal chief information security officers (CISOs) shared how they’re leveraging their agency’s previous programs around zero trust to fulfill the obligations of the EO. […]

The FBI’s email system was hacked, sending emails to thousands of recipients about a fake cyberattack, the agency confirmed over the weekend. The law enforcement agency said the cause of the hack has since been remediated. […]

The White House said today it has created a task force made up mostly of top Federal agency officials to “coordinate effective implementation” of the many new programs and mandates created by the $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act signed into law by President Biden on November 15.  The task force is being created through a new executive order. […]

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) finally launched the Cyber Talent Management System (CTMS) to enable more effective recruitment, development, and retention of cybersecurity talent. […]

As the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) moves toward the bidding process for its Joint Warfighting Cloud Capability (JWCC) contract, Google said it wants an opportunity to get in on the deal. […]

With the House consideration of the Build Back Better Act (BBBA) – Democrats’ $1.75 trillion-plus budget reconciliation bill – pushed to this week, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said that the Senate will begin consideration of the fiscal year (FY) 2022 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) this week. […]

In the wake of a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report encouraging the Departments of Education and Homeland Security (DHS) to update K-12 cybersecurity guidance, several Democrat senators have written to both agencies urging them to heed GAO’s recommendations, and establish critical infrastructure council structures to advance the issue. […]

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has allocated an additional $42 million in the second round of funding for its COVID-19 Telehealth Program, bringing the program total to $166 million in funding. […]

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced that it is ready to authorize nearly $709,060,159 in its fourth round of funding for new broadband deployments through the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund. […]

President Biden on Nov. 11 signed the Secure Equipment Act, which will prevent equipment manufactured by Chinese state-backed firms such as Huawei, ZTE, Hytera, Hikvision, and Dahua from being further utilized and marketed in the United States. […]

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) released a new guide to telework and remote work for Federal agencies on November 12, in response to increased agency interest in working from home. […]

Sponsors of two major pieces of legislation that would make formative changes to the way that private sector companies report cyberattacks to the government – and how Federal government agencies conduct their own cyber defenses – are hitching their hopes for passage to annual defense spending legislation that traditionally gets strong bipartisan support from lawmakers. […]

While the COVID-19 pandemic pushed forward massive advancements in telehealth, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has taken it one step – or more – further and is using virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) in nearly 50 sites for clinical care, an official said Nov. 8. […]

With K-12 educational institutions increasingly targeted by ransomware and other cyber attacks during the coronavirus pandemic, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) is pushing the Department of Education to update its plans – which currently date from 2010 – for addressing cyber risks faced by schools. […]

Officials from the Department of Defense (DoD) emphasized this week scaling cloud and data capabilities to empower warfighters operating at the network edge is crucial to meet the Pentagon’s mission needs. […]

With cybercriminals becoming more sophisticated at disguising themselves as legitimate network users, a top Defense Department (DoD) IT official said this week that the Pentagon’s move to zero trust security architectures gives the agency a “fighting chance” to detect and eject hackers before they can do much damage. […]

 Following a November 10 meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron, Vice President Kamala Harris announced that the U.S. will sign onto a three-year old framework offered by the French government as an international framework for cooperation on cyber and supply chain security. […]

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has embarked on a new initiative to assess the status of geographic information systems (GIS) within the 911 community, with a goal of defining what is required to achieve interoperable GIS data sharing nationwide. […]

After its passage by the House of Representatives Nov. 5, President Biden plans to sign the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act on Monday, Nov. 15, authorizing billions of new funding for broadband and cybersecurity, in addition to traditional infrastructure, the administration announced Nov. 10. […]

The Department of Defense (DoD) is looking to industry for help in bolstering the cybersecurity of U.S. allies and partner nations, said DoD’s Mieke Eoyang, deputy assistant secretary of defense for cyber policy, at C4ISRNET’s CyberCon 2021 event on November 10. […]

Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) Director Jen Easterly said November 10 that the agency’s Binding Operational Directive (BOD) issued earlier this month to Federal agencies to remediate against a list of 300 known exploited cyber vulnerabilities appears to be getting a good reception from government and industry as an effective roadmap on how to prioritize action against prevalent cyber threats. […]

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is collecting feedback and opinions regarding the use of artificial intelligence (AI) and facial recognition between now and December 6. […]

The Department of Transportation has been tasked with seeking private sector input to create standardized data exchange requirements for goods movement in the transportation supply chain, according to a White House announcement of administration plans to fund ports and waterways improvements aimed at improving supply chain resiliency. […]

With an international focus on climate change after the United Nation’s Climate Change Conference, Department of Energy (DoE) CIO Ann Dunkin said today that data center consolidation is helping to reduce the agency’s carbon footprint, and pointed to the further use of scalable cloud-native apps as the next step in that campaign. […]

According to a recently released Tripwire survey, most security professionals in the private and public sector described their zero trust security adoption as either progressing, or even well-developed, but also in need of more work. […]