Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Secretary Denis McDonough has called the recent VA Office of the Inspector General’s (OIG) reports highlighting the Electronic Health Records Modernization (EHRM) program missteps “extremely disappointing,” but told members of Congress on July 14 that he is proposing a new approach for the program he hopes will get VA’s efforts “back on track.” […]

The Department of Defense’s (DoD) efforts to defend the cybersecurity of critical infrastructure in the U.S. require a stronger implementation strategy in its collaboration efforts with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), according to an audit by the Office of the Inspector General (OIG). […]

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) concluded in a new report that Federal law enforcement agencies need to have better awareness of the facial recognition systems that are used by their employees so they can better assess risks involving privacy and accuracy. […]

Federal cyber leaders are working to keep mission-critical data secure and available to employees working from home, in the office, and in the field at the tactical edge. Despite progress and intense focus, a boom in cybersecurity breaches is commanding national attention and highlighting the need for IT and security modernization throughout the Federal government. […]

The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee today approved two bills that aim to improve the cybersecurity of K-12 education institutions and to train Federal employees to better protect supply chains. […]

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) issued an emergency directive on July 13 ordering Federal agencies to disable the Microsoft Windows Print Spooler service, after discovering a vulnerability that allows attackers to remotely take over systems and enable adversaries to compromise the entire identity infrastructure of an agency. […]

The Department of Defense is making investments in artificial intelligence (AI) a “top priority” and will invest around $1.5 billion in AI projects at the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency (DARPA) over the next five years, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said July 13. […]

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) successfully adapted to a flexible telework schedule for employees during the COVID-19 pandemic and plans to retain hybrid training and development opportunities for employees beyond the public health crisis, according to a DHS official. […]

A Defense Department official charged with helping to figure out the Pentagon’s next set of moves on large-scale cloud contracts said today that the Pentagon hopes to award new cloud service contracts as early as the Spring of 2022. […]

The House Appropriations Committee spent July 13 marking up the fiscal year 2022 (FY2022) budgets for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Department of Defense (DoD). […]

The Treasury Department has issued another update in its search for a vendor for the department’s TCloud enterprise cloud contract. […]

As the migration to the cloud for Federal agencies has evolved and matured over the past decade, many agencies have learned valuable lessons that have allowed them to put their data to use efficiently. […]

According to a notice of intent posted on the SAM website, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) plans to make sole-source contract awards to seven vendors to modernize its immunization information system (IIS). […]

Websites on the dark web associated with ransomware gang REvil disappeared on July 13, according to analysts. It is not immediately clear who is responsible for the takedowns. […]

The United States Military Academy at West Point (West Point) is searching for a cloud-based common application platform to collect application data and provide the information to open files on candidates applying to the school. […]

NASA is looking for a contractor who can provide cybersecurity and privacy support for all of its centers and facilities, according to a recent request for proposals (RFP) on SAM.gov. […]

The Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) has begun soliciting bids for a potential 10-year, $980 million satellite broadband contract to provide satellite communications services under the Commercial Broadband Satellite Program (CBSP), according to a request for proposals (RFP) notice posted on the SAM website. […]

Margrethe Vestager, the European Commission executive vice president focused on digital issues, said today she’s “really encouraged” by recent tech-sector actions taken by President Biden to create greater competition, and is hopeful emerging technologies such as AI will create a bigger public sector market. […]

Department of Defense cybersecurity veteran Maj. Gen. Neil Hersey has been named the new deputy commanding general for Operations at Army Cyber Command. He transitioned to the role in June, after two years as commanding general at the Army Cyber Center of Excellence in Fort Gordon, Ga., according to his bio. […]

Federal and private sector cloud experts will gather at MeriTalk’s Cloud Café on July 15 to spill the tea on the latest technologies and policies accelerating cloud implementation, collaboration, and innovation across the public sector. […]

President Biden said today he was “optimistic” after speaking with Russian President Vladimir Putin about the United States government’s expectations for cooperation from Russia in the event of ransomware attacks that emanate from Russian territory. […]

The Department of Labor’s (DoL) Employment and Training Administration (ETA) does not require the National Association of State Workforce Agencies (NASWA) to report data on suspected unemployment insurance (UI) fraud to either the ETO or the Office of the Inspector General (OIG), according to a July 1 OIG memo. […]

A wide-ranging executive order released by the Biden administration on June 9 is seeking to revive an Obama-era push for more public disclosure of broadband service performance and contract terms – an effort that fell by the wayside during the Trump administration. […]

Step one in launching a robust DevSecOps (Development, Security, and Operations) effort is moving to the cloud, a State Department expert recommended July 8. […]

A Department of Defense (DoD) Office of Inspector General (OIG) report found that 3D printers pose a cybersecurity risk to the agency, after discovering DoD employees were not properly securing the IT systems used to develop 3D products, and were unaware the 3D printers even had IT systems that could be hacked. […]

As Federal agencies deliberate how to reopen traditional offices and the policies they will need to keep employees safe, one thing is clear: gone are the days when the cubicle was the only option for government workers. The pandemic has forced Federal agencies to rethink telework policies, remote work, and even in-office setups. […]

White House national security staff took the Biden administration’s strategic thinking on ransomware prevention to the local government mayors this week, as administration advisors continued to work through a long list of policy items aimed at curbing the attacks and making them less profitable. […]

After conducting its first bug bounty program last year, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) announced that it is open sourcing the Finding Exploits to Thwart Tampering (FETT) Bug Bounty evaluation platform. […]

The Department of Treasury’s Internal Revenue Service (IRS) plans on using its Pilot IRS program to release a multiple solution challenge to help digitize paper files. The agency will award multiple $7.5 million contracts based on which contractors offer the best solutions, according to a draft request for information (RFI) posted to SAM.gov. […]

Law enforcement agencies that use forensic algorithms to aid in criminal investigations face numerous challenges, according to the Government Accountability Office (GAO), including difficulty interpreting and communicating results, as well as addressing potential bias or misuse. […]