Sens. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, Patty Murray, D-Wash., and Angus King, I-Maine, introduced a bipartisan bill that aims to close the digital divide and promote “digital equity” utilizing $250 million in annual grants, according to a press release. […]

The Department of Defense’s (DoD) Office of the DoD Chief Information Officer has released its Outside the Continental United States (OCONUS) Cloud Strategy, which strives to enable an all-domain advantage for international operations through cloud innovation. […]

The Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) is employing the Defense Enterprise Office Solution (DEOS) – an enterprise commercial cloud service supporting the Defense Department (DoD) enterprise – to implement the DoD 365 Joint (DoD365-J) Tenant project, officials said today. […]

The FBI is looking to issue a five-year indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity (IDIQ) award for a contractor to support the Office of the CIO in enhancing its enterprise systems, tools, and services to advance its mission. […]

The Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) has awarded Cisco a new $1.18 billion contract, the Department of Defense (DoD) announced June 14. […]

Cybersecurity in general, and ransomware in specific, climbed high onto the ladder of major policy issues at both the weekend meeting of G-7 nations this weekend, and the NATO Summit that concluded on June 14. […]

The Social Security Administration (SSA) has implemented four of the seven open priority recommendations that the Government Accountability Office (GAO) identified in April 2020, including updating systems and establishing a risk management framework. […]

Carlos Del Toro, President Biden’s nominee to become Secretary of the Navy, is set to bring to the service branch an extensive technology profile from 17 years as CEO of SBG Technology Solutions, which provides IT modernization, governance, cybersecurity, and AI tech to the Federal government. […]

Sens. Gary Peters, D-Mich., and Rob Portman, R-Ohio, are looking to get input from the White House as they work to draft legislation that would deal with the ongoing rise of ransomware attacks, the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs announced June 11. […]

Cyberthreats are constantly evolving. There are new attackers, new vulnerabilities, and new security risks that are arising every day. Threat hackers have rapidly increased their sophistication and techniques that make them harder to spot and threaten even the savviest targets. Criminal groups are also targeting businesses that have moved their infrastructure to the cloud. This way, they can hide among legitimate services. Attackers have developed new ways to scour the internet for systems vulnerable to ransomware. […]

Cloud-based analytics capabilities are helping NASA to power its “digital twin” practices of digitally designing aircraft before any testing takes place on physical models of flying craft, […]

Rep. Jerry McNerney, D-Calif., introduced a bill that, if passed, would commission a study on blockchain technology and digital currency, and another on how artificial intelligence (AI) can aid the Consumer Product Safety Commission. […]

In 2016, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) began replacing its outdated biometric identity management system but needs to fully implement key IT acquisition best practices to fully implement the entire Homeland Advanced Recognition Technology (HART) system by 2021, which is three years behind schedule due to technical challenges. […]

The Biden administration announced expanded telework options for Federal employees on Thursday, creating a huge cultural shift for the Federal government that will allow agencies to offer flexible work-from-home and hybrid schedules to employees. […]

A week after seeking information on ransom pay from two other ransomware victims, Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., chairwoman of the House Committee on Oversight and Reform, sent a June 10 letter to JBS Foods USA asking for information about its reported decision to pay an $11 million ransom, the committee announced. […]

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

Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP) officials on June 10 reviewed results of recent program outreach efforts aimed at better engagement with Federal agencies. […]

The National Science Foundation (NSF) recently announced their partnership with the Department of Defense, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Apple, Google, IBM, and other industry players to coordinate new research into the connectivity landscape of tomorrow, future-facing Wi-Fi and 6G capabilities.  […]

The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), along with the National Science Foundation (NSF) is launching the National AI Research Resource Task Force, which will serve as a Federal advisory committee to provide recommendations for establishing and sustaining the National AI Research Resource. […]

The 14 percent year-over-year budget increase requested by the Biden administration for the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for Fiscal Year 2022 would be devoted to hiring new career personnel across the agency, including increasing staffing that is critical for IT and cybersecurity oversight across the government. […]

Jen Easterly, President Biden’s nominee to become the next director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), delivered a sobering assessment of the rising threats faced by Federal and private sectors networks and pledged at her June 10 confirmation hearing to strengthen the agency’s capabilities to defend and secure networks. […]

Ransomware was a main focus of concern during a committee nomination hearing today for Chris Inglis to be the nation’s first-ever national cyber director. Amidst a rising number of recent attacks, Inglis detailed how he would deal with the threat of ransomware while also explaining how he would approach building the nation’s cyber policy and approach collaboration if confirmed. […]

Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Secretary Denis McDonough said he expects some results from a strategic review of VA’s electronic health records (EHR) system that began in March to be delivered in the next couple of weeks.   […]

Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said today he expects legislation will be soon filed in Congress to mandate cyber incident reporting to Federal authorities. […]

Federal and state government chief data officers (CDO) discussed agency strategies and best practices for data governance at a FedInsider digital roundtable event on June 9 against the backdrop of Federal Chief Data Officer Council efforts to establish government-wide best practices for the management, use, protection, and generation of data. […]

While many Federal agencies are transitioning at least some employees back to physical offices, the State Department is searching for new software to enable remote work. […]

The Department of State’s Foreign Service Institute (FSI) is looking for a cloud-based platform to deliver foreign service training. […]

After a Senate committee hearing yesterday, Colonial Pipeline’s president and CEO was back in front of Congress today, appearing before the House Committee on Homeland Security for a hearing about last month’s ransomware attack. There he expressed a need from private industry for the Federal government to pressure the hosts of these ransomware actors. […]

The FBI is in search of a contractor that will offer technical expertise and personnel to support the agency’s data centers and key sites of IT operations, according to a June 7 request for information (RFI). […]

The Federal Communication Commission (FCC) announced that 2.3 million households have enrolled in the Emergency Broadband Benefit (EBB) Program in its first three weeks. […]