CISA Pushes for Software Bill of Materials While Dealing with Log4j Jan 10, 2022 | 3:05 pm A month after its first public warnings about the Log4j vulnerability, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) is continuing to work with Federal agencies and the public to mitigate potential exposure, and also renewing calls for a software bill of materials (SBOM) to aid in system visibility and inventory management. […]
OPM Looks to Repeal Trump-Era Fed Workforce Policies Jan 4, 2022 | 1:34 pm The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) published a proposed rule in the Federal Register today that looks to rescind previous Trump-era Federal workforce policies centered around how agencies handle employee misconduct and poor performance. […]
Biden Signs $768 Billion FY2022 NDAA Jan 3, 2022 | 12:45 pm President Biden signed the $768 billion National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for fiscal year (FY) 2022 into law on Dec. 27, the White House announced. […]
35 Ways the Feds Aim to Improve Citizen Service Dec 13, 2021 | 4:10 pm The White House’s new executive order that aims to improve the ease and effectiveness of how citizens interact with the government touches most of the larger Federal civilian government agencies, and takes specific aim at agencies that provide 35 types of service that the order defines as “high impact” for citizens based on volume and types of services delivered. […]
White House EO Tasks Agencies with CX Improvements, Creates ‘Digital Front Door’ Dec 13, 2021 | 12:04 pm President Biden today issued an executive order that broadly supports new efforts by the government to improve the quality of citizen interactions with the government, and requires17 Federal agencies to make customer experience (CX) improvements in 36 areas ranging from accessing retirement benefits to renewing travel passports. […]
Federal Supply Chain, Contractor Emissions on Radar in White House Sustainability Order Dec 10, 2021 | 1:26 pm President Biden’s December 8 executive order on steps the Federal government will take to reduce carbon emissions across the government features provisions that direct Federal agencies to evaluate supply chain sustainability and supplier emissions as part of that larger effort. […]
Commerce Proposes New Software Supply Chain Safety Criteria Nov 30, 2021 | 2:05 pm The Department of Commerce is proposing new safety criteria for connected software to help better secure information and communications technology and services (ICTS) supply chains, including potential third-party audits of connected software and ICTS transactions, according to a proposed rule posted to the Federal Register Nov. 26. […]
CISA Releases New Cyber Incident and Vulnerability Response Playbooks Nov 16, 2021 | 2:52 pm 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). […]
White House Creates Task Force to Drive Infrastructure Bill Implementation Nov 15, 2021 | 3:51 pm 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. […]
Biden Signs Secure Equipment Act Nov 12, 2021 | 4:01 pm 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. […]
Cyber, Broadband Win Big In Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill Nov 8, 2021 | 1:53 pm After more than two months of angling and dealmaking, the House of Representatives voted to approve the $1 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act – also known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Framework – on November 5, sending the bill along with its $2 billion in cyber funding and $65 billion in broadband appropriations to President Biden’s desk for final approval. […]
Biden Extends Infrastructure Bill Timelines by Signing Transportation Measure Nov 1, 2021 | 2:24 pm President Biden signed H.R. 5763 into law on Oct. 31, extending authorization for the Department of Transportation’s Surface Transportation Programs until Dec. 3 – and effectively providing more time for Congress to consider two big pending infrastructure bills that contain billions of dollars of tech and cyber-related items. […]
Senate Appropriators Tacitly Back 2.7 Percent Federal Pay Raise for 2022 Oct 20, 2021 | 12:51 pm The Senate Appropriations Committee is lending its tacit support for President Biden’s proposed 2.7 percent pay increase for Federal employees in 2022, according to appropriations legislation released by the committee this week. […]
Infrastructure Watch: House Kicking off Debate on $3.5T Bill Sep 27, 2021 | 4:10 pm Legislative crunch-time for the Biden administration’s two infrastructure funding bills began in earnest on Monday. Here are three tracks to watch that impact the legislation, which proposes billions of dollars of funding for Federal IT, cybersecurity, and broadband initiatives. […]
President Biden Announces Members of President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology Sep 22, 2021 | 3:15 pm President Biden announced the members of the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST), which is tasked with making science, technology, and innovation policy recommendations to the President and the White House. […]
Biden Nominates Douglas Bush for key Army Acquisition Role Sep 22, 2021 | 3:04 pm President Biden announced nominations for a round of key national security positions, including nominating Douglas Bush for assistant secretary of the Army for Acquisition. […]
Biden Extends EO on Foreign Election Interference Sep 8, 2021 | 1:27 pm President Biden announced he is extending for another year the terms of a 2018 executive order (EO) that declares foreign interference in U.S. elections a national emergency and a threat to foreign policy. […]
Biden Confirms 2.7% Federal Pay Raise for FY22 Aug 27, 2021 | 3:37 pm President Biden confirmed a 2.7 percent pay increase today for the Federal civilian workforce, consistent with his FY2022 budget, in a letter sent to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. […]
White House Meeting Aims to ‘Raise the Bar’ on Cybersecurity Aug 25, 2021 | 4:20 pm President Biden on August 25 gathered Federal government cybersecurity leaders and a deep roster of corporate leaders at a White House meeting that he said aimed to “raise the bar” on cybersecurity across the government, critical infrastructure, and private sectors. […]
Biden Nominates Baker as Top Pentagon Policy Official Aug 11, 2021 | 2:52 pm President Biden has nominated Sasha Baker to serve as the Department of Defense’s deputy under secretary of defense for policy, the White House announced. […]
U.S. Puts up $10M ‘Wanted Poster’ For Cyber Attackers Jul 16, 2021 | 9:20 am The U.S. State Department said on July 15 it is offering up to $10 million in reward money for information that leads Federal authorities to anyone who is conducting cyberattacks against U.S. critical infrastructure at the behest of foreign governments. […]
REvil Ransomware Sites Disappear After U.S. Pledges Action Jul 13, 2021 | 3:11 pm 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. […]
Biden ‘Optimistic’ After Latest Talk With Putin on Ransomware Jul 9, 2021 | 3:36 pm 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. […]
White House Takes Ransomware Strategy to Mayors as Policy Percolates Jul 7, 2021 | 4:02 pm 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. […]
Biden Directs ‘Full Resources’ to Respond to Kaseya Ransomware Attack Jul 6, 2021 | 3:41 pm The White House and key Federal agencies have been working since July 2 to assist in the response to the Kaseya ransomware attack, as President Biden gets set to meet this week with an interagency group taking a longer look at the ransomware problem. […]
Connolly and House Dems Press for 3.2% Federal Pay Raise Jun 30, 2021 | 3:35 pm Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va., along with 17 other Democrats, sent a letter to leaders of the House Appropriations Committee pressing them to include a 3.2 percent pay increase for Federal employees in their FY2022 Financial Services and General Government (FSGG) funding bill, as opposed to supporting the current 2.7 percent pay raise. […]
House Passes Research Funding Bills That Track With Senate’s USICA Measure Jun 29, 2021 | 11:44 am The House of Representatives on Monday evening passed by wide margins two potential and complementary alternatives to the Senate-approved United States Innovation and Competition Act of 2021 (USICA), both of which would funnel tens of billions of new research funding to Federal government agencies. […]
Biden Signs EO to Advance Diversity, Equity in Federal Workforce Jun 28, 2021 | 11:41 am President Biden on June 25 signed an executive order (EO) that aims to advance diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) for the Federal workforce. […]
Biden Pledges Separate Voting Track for Infrastructure Bill Jun 28, 2021 | 10:52 am President Biden on June 26 pledged his support for a separate voting track in Congress for legislation containing a $1.2 trillion compromise infrastructure agreement that the White House reached last week with a bipartisan group of senators. […]
House Committee Backs 2.7 Percent Federal Pay Raise Jun 25, 2021 | 12:46 pm The House Appropriations Committee has implied its support for President Biden’s 2.7 percent pay increase for Federal employees, according to its FY2022 Financial Services and General Government (FSGG) funding bill approved by a House subcommittee this week. […]