Federal CIO Kent Announces Cyber Reskilling Academy
Federal CIO Suzette Kent this morning announced creation of the Federal Cyber Reskilling Academy–a joint effort of the Office of Management and Budget, the Department of Education, and the Federal CIO Council Workforce Committee–to kickstart the Federal government’s efforts to address gaps in the Federal cybersecurity workforce and help retrain Federal employees. […]
Feds Reach IT Modernization Tipping Point
A new report from MeriTalk and the American Council for Technology and Industry Advisory Council (ACT-IAC) finds that Federal finance, IT, and procurement experts believe we’ve reached an IT modernization tipping point. […]
DHS Launches ICT Sector Supply Chain Risk Task Force
The Department of Homeland Security on Oct. 30 announced launch of the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Supply Chain Risk Management Task Force, which the agency said is charged with developing “consensus recommendations” to identify and manage risk to the global ICT supply chain. […]
DHS’ Manfra Discusses FISMA Update, Impact to CDM
Jeanette Manfra, assistant secretary for the Office of Cybersecurity and Communications at the Department of Homeland Security, said today that the new update to Federal Information Security Modernization Act (FISMA) guidance will place even more accountability on department leaders and reflects an evolution in discussions between agencies and DHS. […]
Lee, Durbin Move to Tighten Surveillance Law Ahead of Deadline
Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, is leading a bipartisan congressional effort to reauthorize a legal provision with additional safeguards to prevent the government’s surveillance of Americans’ digital data without a warrant. […]
Gottumukkala Moves to New DHS Role, Andersen Named Acting CISA Director
Madhu Gottumukkala is departing as the interim leader of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), with current agency executive director for cybersecurity Nick Andersen stepping in as the agency’s acting director. […]
DOT, Air Force, Tech Leaders to Headline March 5 ServiceNow Government Forum
A new era of government operations is taking shape – one powered by artificial intelligence (AI). What was once experimental is now transformational, as agencies harness AI to reimagine workflows, accelerate decision-making, and meet rising mission demands. […]
GAO Awards $95M IT Modernization Contract to SAIC
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) awarded a $95 million IT services and solutions contract to Science Applications International Corp. (SAIC). […]
OPM Moves to Tighten Federal Employee Performance Ratings, Limit Appeals
The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) wants to overhaul the way some federal employees are evaluated and make it easier to identify poor performers by setting quotas for ratings and limiting challenges to performance scores. […]
Navy Designates 7 Services Under Innovation Adoption Kit
The U.S. Navy’s Chief Technology Officer, Justin Fanelli, announced today that the service has identified seven enterprise services under its Innovation Adoption Kit (IAK), with additional services currently being evaluated. He did not disclose specifics about the seven selected services. […]
Pentagon Drone Task Force Debuts Marketplace for Counter-UAS
The Department of Defense’s (DOD) drone task force announced Monday that its counter-unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) marketplace has reached initial operational capability. […]
DOJ Elevates Nikki Collier to CIO Role
The Department of Justice (DOJ) elevated Shantrell “Nikki” Collier, who previously served as the agency’s deputy chief information officer (CIO), to the permanent CIO role. […]
Treasury Sanctions Russian Exploit Broker ‘Operation Zero’
The Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) on Tuesday sanctioned Russian national Sergey Sergeyevich Zelenyuk and his company, Matrix LLC – known as Operation Zero – along with five associated individuals and entities, for allegedly trading in cyber tools that the department said threaten U.S. national security. […]
Pentagon Seeks AI-Enabled Coding Tools
The Pentagon’s Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Office (CDAO) is partnering with the Department of the Army to rapidly adopt AI-enabled coding tools across the workforce of the Defense Department (DOD) – rebranded as the War Department by the Trump administration. […]
With 80 percent of every Federal IT dollar spent on life support for legacy systems, the Federal IT community is exploring new options to modernize and innovate – virtualization, cloud computing, Flash technology, software-defined options, shared services, and more. MeriTalk is staying close to the leaders on the front lines, bringing you new ideas and lessons learned.
And, as Federal IT leaders work to meet demands of an “always-on” highly mobile government, we bring you the stories and breaking news on balancing productivity with security. Our government IT news includes how agencies manage advanced persistent threats, and the steps that help guard against socially engineered threats. We look at the latest trends in malware, spyware, ransomware, and spear phishing. And – how can Federal agencies protect data from tomorrow’s cyber threats?
The MeriTalk “Industry Insider” column, offers a weekly news roundup of contracts and other activity in the Federal IT industry. Check with MeriTalk daily for the government technology news you need to know, or subscribe to get the latest stories delivered directly to your inbox. You’ll stay up to date with interesting and timely Federal IT stories on cybersecurity, big data, data center modernization, cloud, mobile, and other developments in your community – from what’s next for the MGT Act to the highly anticipated Federal IT revolving capital fund, MeriTalk brings you the trends and breaking IT news to help you modernize, innovate, and transform public sector technology and the missions you support.