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. […]
Air Force Launches Dashboard to Improve License Management
The Department of the Air Force has developed a new dashboard designed to monitor software usage in real time and customize licensing across the enterprise, a move officials say will improve efficiency, reduce waste, and support a unified digital experience for airmen and their families. […]
NSF Turns to Zero Trust to Prepare Data for AI
The National Science Foundation (NSF) is using zero trust principles to prepare its data for artificial intelligence (AI), Michael Hauck, the agency’s acting chief data officer (CDO) and acting chief AI officer, said today. […]
DOE Modernizes HR With Workday: TMF-Backed Program Sets Federal Playbook
The Department of Energy (DOE) rolled out a modern, cloud-based human capital management (HCM) platform powered by Workday, replacing a legacy, siloed environment using a repeatable model for agency HCM modernization governmentwide. It’s the first cabinet-level agency to bring its core human resources (HR) systems into a FedRAMP-authorized cloud – Workday Government Cloud. […]
DOE Offers $352M to Advance Next-Gen Energy Technologies
The Department of Energy (DOE) announced a $352 million funding opportunity for its Energy Frontier Research Centers (EFRC) program that it hopes will one day lead to next-generation energy technologies. […]
OPM Proposal Would Tie Federal Layoffs to Performance Ratings
The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is proposing a new rule that would make federal employee performance – not seniority – the key factor in determining who stays or goes during future layoffs. […]
Senate Passes Bill to Reauthorize SBIR, STTR Programs
The Senate unanimously passed legislation on Tuesday that would reauthorize the federal Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs. […]
Hegseth: DOD Working on Release of UAP Files
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth confirmed that the Pentagon is working on President Donald Trump’s directive to declassify files related to unidentified aerial phenomena, more commonly known as UFOs, but said the timeline for the effort remains unclear. […]
NASA, OPM Kick Off Drive for Top Technologists
NASA and the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) have lit the fuse on their NASA Force effort to attract top engineering and technology talent into government service to support the U.S. space program. […]
Idaho National Lab Cyber Breach Accelerates Shift to Zero Trust
A cyber intrusion discovered in 2020 pushed Idaho National Laboratory (INL) to accelerate its shift to a zero trust cybersecurity architecture and adopt cloud-delivered security services from Zscaler, the lab’s top security official said Tuesday. […]
From Shadow AI to Sanctioned AI: Enabling Federal AI Innovation With Visibility and Guardrails
MeriTalk recently sat down with Anish Patel, director of federal sales at Cloudflare, to discuss why shadow AI is often a workforce signal rather than rebellion; what an AI-ready security posture looks like across human, prompt, and agentic layers; and more. […]
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.