Smarter Gov Tech, Stronger MerITocracy
White House

Federal CIO Clare Martorana said today she expects the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to issue guidance this summer to Federal agencies on how to further implement the 21st Century Integrated Digital Experience Act (IDEA Act) approved by Congress in late 2018. […]

Officials from the Department of Education (DOE) and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) discussed their agencies’ progress on the migration to zero trust security architectures at MeriTalk’s Cyber Central in Washington, D.C. […]

Department of Transportation

A new report published by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) finds that the Department of Transportation (DoT) can be doing more to effectively implement cybersecurity policies across the agency and its components. […]

The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) is hyper-focused on cybersecurity and is conducting simulated cyberattacks to better understand the “bad actors” who are trying to do “the unthinkable,” the agency’s chief information security officer (CISO) said on May 16. […]

Cyber Central 2023

The National Cybersecurity Strategy that flew out of the White House doors in early March was a year-long effort that involved hundreds of engagements with more than 300 stakeholders – from academia to industry to Federal agencies – a top official at the Office of the National Cyber Director (ONCD) said today. […]

In the hands of hostile nation-states, emerging technologies can pose grave threats to U.S. security and prosperity. However, smart investments and guardrails for emerging technologies could give the U.S. an edge in cybersecurity and combating growing cyber threats. […]

The IRS plans to pilot a free, online tax filing platform that would allow taxpayers to submit electronically filed tax returns directly to the agency for the 2024 filing season, the agency announced on Tuesday. […]

EHR

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announced it has reached an agreement on a modified contract for its Electronic Health Records Modernization (EHRM) program with Oracle Cerner, and said that the latest agreement takes a tougher stance to hold Oracle Cerner accountable for technical fixes to the program whose rollout has been beset with difficulties. […]

cybersecurity

General Dynamics Information Technology (GDIT) said today the company has launched a new technology investment strategy that focuses on six “digital accelerator solutions” for its government, defense, and intelligence market customers. […]

generative AI, ChatGPT

As AI technologies continue to advance at a rapid pace, experts with the technology told members of Congress on May 16 that having the right technical talent in place within the Federal government is crucial to ensure the United States is prepared to address the potential risk and harms that AI systems can present. […]

AI
NIST

In the two years since the Biden-Harris administration released its landmark cybersecurity executive order (EO), Federal agencies including the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have been notching rapid progress on the order’s imperatives, a NIST tech official said today at Palo Alto Networks’ Public Sector Ignite 2023 conference in Tysons, Va. […]

The Pentagon is a very large building that houses a lot of the authorities for the U.S. Military. It's big. This photo doesn't do it justice, but they're kinda rightly concerned about people flying drones around there.

Building a 21st-century military is critical to protect the United States against an ever-evolving threat landscape – especially in the digital era. According to Rep. Rick Allen, R-Ga., building that resilient military force begins with investments at the U.S. Army’s Cyber Center of Excellence, housed at Fort Gordon in Georgia. […]

AI

The House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Energy, Climate, and Grid Security subcommittee voted unanimously today to approve the Energy Emergency Leadership Act (HR 3277), which would require that Energy Department cybersecurity and other energy security-related operations be assigned to an Assistant Secretary at the agency whose appointment would be confirmable by the Senate. […]

Defense Information Systems Agency, DISA

Faced with the global threat landscape that the Defense Department (DoD) oversees, the head of the Defense Information Systems Agency’s (DISA) Thunderdome initiative said today it’s critical that the agency’s efforts to implement zero trust security architectures continue to evolve and succeed. […]

Department of Transportation

The Department of Transportation (DoT) is investigating a data breach affecting administrative systems at the department, an agency spokesperson confirmed to MeriTalk today. […]

The Federal Communications Commission on May 15 published the agency’s Broadband Funding Map which shows where the Federal government is providing financial support for broadband infrastructure development projects across the country. […]

GEOINT: Surveying the 10-Year Horizon

The majority of geospatial intelligence (GEOINT) stakeholders are optimistic about the future of GEOINT, but most don’t have a formal strategy for their 10-year vision, according to new research from MeriTalk, in collaboration with the U.S. Geospatial Intelligence Foundation (USGIF). […]

White House flag at half mast

President Biden today announced his intent to nominate Dr. Monica Bertagnolli as the new director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), who currently serves as the director of the National Cancer Institute (NCI). […]

cloud committee
Kemba Walden, Principal Deputy National Cyber Director, Office of the National Cyber Director

House and Senate lawmakers called on President Biden last week to expedite the nomination of Kemba Walden to head the Office of the National Cyber Director (ONCD), which she has run in an acting capacity since February. […]

capitol washington dc senate house congress-min
NASA

NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate’s (STMD) Associate Administrator James Reuter will be retiring from the agency at the end of June after 40 years of service, according to a May 9 agency announcement. […]

NIST
Pipeline

Almost two years ago, a ransomware attack on the Colonial Pipeline Company, a major supplier of fuel to the northeastern U.S., pushed the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to develop directives for pipeline owners and operators to implement cybersecurity measures. […]

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