A new report from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Office of Inspector General (OIG) found that the agency is not effectively managing or coordinating its identity, credential, and access management (ICAM) program, and because of that is leaving information vulnerable to cyber intrusions. […]
The Federal government’s march toward zero trust security architectures is well underway with guidance documents from several agencies. And while that guidance is crucial, Federal agencies cannot confine themselves only to the practices described in them, Federal experts said during an ATARC event on August 9. […]
Several Federal agencies that have banded together to study ways to improve financial management policies and practices have released a new simulation tool that aims to illustrate concepts for improving identity verification and potentially reduce improper payments. […]
MeriTalk spoke with Frank Dimina, senior vice president of Americas and public sector at Splunk, about the value of log data and how agencies can facilitate collection and analysis. […]
The Inflation Reduction Act winding its way through Congress contains a massive infusion of funds for the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), including $4.8 billion that the bill’s authors hope will help to rebuild the agency’s antiquated technology systems. […]
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) issued an alert on August 1 warning of vulnerabilities in encoder/decoder devices for the agency’s U.S. Emergency Alert System (EAS) that could allow hackers to send fake alerts over TV, radio, and cable networks. […]
The Treasury Department sanctioned cryptocurrency mixer Tornado Cash on August 8, saying the service has been used to launder over $7 billion worth of virtual currency. […]
Mark Hakun, Deputy CISO at the Department of Defense (DoD), retired late last month after 34 years of working in both military and Federal civilian capacities, according to a LinkedIn posting by John Sherman, chief information officer at DoD. […]
The National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA) on August 8 released a new report for the U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA) on current and potential sources of state death data used by Federal agencies for program administration and payment integrity, and pointing to ways for better government cooperation in the sharing of that data. […]
Federal experts today agreed that while the FITARA Scorecard serves as a useful tool for agencies to track IT-related performance, many agencies struggle with funding to make meaningful progress on some FITARA grading categories. […]
Sheena Burrell has been appointed the new Chief Information Officer (CIO) at the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), she announced on her Linked In page. […]
President Biden today signed the Chips and Science Act, after the legislation was approved by both the House and Senate late last month. […]
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has launched the “Your Home, Your Internet” pilot program designed to raise awareness of the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) among households receiving Federal housing assistance. […]
In a sources sought notice (SSN), the IRS is seeking to improve the security posture of Federal tax information (FTI) and optimize processes to reduce costs and minimize risk to FTI in possession of agency partners. […]
Federal employees’ salaries lag 22.47 percent behind the private sector, according to a new report from the Federal Salary Council. […]
The Department of Defense (DoD) is failing to track the continued progress of the military’s development of Global Positioning System (GPS) alternatives and lacks key information to make decisions on funding those initiatives, according to a recent Government Accountability Office (GAO) report. The GAO report – published last week – explained that the U.S. Air Force’s […]
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and the Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC) released a joint Cybersecurity Advisory (CSA) on the top malware strains of 2021. […]
Officially designating the space sector as one of the “critical infrastructure” sectors designated by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is a “hot topic” of conversation at the agency, according to Tina Won Sherman, a director in the Government Accountability Office’s (GAO) Homeland Security and Justice team. […]
Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks reminded Pentagon leadership in an August 3 memo that records retention requirements under Federal law are a “solemn responsibility,” and that going forward all data on Defense Department (DoD) provisioned mobile devices will be captured and saved when devices are turned in by their users. […]
The Small Business Administration (SBA) appointed Steve Kucharski as acting chief information officer (CIO) last month, a knowledgeable source confirmed to MeriTalk. […]
The Army National Guard has awarded a $267 million contract to General Dynamics Information Technology (GDIT) to support the guard’s cybersecurity and IT infrastructure, GDIT announced on August 4. […]
Department of Education (DoE) Chief Information Officer (CIO) Jason Gray is preparing to leave the agency – possible for other technology pastures within the Federal government. […]
While the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) Office of Connected Care’s digital divide program has successfully been providing patients with video-capable devices for video-based virtual care for the past two years, an Office of Inspector General (OIG) report has found that less than half of patients that the agency issued video devices to ended up completing VA Video Connect (VVC) appointments. […]
Sens. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., Cory Booker, D-N.J., John Boozman, R-Ark., and John Thune, R-S.D., introduced legislation on August 4 that would create commodities-type regulation of some digital assets. […]
Reps. Tim Walberg, R-Mich., and Peter Welch, D-Vt., have joined with Sens. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., and Ben Ray Luján, D-N.M., to introduce the Proper Leadership to Align Networks (PLAN) for Broadband Act, which calls on President Biden to develop a national broadband strategy. […]
Sen. Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., introduced legislation on August 4 that aims to strengthen the cybersecurity posture of small businesses by providing funding to Small Business Development Centers that will help businesses with security. […]
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has named Dr. David Massaro as the “functional champion” and acting senior medical advisor for the agency’s Electronic Health Record Modernization (EHRM) program. […]
The Federal government must take action to promote stronger research practices that will help ensure the reliability of its scientific research, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) said in a new report. […]
President Biden has nominated Rob Shriver to become deputy director of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM). […]
Nate Fick, President Biden’s nominee to serve as the ambassador at large to lead the State Department’s Bureau of Cyberspace and Digital Policy (CDP), laid out his initial priorities for the newly established bureau during an August 3 Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on his nomination. […]