The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has officially formed the Cyber Safety Review Board called for in President Biden’s Cybersecurity Executive Order issued last year, and said the board’s first action will be to examine the log4j software library vulnerability that emerged in December 2021 and to generate lessons learned from that for the cybersecurity community. […]
Steven McAndrews has left his position as director of Federal cybersecurity at the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to take on a new role as deputy CIO at the Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA). […]
Democratic lawmakers in the Senate and House have reintroduced legislation that aims to bring renewed transparency and oversight to software, algorithms, and other automated systems used to make critical decisions that impact nearly every aspect of American life, and to guard against bias in the creation and use of those technologies. […]
The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee on Feb. 2 voted to approve the Improving Cybersecurity of Small Organizations Act of 2021 (S. 2483), which would require the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) to maintain and promote cyber guidance for use by small organizations. […]
The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) released a new memo for agencies on Feb. 2 with performance management tips for a hybrid workplace. […]
While the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is making progress in communicating with training providers, veterans, and employers for its pilot program to support veterans enrolling in certain technology training programs, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) said VA has yet to come up with documented and measurable pilot objectives for the program, among other shortfalls. […]
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced that FCC Chair Jessica Rosenworcel will lead the relaunched Cybersecurity Forum for Independent and Executive Branch Regulators. […]
The House Oversight and Reform Committee voted on Feb. 2 to approve the Supply Chain Security Training Act. The committee’s approval of the bill sends it to the full House of Representatives for consideration. […]
The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) unveiled a new quantum sciences initiative on Feb. 1 that aims to improve advanced technology education and outreach and foster the next generation of talent in quantum information sciences. […]
The House of Representatives waded into the final stages of debate today in its consideration of the America Creating Opportunities for Manufacturing, Pre-Eminence in Technology and Economic Strength Act of 2022 (COMPETES). […]
The Department of Defense (DoD) and the General Services Administration (GSA) today issued a request for information to learn more about capabilities necessary to achieve the goal of President Biden’s executive order issued last December to cut carbon emissions across government and reach the goal of using 100 percent carbon pollution-free electricity by 2030. […]
The Department of Defense (DoD) today announced a new technology vision established by Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering Heidi Shyu, with a long list of critical technologies on which the Pentagon will focus on going forward for evaluation and rapid fielding. […]
Once upon a time – before the tenures of most of its members began – Congress had inside help in understanding tech-related issues before members were asked to vote on legislation that could prove crucial to their further development. […]
An annual report from the Defense Department’s (DoD) Director for Operational Test and Evaluation (DOT&E) has found the Military Health System (MHS) GENESIS – DoD’s new electronic health records management (EHRM) system – was not deemed to be survivable in a cyber-contested environment following reviews in 2020 and 2021. […]
Building a diverse workforce is the secret to having a more innovative and decisive team, officials from the Defense Information Systems Agency’s (DISA) and Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) said during an AFCEA NOVA webinar this week. […]
Rep. Jim Langevin, D-R.I., said he is eyeing a universe of about 100 private sector firms that he considers to be “systemically important” critical infrastructure providers as he completes work on legislation that will call for closer collaboration between the Federal government and those companies on cybersecurity and related intelligence sharing. […]
Shalanda Young, acting director the Office of Management and Budgets (OMB), said that projects receiving funds from the Technology Modernization Fund (TMF) would be receiving them soon. […]
The United States Air Force (USAF) has named Joe Chapa as its first-ever Chief Responsible Artificial Intelligence (AI) Ethics Officer, according to his LinkedIn. […]
Third-party auditors found several deficiencies in the Department of Labor’s (DoL) information security program and determined it was not effective. […]
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report this week urging the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to address data management challenges with its Electronic Health Records Modernization (EHRM) program, which has come under fire in recent months from Congress over a troubled roll-out and inaccurate cost estimates. […]
The House Oversight and Reform Committee today approved by voice vote legislation that would update the Federal Information Security Modernization Act (FISMA). The committee’s vote sends the legislation to the full House of Representatives for consideration. […]
Ransomware and supply chain attacks dominated the news in 2021, and experts expect them to persist and continue to converge in 2022. Government agencies, suppliers, and other target organizations must evolve their own cybersecurity techniques to stay ahead of attackers, says Sam Curry, chief security officer at Cybereason. In the first episode of MeriTV’s new Fix Fed IT series, Curry takes stock of the ransomware-supply chain attack convergence and outlines actions that organizations can take to protect themselves. […]
The Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee today postponed a scheduled vote on the nomination of Gigi Sohn to become FCC commissioner, as a Democratic member of the committee was sidelined with health problems. […]
The Department of Defense (DoD) has announced that its Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Office (CDAO) has achieved initial operational capability in accordance with a Dec. 8, 2021 memorandum that required the establishment of CDAO, and for the office to attain initial operating capability by Feb. 1. […]
With Federal employees accessing critical information, systems, and applications from anywhere, the mindset has shifted to never trust and always verify. Federal security experts explained that this shift put a focus on a new critical aspect of a zero trust architecture – identity management. […]
Senior IT executives across several Federal agencies devoted to providing healthcare discussed mission imperatives, technology design requirements, and workforce needs during a wide-ranging discussion at AFCEA Bethesda’s 14th annual Health IT event on Feb. 1. […]
As part of the bipartisan infrastructure bill signed into law last year, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo is tasked with overseeing the Federal government’s $65 billion investment in broadband deployment to unserved and underserved areas across the country. […]
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) Paul Cunningham has announced his intent to retire, a VA spokesperson confirmed to MeriTalk. […]
While one primary focus of the Biden administration’s President’s Management Agenda is continuing to improve Federal IT to enable better delivery of citizen services, tech leaders from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) explained on Feb. 1 that they face emerging challenges in pursuing those goals. […]
The Office of Management and Budget’s (OMB) finalized zero trust directive issued last week sets the stage for the first steps in implementing zero trust security architectures at Federal agencies, but a lot more work remains in the pursuit of that goal, a panel of Federal security experts agreed during an ATARC virtual event on Feb. 1. […]