A gathering of crows is called a murder. A bunch of kangaroos is called a mob. And a gathering of IGs is–no, not a nuisance–it’s called CIGIE–the Council of Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency. And, CIGIE’s annual Top Management and Performance Challenges–TPMC report–boiled down IG reports from 61 different agencies–and leads with IT and security management issues across the government. […]
While the Federal government continues to preach IT modernization and data center shutdowns, the odds are mounting. […]
Maria Roat, smart business innovator CIO at SBA, knows her way around the jobs that define government IT–because she’s held most of them. She’s precisely the kind of professional we all want to see on the MGT Technology Modernization Fund board–a lean forward, pragmatist. Roat is a military veteran who has also walked a mile in the contractor’s shoes–she notes she’ll never drop an RFP before the Christmas holidays. Like Suzette Kent, she stresses the importance of the Federal workforce. […]
Kevin McAleenan, commissioner of the Department of Homeland Security’s U.S. Customs and Border Protection group, told lawmakers last week that CBP is investing to modernize infrastructure, ports of entry, and mobile technologies across its land-sea-air security operations. […]
Americans don’t trust the Federal government. The Pew Research Center found that only 18 percent of Americans say they trust the Feds. It’s small wonder we have a disruptor in chief in the White House. […]
Users have the reputation of being the weakest link in cybersecurity, because of their potential to undo the most fortified cyber setup with an exposed password or absent-minded click in a phishing email. They’re the guy who forgets to lock one door in an otherwise secure building, or the kid who unwittingly reveals where the family keeps an emergency house key. […]
Cometh another Congressional hearing on the Department of Homeland Security–DHS–and its ability to lock down the entire nation’s cyber infrastructure. Cometh more finger pointing. The Government Accountability Office–GAO–released a report on DHS’ uphill battle for cybersecurity. With no ostensible end to this job, it’s easy to tell Sisyphus to push harder. […]
Reps. Bill Foster, D-Ill., and Mark Takano, D-Calif., deserve a big thumbs up for introducing legislation on Thursday to reopen the Office of Technology Assessment–OTA. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., will lead the charge in the Senate. […]
Machine learning innovation is kicking into high gear. Investment in this field and data science increased 9.3 percent in 2016 to $2.4 billion, according to Gartner. On top of that, the Federal government is increasing its focus on machine learning, with the MGT Act, Technology Modernization Fund, and the President’s Management Agenda all supporting transformation efforts. […]
Conventional wisdom is that it takes a fairly long time to detect a cybersecurity breach. Typically, most research suggests, it takes two to three months, possibly longer. That may not be the case anymore, though, according to a recent report. […]
Changes are afoot at the Pentagon. President Trump selected Lt. Gen. Bradford “B.J.” Shwedo as the next CIO of the Joint Staff, Defense Secretary James Mattis announced Wednesday. Shwedo will replace Coast Guard Vice Adm. Marshall B. Lytle. […]
The Department of Homeland Security’s National Programs and Protection Directorate–NPPD–is one step closer to its first permanent undersecretary in more than a year. Tuesday, Christopher Krebs, who currently serves as acting undersecretary, had an overwhelmingly positive confirmation hearing with the Senate Committee on Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs. […]
U.S. Customs and Border Protection–CBP–has enlisted a government IT heavy hitter to help oversee its IT transformation. […]
The Air Force has awarded five small businesses contracts that could top out at $950 million for the rapid development of new cyber capabilities. This contract continues an effort by the service, and the Department of Defense overall, to keep up with potential adversaries in the fast-changing cyber domain. […]
The Government Accountability Office–GAO–released a report exploring how Medicare beneficiary data are being shared with external organizations. When caring for patient record data, it seems government needs a better bedside manner and more. […]
Government employees are playing Russian roulette every time they open their inbox. […]
The Pentagon’s vision of future warfare involves teams of small autonomous and semi-autonomous unmanned vehicles–in the air, on the ground, and in the water–operating in coordinated swarms to support troops on the battlefield. […]
The Pentagon has a lot of dogs in the artificial intelligence fight. Now it seems to be setting up shop to get those puppies groomed and ready for the big show. […]
Turns out the Technology Modernization Fund (TMF) board wasn’t just talking a big game when we heard from representatives last week that the pace of reviews had accelerated. Federal CIO Suzette Kent, who chairs the TMF board, revealed Sunday on the Government Matters TV program that the board has selected four agencies one step closer to receiving modernization funding. […]
As government cyber warriors recover from their red-eye journey back from the RSA conference, there’s news on the leadership progression at the top cyber operational position in government. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) named Paul Beckman as the DHS HQ CISO. Formerly deputy CISO for DHS HQ, Beckman replaces, who recently retired from government service. […]
The internet has never been an especially safe place, but at least one small corner of it–email–was less perilous for most users in 2017. […]
In another example of how far the cyber domain is pervading every aspect of warfare, military units are beginning to add cyber protection testing to vehicles before they hit the road. […]
Joe Ayers, public sector lead for Hewlett Packard Enterprise–HPE–is a competitor and a coach. If you’re confused by the various flavors of HP, HPE is the $28 billion server, storage, and networking business. But to understand HPE, like understanding Ayers, you need to think outside the box. […]
Bot-driven cyberattacks and other fast-spreading malware have been making some pretty big waves of late. The Mirai botnet, for example, launched several record-setting Distributed Denial-of-Service–DDoS–attacks starting in September 2016. […]
On Tuesday, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) online filing and payment portals went down for several hours. Tax Day, the biggest day of the year for IRS, and systems gave only cryptic messages with erroneous dates for “planned maintenance.” No doubt this wasn’t in the plan. […]
Eyes tend to glaze over at an Appropriations hearing. Seems Congress just pushed through the 2018 Omnibus spending bill, and the House is already back talking budgets for FY19. […]
At the RSA Cybersecurity Conference in San Francisco, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen made it clear that the United States has “a full spectrum of response options” to defend against cyber attacks and hacks. […]
The Government Accountability Office–GAO–is bringing its bid protest process into the 21st Century. In May, GAO will launch a secure and easy to use web-based electronic system for groups filing bid protests for Federal contract awards. […]
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has been on a modernization tear of late, and has touted how improving veteran care is rooted in new technology initiatives. Continuing that commitment could be more difficult now that its acting CIO is on the way out. […]
The Department of Defense (DoD) Empire just struck back with answers to more than 1,000 questions that vendors posed regarding the Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure (JEDI) cloud contract. DoD just released its second draft request for proposal after responding to concerns of 46 vendors and two associations. […]