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. […]
Fed CIO Offices, 20-Plus Agencies Losing Union Bargaining Under New EO
An executive order signed by President Donald Trump and issued by the White House late Thursday aims to end collective bargaining with Federal government unions for vast swaths of the civilian workforce. […]
NIST Unveils Final AI Security Guidelines to Combat Cyber Threats
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has unveiled its final guidelines for safeguarding artificial intelligence systems from cyberattacks, shedding light on emerging threats targeting both predictive (PredAI) and generative (GenAI) models. […]
GAO: Flawed ML, Data Played Role in SBA’s Big COVID Fraud Totals
A new Government Accountability Office (GAO) report finds that the Small Business Administration (SBA) failed to fully heed recommendations from its Office of Inspector General (OIG) when distributing COVID-19 relief loans, which contributed to billions of dollars lost to fraudulent payments. […]
Air Force Nominee Pledges to Strengthen Space Force
President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Department of the Air Force, Troy Meink, told senators today that he will continue to build up the U.S. Space Force through talent and acquisition. […]
Federal CIO Orders Agency Software Inventories in Bid to Cut Waste
Federal Chief Information Officer (CIO) Greg Barbaccia is tasking all Federal agency CIOs with compiling by April 2 a list of their existing software licenses with nine of the largest government software providers, and delivering by April 30 a comprehensive list of all of their software licenses and contracts. […]
HHS Says IT Revamp at Center of Broad Reorganization Plan
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is the latest Federal entity to make major cuts to its workforce including moves to centralize its information technology (IT) employees, according to a Thursday notice from the department. […]
DISA Prepares to Introduce GenAI Chatbot at Indo-Pacom
The Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) is preparing to roll out a new chatbot platform in one of its overseas cloud environments, according to a defense official. […]
Trump Issues Executive Order Seeking Broad Changes to Elections
President Donald Trump issued an executive order (EO) on Tuesday that aims to make sweeping changes to U.S. elections, and warns that states will lose Federal election grants if they do not comply with new requirements. […]
House Lawmakers Reintroduce Bill to Improve Federal Software Purchases
A bipartisan group of House lawmakers reintroduced legislation on Thursday to streamline software purchasing across the Federal government and reduce unnecessary costs. […]
SSA Taps Scott Coulter as New CIO
The Social Security Administration (SSA) has named Scott Coulter as its new chief information officer (CIO), making him the third person to hold the position since President Donald Trump took office on Jan. 20. […]
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?
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