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.
Education, Health Officials Want More Help Mitigating Ransomware Attacks
Officials from the health care and education sectors called on Congress Wednesday to provide better Federal aid to state and local governments to not only respond to ransomware attacks, but also to help prevent them.
Lawmakers Eyeing Tech to Help Recoup Pandemic Loan Fraud
Members of the House Small Business Committee heard expert testimony on Sept. 27 on a range of private sector solutions that the government could use to track down perpetrators of fraud against Small Business Administration (SBA) loan and relief programs during the coronavirus pandemic.
PMA Update: GSA’s Login.gov Reaches 38.8M Users
The General Services Administration (GSA) is continuing to increase adoption of its Login.gov service, reaching 38.8 million active users as of September and supplying service to 42 Federal partner agencies, according to new data from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).
DoD IG Plans to Review CMMC Program’s Adequacy
The Department of Defense (DoD) Inspector General (IG) announced last week that it plans to conduct an audit into the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) program – the Pentagon’s high-profile contractor cybersecurity program.
ONCD, CISA Must Resolve Info Sharing Weaknesses, Watchdog Says
A new report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) finds that Federal agencies and critical infrastructure owners must do a better job at sharing information to tackle increasingly complex cyber threats.
Sen. Warner Calls for Overarching Legal Framework on Foreign Tech
During a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing this week Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., called for the creation of a legal framework to judge the use of foreign technology in the United States, especially if it originates from adversary nations.
Sen. Klobuchar Aims for AI Election Guardrails by Year’s End
With the 2024 elections right around the corner, senators warned about issues arising from the use of unregulated AI technology, and said they will aim to approve legislation creating AI “guardrails” on election security by the end of this year.
GAO Looking to Modernize Audits, Databases With AI
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) is looking to gain a better understanding of artificial intelligence so that the watchdog agency can audit the technology, as well as use it to organize its thousands of reports.
OSTP Chief: Biden’s AI EO Coming This Fall
The head of the White House’s Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) said Thursday that the Biden administration’s artificial intelligence (AI) executive order (EO) will be unveiled this fall.
DoD CIO Sherman Eyes Strong Guidance on Cutting Legacy Tech Debt
Defense Department (DoD) Chief Information Officer (CIO) John Sherman said today that he is considering issuing strong, formal guidance to military service branches to get moving faster on the long-sought goal of reducing technical debt throughout the military and particularly on the IT and cybersecurity fronts.
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?
The MeriTalk “Industry Insider” column, offers a weekly news roundup of contracts and other activity in the Federal IT industry. Check with MeriTalk daily for the government technology news you need to know, or subscribe to get the latest stories delivered directly to your inbox. You’ll stay up to date with interesting and timely Federal IT stories on cybersecurity, big data, data center modernization, cloud, mobile, and other developments in your community – from what’s next for the MGT Act to the highly anticipated Federal IT revolving capital fund, MeriTalk brings you the trends and breaking IT news to help you modernize, innovate, and transform public sector technology and the missions you support.