While Democratic members of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs fear cryptocurrency could be used to help Russia evade economic sanctions, witnesses at a hearing on March 17 reminded lawmakers how crypto is being used for good, providing over $55 million to Ukraine for much needed humanitarian aid and supplies. […]

Prompted by the White House executive order on cybersecurity, Federal agencies are accelerating their adoption of zero trust architectures. And according to Gerald Caron, chief information officer (CIO) and assistant inspector general (IG) for information technology at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), these models must include automation. […]

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Office of the Inspector General (OIG) released a trio of reports today that found continued deficiencies with the VA’s Electronic Health Record (EHR) transition that has led to patient care issues in multiple areas. […]

Every four years, GAO releases a strategic guide for its work to help lawmakers in Congress oversee Federal operations and address governmental and societal issues over a five-year period. In its newest plan, GAO outlines key efforts for 2022-2027; goals and objectives for serving Congress and the nation; and trends that are affecting government and society, while also detailing how technology plays a role in these efforts. […]

Puesh Kumar, director of the Energy Department’s Office of Cybersecurity Energy Security and Emergency Response (CESER), detailed several steps that the agency is taking to implement executive branch and DoE supply chain security policies during a virtual event hosted by FCW on March 16. […]

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has opened a new proceeding seeking feedback on how to prevent and eliminate digital discrimination to ensure that everyone has equal access to broadband services. […]

The FBI announced the launch of its Virtual Assets Unit (VAU), a new unit designed to be able to go after criminals looking to use cryptocurrency to aid in their crimes, the FBI announced March 15. […]

Federal chief information security officers (CISOs) today recommended that as Federal agencies implement zero trust security architectures they also put in place continuous training programs for their workforce to keep employees up to date on the technology and best practices. […]

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) said its strategic plan for 2022-2027 features significant emphasis on cybersecurity issues including the government’s capabilities to boost cyber defenses against foreign government influence campaigns, and the Defense Department’s ability to meet cyber threats across multiple domains. […]

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has released its latest multi-year strategic plan, with an emphasis on cybersecurity and how technology figures in to broad goals for the United States.  […]

President Biden signed the fiscal year (FY) 2022 omnibus appropriations bill today that will keep the Federal government funded through Sept. 30. […]

A bipartisan group of 22 senators is asking the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and other Federal cybersecurity agencies for an update on what steps the government is taking to safeguard the United States and its critical infrastructure sectors against Russia-backed cyber and disinformation threats. […]

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) said in its latest report on the 2020 Census that the Census Bureau needs to do more work identifying specific dates and key activities going forward to protect respondent privacy in its future efforts.   […]

While Russia’s war in Ukraine continues, the cyberattacks coming from the invading country have, surprisingly, been rather mild and contained, Senator Mark Warner, D-Va., said today. […]

The Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) Wireline Competition Bureau (WCB) announced a July 31, 2022, deadline for Round 2 COVID-19 Telehealth Program (COVID-19 Program) funding recipients to purchase eligible devices and implement eligible services. […]

With customer experience (CX) being not only a priority in President Biden’s Presidential Management Agenda vision but also the subject of its own executive order, Federal agency and industry officials said a focus on human-centered design and personnel is vital when using technology to make citizen services more consistent and accessible. […]

President Biden was poised late Friday to sign a full-year appropriations bill for fiscal year (FY) 2022 ending Sept. 30, after the Senate passed the spending bill late March 10. […]

After a few failed attempts, cyber incident reporting legislation made it over the finish line as part of the fiscal year (FY) 2022 appropriations bill – a victory hailed by Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) Director Jen Easterly and lawmakers as a necessary step for more visibility to protect critical infrastructure. […]

The House of Representatives late on March 9 passed the long-awaited full-year appropriations bill for fiscal year (FY) 2022 ending Sept. 30, along with a four-day continuing resolution (CR) to give the Senate a few more days to shepherd the full-year omnibus spending bill to passage. […]

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency’s (CISA) National Risk Management Center (NRMC) is preparing for a change in leadership, as founding member Bob Kolasky prepares to leave CISA for the private sector. […]

The integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into next-generation tools offers an exciting opportunity to enhance the quality and efficiency of patent and trademark examination, an official from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) said during an FCW virtual event on March 9. […]

IT modernization can be helpful for agencies to optimize their workflows, but chief information officers (CIOs) at a number of Federal agencies are prioritizing the optimization of customer experience over some of the agencies’ more internal needs. […]

The Department of Energy (DoE) is working on finalizing an Artificial Intelligence Risk Management Playbook, and an agency official said on March 9 that it should be released sometime in fiscal year (FY) 2023. […]

House and Senate Appropriations Committees today unveiled a full-year omnibus spending bill covering Federal government operations for the rest of fiscal year (FY) 2022 that ends on Sept. 30. […]

The White House’s Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is urging agencies to “immediately” implement the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) guidance on software supply chain security. […]

A bill to authorize the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to provide cybersecurity training help at the national, state and local levels was approved by the House on March 7. The Senate has approved similar – but not identical – legislation, so the House version will still need further Senate action before it can be submitted to President Biden for his signature. […]

MeriTalk recently sat down with Jim Matney, Vice President and General Manager of the DISA and Enterprise Services Sector for GDIT’s Defense Division, to discuss how the ICAM solution will serve as a critical pillar to establishing zero trust within the Federal defense enterprise. […]

Federal Agencies are reporting “mixed progress” meeting their goals to optimize existing data centers in recent months due to technical and budget constraints, according to a recent report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO).  […]

Google said today it agreed to buy cybersecurity defense and response services provider Mandiant for $5.4 billion in cash. After the acquisition closes, Google will wrap Mandiant into its Google Cloud business. […]

The Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) has appointed Ryan McArthur to lead its program office for the Department of Defense’s (DoD) Joint Warfighter Cloud Capability (JWCC), according to McArthur’s LinkedIn. […]