The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has hired Francisco Salguero – now deputy CIO at the Department of Agriculture (USDA) – as the FCC’s next CIO, Salguero confirmed on Nov. 20 at ATARC’s Technology Modernization Fund (TMF) event. […]

Research firm Gartner published its list of technologies that can address the pressing challenges that public-sector CIOs face over the next 12 to 18 months, with a focus on rethinking existing concepts to better meet the challenges agencies face. […]

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is seeking Federal employees to apply for a new program the department is launching to train new CIOs and CISOs. […]

Federal agencies have fully implemented 60 percent of IT management-related and 78 percent of security-related recommendations the Government Accountability Office (GAO) has issued since 2010, and they should continue bolstering their cybersecurity and IT acquisition and operations, according to a new GAO report released June 26. […]

Federal agencies are unprepared to confront and mitigate cyberthreats today, the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affair Committee Investigations Subcommittee determined in a report released today, recommending that agencies give CIOs more authority to make decisions on cybersecurity. […]

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) tapped Lytwaive Hutchinson to serve as its new CIO earlier this month, after a year-long search to fill the position. […]

As CIOs look to overcome obstacles in modernizing their organizations’ IT systems across a spectrum of industries, making IT an issue of trust rather than cost has become key to driving CIO initiatives, according to Grant Thornton’s 2019 CIO Survey Report. […]

The Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) is creating a $2.1 billion, multiple-award contract to develop four service areas, particularly for information technology (IT) services and capabilities, according to a recent DIA solicitation document. […]

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced the appointment of Christine Calvosa as the new CIO of the agency. […]

Beth Killoran, CIO of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) since November 2015, has left the position for a new role at the Office of the Surgeon General, and CTO Ed Simcox has been named acting CIO, an HHS official confirmed to MeriTalk. […]

On the heels of naming Suzette Kent as the new Federal CIO, Agriculture announced that acting CIO, Gary Washington will become the permanent CIO. Washington has served in acting capacity since September of 2017. […]

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson spoke frankly about the need IT modernization in the State Department last week, both referencing his personal experiences with the department’s servers and tying it into a larger need for reorganization in the department, but failing to lay out any concrete plan for the changes. […]

A firm understanding of grading mechanisms and reporting practices is the way to success, according to an official from the United States Agency for International Development, the first agency to ever receive an A on the Federal Information Technology Acquisition Reform Act scorecard. […]

Bernard Barton, chief information officer of the Library of Congress, is challenging American coders to bring the centuries-old information stored by the library into the digital era. The challenge, which will launch later this year, asks coders to submit ideas for modernizing the public’s access to the Library of Congress’ data. […]

Johnson Joy was named chief information officer of the department of Housing and Urban Development on June 14. […]

The Federal Emergency Management Agency on June 30 will become the first component within the Department of Homeland Security to completely roll out Microsoft Office 365 within the agency’s systems. That move is one of several initiatives Adrian Gardner, the agency’s chief information officer, is working on. By late September, FEMA aims to deploy derived credentials, which would enable employees to access the agency system from their mobile devices. […]

President Donald Trump appointed Richard Staropoli, former chief information security officer at Fortress Investment Group, to serve as chief information officer for the Department of Homeland Security. […]

Michael Johnson, chief information officer of the Department of Energy, has left the agency. […]

Luke McCormack, the chief information officer at the Department of Homeland Security, submitted his resignation today. […]

Twice a week, at precisely 11:30 a.m., dozens of IT employees at the FCC emerge from their offices and make their way to a central hallway cross section in the heart of FCC headquarters in Washington, D.C. A large white board hangs on a wall in the center of the main gathering place, detailing a dozen major IT projects in priority order. Beneath the white board, white tape outlines an ‘x’ on the floor. […]

A software upgrade gone wrong caused widespread system outages across the Veterans Affairs Department, officials confirmed Tuesday. The agency’s main website, VA.gov, as well as Vets.gov, associated websites, and apps were temporarily affected, a VA spokesperson told MeriTalk. […]

Hawaii last week announced its first annual “Code Challenge”–a monthlong competition that seeks to involve the local tech community in the state’s modernization efforts. […]

A new report released by the National Association of State Chief Information Officers reveals states are unprepared for the IoT movement: Only one out of five state CIOs say their state has moved to the formal discussion phase–and zero states have adopted policies and developed an IoT road map. […]

MeriTalk spells out the pros and cons of the Office of Management and Budget’s Data Center Optimization Initiative. […]

The National Association of State Chief Information Officers issued a “planning guide” to help states deal with a cyber disruption. Cyber disruption response planning is essential, the report said: “Ignore at your own peril.” […]