The Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA’s) Grants Management Modernization (GMM) program needs to implement better reengineering processes, management requirements, and cybersecurity practices, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) said. […]

The Department of Energy (DoE) could do more to improve its identification of legacy information technology (IT) infrastructure and develop and implement plans to modernize IT systems and components, according to a March 27 DoE Office of Inspector General (OIG) audit. […]

A survey released by cybersecurity technology provider Venafi of 517 IT security professionals finds that 73 percent of those believe that countries with government-mandated encryption backdoors are more susceptible to nation-state attacks. “This is not rocket science; backdoors inevitably create vulnerabilities that can be exploited by malicious actors,” said Kevin Bocek, a vice president at […]

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. […]

Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., on Thursday introduced the Digital Service Act, which would increase funding for the U.S. Digital Service (USDS) and provide a conduit for state and local governments to get USDS grants to fund information technology (IT) modernization efforts. […]

After reviewing 24 Federal agencies that cover work in IT, cybersecurity, or cyber-related projects, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) found in a report today that six of these agencies did not accurately categorize the work roles of their work positions and that 22 assigned non-IT roles to about 19 percent of their IT positions. […]

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) intends to publish on Tuesday a final rule in the Federal Register updating regulations in order to give the agency’s CIO “a significant role in advancing the commission’s overall information technology capabilities.” […]

Sen. Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, on Wednesday voiced strong criticism of the Federal government’s spending to promote STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) education in the United States, saying that some of the Federal investment is duplicative and inefficient.  […]

Do agencies have enough time to make a smooth transition to the new Enterprise Infrastructure Solutions (EIS) contract by spring of 2020 when the older telecom contract vehicles expire? […]

The Social Security Administration (SSA) continues to modernize its information technology systems, re-awarding Northrop Grumman a 10-year Information Technology Support Services (ITSS) contract. SSA and Northrop Grumman have worked together for nearly a decade, so the global security firm is familiar with the agency’s needs and concerns. […]

A National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) research team collected data from four different smartphone models over an 18-month period to further the development of indoor navigation apps. This type of technology would assist users in finding their way inside unfamiliar buildings, help emergency responders find victims, direct visitors to find specific works of art in large museums, and more. […]

The third largest cloud computing company in the world, OVH, will be investing $47 million to establish its first U.S. data center, and North American headquarters, in Fauquier County, Va. […]

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. […]

The Superpublic Innovation Lab – announced earlier this year – is now open in San Francisco. The lab seeks to foster innovation and progress for the city through cross-sector collaboration, bringing down the walls among academia, state, and Federal government leaders. […]

The U.S. military may find itself incapable of achieving decisive victory on the battlefields of the future unless it fixes its broken acquisition system and begins to experiment with new war-fighting concepts involving radical new technological capabilities. […]

The CIA’s new Digital Innovation Directorate — the first new directorate established by the agency in more than 50 years — began official operations Thursday, marking what the agency is characterizing as a major milestone in the comprehensive modernization effort announced in March. The new so-called DDI is tasked with accelerating the integration of advanced […]

Rep. Will Hurd (R-Texas) last week urged Federal agencies to stop wasting money on legacy computer systems and move more quickly with cloud computing initiatives. “Legacy systems are expensive to operate and often make sensitive information vulnerable to cyber attacks,” Hurd said at the House Oversight Committee’s subcommittee on Information Technology field hearing at the […]

Congress on Friday delved yet again into the operational and organizational challenges that continue to hobble the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the massive organization created nearly 13 years ago when 22 separate agencies were cobbled together. The House Homeland Security Committee’s subcommittee on Oversight and Management Efficiencyweighed whether DHS can fix management and other […]

Federal agencies saved $3.6 billion from Fiscal 2011 to 2014 as a result of the Office of Management and Budget’s (OMB) IT reform initiatives, according to a new report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO). Four of the 24 agencies that participated in the IT reform initiative – the departments of Defense, Homeland Security, and […]