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. […]
GSA Strikes OneGov Deal With Palo Alto Networks
The General Services Administration (GSA) announced on Thursday a OneGov agreement with Palo Alto Networks offering discounts of up to 60% for technology solutions designed to protect federal agencies’ cyber infrastructure. […]
House Bill Taps ONCD to Attribute, Identify Foreign Cyberattackers
A bill introduced in the House this week would task the Office of the National Cyber Director (ONCD) with “formally” identifying foreign agencies, people, and other groups that are responsible for recent attacks against the United States and directs a separate effort to improve the current distribution of attack attribution data. […]
States, Schools Harness Data and Workforce Programs to Combat Fraud, Cyber Threats, and Service Outages
Public sector and higher education leaders are actively developing innovative data analytics and cybersecurity workforce models to combat escalating fraud and cyber threats. A key theme emerging from the recent Splunk conf.25 event in Boston was the critical role of observability practices – drawing insights from both public and private sectors – in ensuring the continuous availability and resilience of essential government and educational services. […]
GDIT Opens Mission Emerge Center to Showcase Tech Solutions
General Dynamics Information Technology (GDIT) announced on Wednesday the opening of a new Mission Emerge Center in Springfield, Va., designed to give customers a hands-on environment to rapidly build, test, and validate technology solutions for intelligence and defense missions. […]
Pentagon Maps Major Drone Purchases
The Pentagon outlined a two-year plan to buy hundreds of thousands of small commercial drones as part of its new Drone Dominance Program. […]
FTC Hits Illuminate for Student Data Breach, Discusses Settlement Terms
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) said on Dec.1 that a majority of its commissioners approved the agency taking legal action against edtech services provider Illuminate following a breach, “which allowed hackers to access the personal data of more than 10 million students.” […]
Senators Consider Tougher Chip Controls to Halt China’s AI Rise
Members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee are considering stronger export controls and increased investment in the U.S. workforce to combat China’s race against the United States for artificial intelligence (AI) dominance. […]
House Oversight Committee Advances SAMOSA Act
The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee voted on Tuesday to advance the Strengthening Agency Management and Oversight of Software Assets (SAMOSA) Act, sending it to the full House for further consideration. […]
FCC Urges Action After Obscene Material Airs in Hack
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is warning broadcasters that they must maintain cybersecurity standards after a cyber breach resulted in the broadcast of obscene materials and a false emergency alert. […]
Marine Corps Seeks New CI/HUMINT Specialists
The U.S. Marine Corps is calling on service members to apply to become counterintelligence (CI) and human intelligence (HUMINT) specialists. […]
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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