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. […]
Easterly: China Threat Drives FY2025 Budget Boost Request
Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) Director Jen Easterly told lawmakers on April 30 that the Biden administration’s fiscal year 2025 request for CISA will help fund agency activities in three key areas, including to fight malign Chinese cyber actors. […]
GSA Releases Generative AI Buyer’s Guide
The General Services Administration (GSA) released its Generative AI and Specialized Computing Infrastructure Acquisition Resource Guide on Monday to support the Federal acquisition community when purchasing generative AI solutions and related computing infrastructure. […]
House Republicans Renew Call for Federal Telework Data
The White House’s Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has called on Federal agencies to increase in-office work to at least 50 percent of employees’ hours, yet House Republicans say they’re still not receiving enough data regarding Federal telework policies. […]
White House Enlists Intel Agencies in Critical Infrastructure Protection
President Biden today signed a new national security memorandum (NSM) that aims to better protect U.S. critical infrastructure sectors by enlisting U.S. intelligence agencies to ramp up their sharing of threat data across multiple levels of government and with private-sector critical infrastructure providers. […]
White House: Small Businesses Awarded Record-Breaking $179B in FY23
The Biden administration announced on Monday that it awarded a record-breaking $178.6 to small businesses in fiscal year (FY) 2023, representing 28.4 percent of all contracting dollars and an increase of about $16 billion from FY2022. […]
Liz Young McNally to Spearhead DIU Commercial Operations
The Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) appointed combat veteran Liz Young McNally to serve as the new deputy director for commercial operations, the organization announced Monday. […]
MeriTalk Q&A: EPA CISO Keys on AI, Cyber Priority Projects
In March, MeriTalk recognized the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) at the annual FITARA Awards ceremony for winning in the “Most Improved” category. EPA’s Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) Tonya Manning told MeriTalk in an exclusive interview that the agency is keeping up the momentum by moving forward on several innovative cyber and IT projects – including AI implementation and supply chain cybersecurity. […]
DHS Offers WMD, Critical Infrastructure AI Guidance
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on April 29 offered up new guidance and analysis on the use of artificial intelligence technologies in two particularly sensitive areas: weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and the 16 U.S. sectors classified by the Federal government as critical infrastructure. […]
GAO: Census Bureau Needs to Tighten Up IT Modernization Efforts
While the 2030 Census is still years away, a new Government Accountability Office (GAO) report reveals the U.S. Census Bureau still has some work to do to improve its IT modernization efforts critical to that mission. […]
GSA Panel to Advance ‘Open Government’ Data Access Aims
The General Services Administration said on April 26 that it plans to create a new Open Government Federal Advisory Committee that will help the agency ride herd over the U.S. Open Government National Action Plan released by the Biden administration in late 2022. […]
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.