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. […]
FAA Launches Sweeping Overhaul With New Safety, Modernization Offices
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) plans to open new offices dedicated to safety oversight and airspace modernization as part of an overhaul of the agency’s organizational structure. […]
ICE Explores Big Data, Ad-Tech Tools to Power Investigations
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) wants information from industry on commercial off-the-shelf big data and advertising technology (ad tech) tools to support ICE investigations. […]
Army Awards Salesforce $5.6B Contract
The U.S. Army has awarded Salesforce a $5.6 billion contract to strengthen the Pentagon’s data analytics capabilities and lay the groundwork for future agentic artificial intelligence (AI) deployments, as part of a broader effort to accelerate military modernization and readiness. […]
TikTok’s Ownership Changed, Lawmakers Want to Know What Didn’t
The multi-billion-dollar deal that placed the U.S. version of the popular social media app TikTok in the hands of majority-American investors last Thursday is raising alarm among lawmakers, who are calling for an investigation into remaining Chinese influence. […]
VA Watchdog Flags Ongoing Challenges With EHRM Program
As the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) prepares to resume deployments of its Electronic Health Record Modernization (EHRM) program, the VA Office of Inspector General (OIG) is warning of ongoing challenges with the program’s rollout. […]
Hegseth Orders Review of 8(a) Contracts
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has ordered a review of contracts awarded under the Small Business Administration’s 8(a) Business Development Program, saying the decades-old initiative has strayed from its original purpose and allowed fraud and abuse in federal contracting. […]
OMB Rescinds Biden-Era Software Security Requirements
The White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) on Jan. 23 formally rescinded two Biden-era memoranda that required federal agencies to obtain software security attestations from software producers before deploying their products. […]
NWS Scales Back AI Weather Translations Amid Funding, Planning Gaps
Since 2021, the National Weather Service (NWS) has experimented with artificial intelligence (AI) to translate weather warnings into multiple languages, cutting translation times to about a minute – but recent contract lapses and budget constraints have forced the agency to scale back. […]
Marine Corps Adopts GenAI.mil Platform
The U.S. Marine Corps has selected GenAI.mil as its official enterprise generative artificial intelligence (AI) platform, consolidating duplicative, general-purpose GenAI tools into a single system, the service announced. […]
Denver Targets Automation Opportunities and Tracks Success
Municipal governments are under continued pressure to save money while delivering more and better services, noted John Dvorak, chief technology officer for public sector at Red Hat, during the recent Red Hat Government Symposium. […]
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.