When Mike Hermus leaves his position as Department of Homeland Security (DHS) CTO on March 2, Kevin Wince, the DHS executive director for Enterprise Architecture (EA), will step up as acting CTO. […]

It’s tough patrolling on the US-Mexico border–extreme weather conditions, rugged terrain, and thousands of miles of it. That’s why DHS Customs and Border Protection needs mobile, next-generation reconnaissance and surveillance solutions like Relocatable-Remote Video Surveillance System (R-RVSS). And, GDIT just completed a successful R-RVSS pilot program with CBP in Laredo and McAllen, Texas. […]

House Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Protection Subcommittee chairman Rep. John Ratcliffe, R-Texas, put the Continuous Diagnostics and Mitigation (CDM) program under the microscope in a hearing with industry experts last week. […]

The Report to the President on Federal IT Modernization recommends modernizing the Trusted Internet Connections (TIC) program, which is critical to the Federal government’s broader digital transformation strategy. By the end of this month, the report calls for the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to conduct data calls to agencies to discuss their cloud migration projects, and identify any delays caused by current TIC policy. And, by March 2, OMB will share a “preliminary update to the TIC policy,” and launch select pilot projects to test the new TIC requirements. […]

North Korea’s persistent efforts on nuclear weapons development and some loose talk about red buttons have raised new fears internationally about the possibilities of nuclear conflict. At home, government agencies also are addressing the questions about what to do in the case of a nuclear detonation. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), for example, will hold one of its Public Health Grand Round teaching sessions Jan. 16 on how medical professionals should respond–and although the event has been planned for months, it’s timing suddenly seems to be on the mark. […]

With rapid growth in smart devices, exploding data volumes, and the shift to the cloud, it is becoming more and more challenging to protect critical systems and information. Government and industry leaders convened at the Symantec Government Symposium in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday to discuss these complex challenges and the solutions needed to address them. […]

The Government Accountability Office found that 62 percent of major information technology software development investments were certified by the agency chief information officer for using adequate incremental development in fiscal year 2017. However, a number of responses for the remaining investments were incorrectly reported due to agency error. […]

In the event of a cyberattack, it’s important for information about the attack to be shared with the public in order to prevent further problems. Jeanette Manfra, assistant secretary for the Office of Cybersecurity and Communications at the Department of Homeland Security, said that the agency shares timely, accurate information with its partners and constituents so that they can take proper action to protect themselves. […]

The Continuous Diagnostics and Mitigation Program last week held its first data exchange between the Federal CDM dashboard and an agency dashboard. All of the CFO Federal agencies have agency dashboards to comply with the CDM program, and the Federal dashboard is in production. […]

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., said that he is concerned about the Trump administration’s widespread adoption of the NIST Cybersecurity Framework. “The NIST Framework has never been adequately validated,” he said, adding that he wonders whether agencies have accepted it because it’s effective or because “compliance demands so little effort.” […]

Following a House hearing on the cyber workforce shortage, the Department of Homeland Security released information about cyber training programs. […]

The White House announced that John Zangardi will serve as the new chief information officer for the Department of Homeland Security. Zangardi is currently serving as the acting CIO at the Department of Defense. He is leaving the DoD to replace Richard Staropoli, who unexpectedly resigned as DHS CIO in August. […]

The Department of Homeland Security’s deputy chief technology officer, Robert Palmer, announced plans to leave the agency, DHS confirmed. […]

The Department of Homeland Security published tips on Staying Safe in a ‘Smart’ World, which tells citizens how to navigate an environment full of the Internet of Things. […]

The Department of Homeland Security’s National Protection and Programs Directorate is standing up shared Continuous Diagnostics and Mitigation cloud security resources for small agencies. “That’s a rock star idea that’s coming to a government near you,” said Jeffrey Eisensmith, chief information security officer for DHS. […]

The Department of Homeland Security met with the Election Infrastructure Coordinating Council to discuss risk management tactics for election cybersecurity. The council is working to build partnerships to keep election systems secure. […]

The FirstNet national communications network for first responders still faces challenges to ensure the network’s reliability, security, and interoperability. Mark Goldstein, director of physical infrastructure issues at the Government Accountability Office, said that FirstNet struggles with providing network coverage to rural and hard-to-reach areas, ensuring the network’s overall resiliency and cybersecurity, managing frameworks for verifying user identity, and prioritizing the users on the network. […]

The Department of Homeland Security has confirmed to MeriTalk that Barry West will serve as the acting deputy CIO, as well as be appointed to a limited-term senior executive service position as senior adviser. […]

The Department of Homeland Security plans next month to stand up a governmentwide dashboard that will give the agency visibility into all of the Federal networks. The dashboard is part of the Continuous Diagnostics and Mitigation program, which was supported in the White House’s IT Modernization report. […]

President Donald Trump declared October 2017 National Cybersecurity Awareness Month. The announcement follows the Equifax breach in September, which affected about 143 million U.S. consumers. Trump signed a Cybersecurity Executive Order in May in an effort to strengthen Federal cybersecurity and hold agency heads accountable for security issues. […]

The Department of Health and Human Services is distilling cyber threat intelligence for a health care audience, according to HHS CISO Chris Wlaschin, who spoke at an Institute for Critical Infrastructure Technology Briefing on Sept. 26. He said the Healthcare Cybersecurity Communications and Integration Center is not meant “to replace current capabilities or functionality or services provided by” the Department of Homeland Security’s National Cybersecurity Communications and Integration Center. […]

A report with information from all of the agencies’ risk management reports will be sent to President Donald Trump to review by Oct. 8, even though the government still lacks a Federal CIO. Barry West, senior adviser and senior accountable official for risk management at the Department of Homeland Security, said that the goals of the Cyber Executive Order in May could still be met without a Federal CIO. […]

Though officials working on the Continuous Diagnostics and Mitigation program have been aware of the importance of cloud from the beginning, Phase 3 of the program will shift to include cloud concerns, according to Kevin Cox, CDM program manager at the Department of Homeland Security. […]

The conversations during the planning part of the acquisition process are the most important to the success of the contract vehicle, according to agency procurement officials. “What I think is most important is how we come together to meet the business solutions to enable our mission,” said Soraya Correa, chief procurement officer at the Department of Homeland Security, at AFCEA’s Homeland Security Conference on Sept. 13. […]

The problem with IT modernization is often a people problem. “There’s a cultural challenge within the IT community,” said Department of Homeland Security Acting CIO Stephen Rice, at the AFCEA Homeland Security Conference on Sept. 13. “Changes aren’t just within the technology but also within the culture of those managing the technology.” […]

Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Elaine Duke released a binding operational directive on Sept. 13 requiring agencies to identify and plan to remove all Kaspersky Lab products within the next 90 days. “The Department is concerned about the ties between certain Kaspersky officials and Russian intelligence and other government agencies, and requirements under Russian law that allow Russian intelligence agencies to request or compel assistance from Kaspersky and to intercept communications transiting Russian networks,” DHS noted. […]

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