Quick Hits: July 18

*** The Senate on July 17 passed the Defending the Integrity of Voting Systems Act, which would make it a federal crime to hack into any voting systems used in a federal election. The bill is designed to fix a loophole identified by Justice Department lawyers, who believe the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act may not explicitly prohibit the hacking of voting machines that aren't connected to the internet. It passed by unanimous consent.

*** The Department of Defense plans to approve the "storing and processing of DOD public information on any cloud service offerings which are assessed at the FedRAMP moderate baseline," DOD Deputy CIO for Cybersecurity Jack Wilmer told a House committee on July 17.  Currently, additional DOD-specific reviews are required for each cloud service. 

*** The Office of Personnel Management has issued new guidance to help agencies better track and evaluate their telework and other work-life programs.  "Evaluation of these programs has historically been unsystematic and based primarily on anecdotal evidence and/or the desire to 'do the right thing,'" the guidance states. "In applying work-life programs within the government, we must take seriously our responsibility to do so consistently with the best interest of the American people we serve."

*** The deadline for Government Innovation Award nominations is Aug. 2 Submit your picks for individual Rising Stars, Public Sector Innovations and Industry Innovators today!