FCW Insider: Nov. 26
The latest news and analysis from FCW's reporters and editors.
Publishing Note: FCW Insider is taking a break for the Thanksgiving holiday. Our next issue will publish on Monday Dec. 2.
Recent updates to federal IT policies give CIOs the opportunity to use hard data to help add value to the modernization discussion, writes Mark Forman, vice president of digital government at Unisys Federal in this FCW commentary. But tech leaders should look to proven governance models to spur innovation while mitigating risk.
The elevation of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency and maturation of Cyber Command have clarified "big picture" responsibilities for the U.S. government's cyber mission, but private-sector coordination remains a question mark. Derek B. Johnson explains.
Steve Kelman writes that Coding It Forward, the three-year-old program that provides summer digital tech fellowships in federal agencies, is drawing rave reviews from students and agency managers alike.
Customs and Border Protection added new features to the website that powers the Visa Waiver Program, but the rollout was marred by glitches. Mark Rockwell has more.
Fed 100 nominations are now open.
Quick Hits
*** The Congressional Budget Office estimates the Advancing Cybersecurity Diagnostics and Mitigation Act, a bill to codify the CDM program at the Department of Homeland Security will cost less than $500,000 to implement over five years. The bill in question passed in the House Homeland Security Committee last month.
*** Foreign-owned contractors have received Defense Department contracts for which they are ineligible due to opaque ownership structures that have gone unnoticed by contracting officers. Such awards have led to leaks of sensitive information to foreign-owned companies and the acquisition of defective parts, according to a recent report from the Government Accountability Office.
*** The Department of Veterans Affairs reports a 17% year-over-year increase in the use of agency telehealth services in fiscal 2019. The agency reported an overall total of 2.6 million instances of telehealth care, while usage of the VA Video Connect app, which allows access to care from a patients' home computer or tablet, was up 235%.