FCW Insider: Feb. 5
The latest news and analysis from FCW's reporters and editors.
A watchdog report found that the Department of Homeland Security doesn't always validate whether agencies are complying with mandatory directives. The department floated plans to leverage two existing programs to automate those processes. Derek B. Johnson explains.
The Office of Personnel Management announced it was working with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to develop strategies and guidance for the federal workforce to cope with the Wuhan coronavirus. At issue is developing a plan that if needed prioritizes the safety of the workforce and continuity of operations. Lia Russell reports.
The intelligence community is merging clearance and suitability reviews for candidates for cleared positions. The Office of the Director of National Intelligence says the move will strengthen human resources officers' role in hiring for nation's most sensitive positions. Lia has more.
Educating industry and federal procurement workers on the basics of cyber threats is part of a holistic supply chain security strategy, said the head of ODNI's National Counterintelligence and Security Center. Mark Rockwell takes a look.
Please take a moment to meet the 2020 class of Federal 100 Award winners being honored for their exceptional contributions to federal IT.
Quick Hits
*** To prep for the 2020 population count, the Census Bureau hired 32,000 workers nationwide to verify 50 million addresses in an effort that wrapped up in October, 2019. Now the Office of Inspector General at the Commerce Department is initiating a review to determine whether laptops issued in that address canvassing effort were collected from workers and if Census data was deleted from those devices in accordance with bureau contracts.
*** A Senate bill to develop and improve the federal and private sector cybersecurity workforce would cost $57 million to implement over five years, according to a Congressional Budget Office estimate. The bill, known as the HACKED Act, was passed out of the Senate Commerce Committee last November.