FCW Insider: July 23
The latest news and analysis from FCW's reporters and editors.
As Huawei ban looms, waivers are an option
Waivers for a looming federal rule prohibiting agencies from signing new contracts with companies that use a list of Chinese-made communications gear are only a temporary fix, says one expert.
CISA hires cyber risk experts to meet emerging threats
The Department of Homeland Security's cybersecurity and infrastructure arm hires experts to help understand shifting cyber threats in the pandemic.
House-passed NDAA expands paid leave benefit to excluded feds
Title 38 employees, such as workers at the Transportation Security Administration, Department of Veterans Affairs, and Federal Aviation Administration were not included in the bill that established the benefit.
Bill to modernize Plum Book clears Senate committee
The measure looks to require more frequent updates of the directory of political appointees.
Quick Hits
*** The National Institute of Standards and Technology announced it had 15 final candidates in its post-quantum cryptography standard – seven of these are deemed finalists and eight are tabbed as alternates. The agency received 69 submissions in a bid to come up with encryption standards that could resist the anticipated number-crunching power of quantum computers to produce secure digital signatures, public key encryption and to generate cryptographic keys. NIST had whittled the original 69 submissions down to 26 for evaluation last March. Now the agency hopes input from experts will help them settle on a handful of algorithms in a final round of vetting.
*** Rear Adm. Michelle Skubic was confirmed by the Senate on July 20 for promotion to the rank of vice admiral and to serve as the next director of the Defense Logistics Agency. Skubic will replace Army Lt. General Darrell K. Williams who stepped down from the top DLA job earlier this month.
*** The National Science Foundation announced $75 million in funding for the Quantum Leap Challenges Institute on July 21 to solve problems in quantum information science over the next five years.