FCW Insider: Oct. 15

Feds to see average 4.9% hike in health premiums in 2021

The coronavirus pandemic was a driver in keeping premium hikes lower than otherwise would have been the case, according to an OPM official.

Automated ATOs and cybersecurity

Software to automate the system authorization process at agencies could work along the same lines as tax filing tools, according to one senior IT advisor at HHS.

How the Army's new pay system upgrade could improve talent management

The Army is planning to field an app-friendly human resources system that could hold the data needed to improve its workforce.

Quick Hits

*** A New York State probe into the Twitter hack and bitcoin scam in July found that the social media network failed to adequately protect itself from "garden-variety" social engineering exploits. The report from New York's Department of Financial Services said that the hack "demonstrates the need for strong cybersecurity to curb the potential weaponization of major social media companies," and notes that while "policymakers focus on antitrust and content moderation problems with large social media companies, their cybersecurity is also critical."

*** Top Democrats on House and Senate committees with oversight of the Department of Veterans Affairs are concerned that agency chief Robert Wilkie and other senior leaders are campaigning for President Trump's reelection on official, taxpayer funded trips.

"To maintain the integrity of the Department you lead, we are requesting a full accounting of taxpayer-funded travel, attendance at events, and related activities by you and other Department senior leaders that appear to be in violation of the Hatch Act and relevant regulations," Rep. Mark Takano (D-Calif.), the chairman of the House Veterans Affairs Committee and Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.), ranking member of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee wrote in an Oct. 13 letter to Wilkie.