The latest news and analysis from FCW's reporters and editors.
Biden floats $9B boost to TMF as part of funding surge
The incoming Biden-Harris administration announced a $1.9 trillion "rescue" package to help Americans whose incomes have taken a hit from the pandemic, which includes a major uptick in technology spending to secure government systems and spur modernization.
OPM urges D.C.-area feds to telework through inauguration week
The move comes as downtown Washington, D.C. is being transformed into a high security zone for the inauguration of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.
Bipartisan House bill would block Schedule F conversions
The bill is the latest of several legislative attempts to block an executive order that could remake parts of the civil service into at-will employees.
FireEye not ready to ascribe SolarWinds hack to Russia
The cybersecurity firm credited with discovering the compromise of SolarWinds Orion isn't saying that Russia didn't do it, but that more evidence is needed to make a definitive attribution.
Quick Hits
*** The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency appears set to get going on its establishment of vulnerability disclosure platform as a shared service to support federal civilian executive branch agencies looking for a way to receive information about website and software bugs. An award was made to Endyna, Inc. in September, 2020. The award had a ceiling value of just under $13.5 million. Hacker One, known for its bug bounty efforts in the Department of Defense, protested the award with the Government Accountability Office. According to GAO's bid protest docket, an initial protest was dismissed in December 2020 and an amended protest was withdrawn on Jan. 11, 2021.
*** In a recent report, the Government Accountability Office said the Department of Energy has to do more to make itself less vulnerable to contracting fraud.
*** Jennifer Rostami was elevated at the General Services Administration to serve as acting director of the IT Modernization Centers of Excellence program, which embeds technology experts inside agencies to spur improvement in areas like cloud, contact centers and data analytics. According to her LinkedIn profile, Rostami was previously the director of agency partnerships at the Centers of Excellence.
*** The deadline to make Federal 100 nominations has been extended. You now have until Friday, Jan. 15 to get them in.