FCW Insider: Jan. 19

Biden-Harris team taps DDM, OSTP director

Biden's Cabinet will be the first to include a "Presidential Science Advisor," Dr. Eric Lander, who Biden nominated to serve as OSTP director.

Telework, BYOD and DEOS

Telework made the idea of bringing your own device a top priority as the Defense Information Systems Agency begins transitioning to a permanent version of the commercial virtual remote environment.

Rob Joyce to lead NSA cyber office

Joyce's predecessor, Anne Neuberger, is joining President-elect Joe Biden's administration as a deputy national security advisor.

Comment: SolarWinds fallout makes secure communications a critical first line of defense

Crisis situations like this one can induce the fog-of-war and lead to tradeoffs during remediation. While we may not know the full extent of the damage for some time, as is always the case in an event like this, we need to stop the bleeding. We must not afford the adversary an easy path to more information.

Quick Hits

*** Almost 400 jobs at the Office of Management and Budget have been approved for reclassification to Schedule F status, according to a letter from two senior House Democrats. Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.) and Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.) said that they have been alerted by the Government Accountability Office that the Office of Personnel Management had approved OMB's request to convert the positions to the new Schedule F status created by executive order in October. Under Schedule F, federal employees maintain few civil service protections and lose eligibility for union membership. The lawmakers are concerned that the Trump administration, with just hours left in office, will reclassify employees at OMB and possibly at other agencies.

"OMB's decision to implement Schedule F will only lead to additional protracted legal battles and a bureaucratic waste of government resources to the detriment of the vital operations of the agency," the lawmakers wrote. "In addition, it is simply cruel to strip federal employees, who have faithfully and consistently served the American public throughout the pandemic, of civil service protections."

*** The IRS is creating an online platform to allow taxpayers to directly file income reporting forms in the 1099 series directly with the agency. The new service is due to be in place by Jan. 1, 2023 under the Taxpayer First Act. The tax agency, in reply comments to a Government Accountability Office report, said the 1099 filing systems will serve as the basis for a larger information return modernization effort, and that a report to Congress on plans and the status of the project is forthcoming.