*** The Office of Management and Budget is seeking public comment on the implementation of the Biden Administration's day-one executive order titled Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government. OMB's request includes a section on federal procurement. Under the order, "agencies will need to assess opportunities to direct more procurement and contracting dollars to underserved individuals and communities so that a broad cross-section of American businesses can share in the jobs and opportunities created by federal buying activities," the comment request states. OMB is looking for suggestions on making the federal procurement system more equitable and how to measure equity and inequity in contracting decisions at the prime and subcontracting levels.
*** To help prepare organizations for post-quantum cryptography, the National Institute of Standards and Technology's National Cybersecurity Center of Excellence has released the final version of a white paper, "Getting Ready for Post-Quantum Cryptography: Exploring Challenges Associated with Adopting and Using Post-Quantum Cryptographic Algorithms." GCN has more on this story.