FCW Insider: July 20, 2021
The latest news and analysis from FCW's reporters and editors.
Data trust and connectivity challenge Army network innovators
The Army is taking cues from blockchain to help make battlefield data more trustworthy for commanding officers.
TurboTax-maker Intuit will leave free tax filing partnership with IRS
The company’s decision throws the future of the Free File program, which was created as an alternative to an IRS free tax filing system, into doubt.
Lawmakers balk at cost-overruns, transparency issues with VA's $21 billion health record program
At a Senate hearing last week, Veterans Affairs Secretary Denis McDonough noted deficiencies in training including the lack of a real system available for use by clinicians in advance of the go-live date for a new, integrated health care software system.
Quick Hits
*** Laurie Locascio, vice president for research at the University of Maryland, was nominated by the Biden administration to serve as head of the National Institute of Standards and Technology. Locascio is a NIST veteran, having served at the agency in multiple roles including as the acting principal deputy director and associate director for laboratory programs.
*** Margie Graves, formerly deputy federal CIO and acting federal CIO, is joining the IBM Center for the Business of Government as a senior fellow and will serve as the digital strategist for IBM's Federal Services team.
*** ITI, a leading technology trade association, offered a policy blueprint on what a cybersecurity reporting regime should look like when it comes to private companies disclosing breaches and other incidents to the federal government. The group is looking for a single point of contact for reporting cyber incidents, a single set of requirements for reporting instead of a patchwork approach based on industrial sector and other factors, as well as assurances that information voluntarily disclosed by companies won't be shared under the Freedom of Information Act.
*** A report from the Government Accountability Office recommends better coordination between the Federal Communication Commission and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration on spectrum allocation in the private and public sectors to avoid radio frequency interference and to better resolve policy matters.