FCW Insider: August 11, 2021
The latest news and analysis from FCW's reporters and editors.
White House orders compliance with 'critical software' protection measures
The Office of Management and Budget directed agencies to comply with software supply chain security measures as set out in the May cybersecurity executive order. The move is just one of in a series of deliverables due 90 days after the Biden administration released the cyber order.
Next steps on the cyber EO
At a recent FCW roundtable, participants noted that re-engineering an agency around zero trust architecture is an expensive undertaking, and one that is not likely to produce clear cost savings the way some modernization efforts can. "The big problem becomes the money," one said.
Comment: Agency zero trust does not start from point zero
The good news is that consistent IT policy spanning previous presidential administrations has allowed the federal government to slowly put the necessary building blocks in place for the inevitable zero trust architecture journey.
Quick Hits
*** The U.S. Senate voted 69-30 to pass a $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill on Tuesday. The bill includes more than $1 billion in cybersecurity measures, including funding to jumpstart the National Cyber Director's office and money for state and local cybersecurity grants to be administered by the Cybersecurity and Information Security Agency.
*** President Joe Biden nominated Sasha Baker, a special assistant to the president and senior director for strategic planning at the National Security Council, to serve as a deputy undersecretary of defense for policy. Baker was previously deputy chief of staff to Ash Carter when he served as secretary of defense and was national security advisor to Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.)
*** Peter Gallagher, a retired major general who held a senior post at Army Futures Command is joining contractor CACI as a senior vice president. Washington Technology has more on this story.