FCW Insider: August 12, 2021

The latest news and analysis from FCW's reporters and editors.

DOD looks for answers on GPS data spoofing

The Defense Department is looking for technology solutions to obviate the growing threat of location data spoofing targeting satellite-based systems.

State Department expands push to the cloud

The State Department wants to go all in on the cloud, starting with a new multi-platform toolset to add flexibility and innovation to IT services.

ICYMI: 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.

Quick Hits

*** The Department of Commerce is looking for contractor support as part of its push to centralize IT infrastructure across the sprawling cabinet department. The planned Commerce Acquisition for Transformation Technology Services procurement could yield $1.5 billion in business and propel the department into the cloud for software and IT services.

*** The U.S. Senate approved a budget resolution for $3.5 trillion for fiscal year 2022 on a 50-49 vote along party lines in the early morning hours of Aug. 11 after a marathon session.

*** The internal watchdog at the Department of State found that the agency had fulfilled five of seven recommendations on IT investment processes stemming from a 2016 report. State's Office of Inspector General said in a recent report that State's Information Resource Management department has not done enough to avoid duplicative processes in IT acquisition. Department officials noted that the agency was waiting on shared services guidance from the Office of Management and Budget that was still not available at the time of the audit.