FCW Insider: October 8, 2021
The latest news and analysis from FCW's reporters and editors.
IT spend expected to trend up, acting DOD CIO says
Rising IT and cyber budgets may lay ahead as the Defense Department moves forward with implementing zero trust architecture and begins relying more on artificial intelligence.
Survey: Federal IT workers say agencies are lagging with digital transformations
In a survey, 88% of federal employees working full-time in technology or IT-focused roles say agencies have fallen behind on modernization plans, citing cultural resistance to change and the inability of contractors to quickly implement new initiatives.
CISA chief looks to new system to attract cyber talent
Despite increasing competition among the public and private sectors in hiring top cyber talent, CISA Director Jen Easterly said she has high hopes for a new personnel management system which reduces friction in hiring and offers new career paths.
ICYMI: Feds could see relief as Public Service Loan Forgiveness gets a reboot
The program, meant to wipe the student debt of eligible public servants, has rejected the vast majority of applications it's received.
Quick Hits
*** The Los Angeles Times reported on a company called EnQ that directs large volumes of telephone traffic to the overtaxed IRS switchboard and then sells access to calls at the front of the queue to its customer base of tax preparers and accountants. According to the latest annual report from the independent Taxpayer Advocate at IRS, the busiest agency hotline logged 85 million calls during the 2021 filing season with just 3% of callers reaching an IRS representative.
*** The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency along with the Office of Management and Budget released the latest Trusted Internet Connections 3.0 guidance, this time covering the remote user use case. This covers telework as well as personal devices connecting to agency networks.
*** Sens. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Rand Paul (R-Ky.) introduced legislation to curtail the practice of federal law enforcement conducting warrantless searches of Americans' electronic devices at border crossings. A companion House bill is being introduced by Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.)
"Americans travel with phones and laptops holding nearly our entire lives. Traveling near the border shouldn't give the government a free pass to throw out our rights and thumb through our phones without any suspicion of wrongdoing," Wyden said in a statement.