Digital Government

Lawmakers Bash the President’s Federal Pay Freeze Plan

Plus a familiar face gets confirmed as the Energy Department’s first assistant secretary for cybersecurity.

Cybersecurity

Lawmakers Want the Cyber Vulnerabilities Register Improved

Irregular funding has forced the vulnerability database to focus on short-term problems, they say.

Cybersecurity

McCain Leaves a Rich Cyber Legacy

The late senator pushed relentlessly for the government to develop a comprehensive cyber deterrence strategy.  

Digital Government

Senators Stuck in Washington Focus on Elections

The Senate also passed an $860 million “minibus” funding bill.

Cybersecurity

Government’s Getting Faster at Sharing Unclassified Cyber Threat Indicators

It’s also becoming rarer that an intelligence agency refuses to release a threat indicator entirely, a DHS official said.

Cybersecurity

Government Leads Industry in Anti-Spoofing Email Protection, Report Finds

A higher percentage of federal domains are protected by DMARC than in the tech or banking sectors.

Cybersecurity

Senator Urges a Roving Cyber Auditor

A governmentwide inspector general would have a broader view of cyber deficits than individual agency IGs, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., says.

Podcasts

Critical Update: Cyber Leadership Has to Come from the Top

Congressional Cybersecurity Caucus co-founder Rep. Jim Langevin, D-R.I., wants more cabinet secretaries to make cyber a top priority.

Cybersecurity

Kaspersky Ban Draws Few Public Comments

Only three people commented on the rule implementing the Kaspersky ban.

Digital Government

Industry Groups Push for Background Check Reform In Intelligence Appropriations Bill

With a backlog of more than 700,000 pending investigations, the groups are pushing for tools to speed up information collection and ways to reduce redundant investigations.

Digital Government

The Government’s Paperwork Problem is Undermining Public Trust

An audit suggests agencies are doing a poor job of assessing the burden their information requests place on the public.

Policy

How The Space Force Took Over Washington

Blame a potent mix of national security concerns, space spectacle, and pork-barrel spending.

Digital Government

Get Ready for a Massive Government Spending Spree

A combination of factors will see federal agencies trying to spend as much as 40 percent of their budgets in the final two months of the fiscal year.

Digital Government

Pending Executive Order to Move Entire Background Investigation Bureau to Pentagon

The president is preparing to sign an order to move the entire National Background Investigations Bureau—workload, people and all—under the Defense Department.

Digital Government

Watchdog: Agency CIOs Still Don’t Have Mandated Authorities

A Government Accountability Office report shows few agencies have policies giving chief information officers the authorities they need to be successful.

Policy

Pentagon Prohibits Personnel From Using GPS Services in All ‘Operational Areas’

The device-agnostic policy applies to smartphones, tablets, fitness trackers, smartwatches and all other applications with geolocation features.

Digital Government

Cyberattacks Haven’t Stopped but Neither Have Bills to Fight Them

Top national security and intelligence leaders pledged to defend the country from foreign influence campaigns.

Modernization

USDA Kicks Off Bidding for Second Round of IT Overhaul Contacts

The program will be a model for other agencies to surge outdated IT into the 21st century.

Modernization

Senators Say Modernization Fund Will Get Money When Congress Sees Data, Results

Conference negotiations between the House and Senate will be the last chance to add money to the Technology Modernization Fund without additional legislation.