Cybersecurity

NIST defines 'critical software' under the cyber EO

The National Institute of Standards and Technology's new definition of "critical software" is foundational to new federal efforts to exert more control over the code supply chain.

Modernization

Pentagon is 'actively' weighing JEDI options, Hicks says

Kathleen Hicks, the deputy defense secretary, said DOD is "very actively looking at our options" to fulfill the enterprise cloud needs and with a strategic decision "in the next month."

Acquisition

TMF board scales up

The deputy federal CIO said on Monday that the Technology Modernization Board has received numerous "large-scale modernization, cybersecurity projects" from the entire federal landscape after relaxing payback requirements.

Acquisition

DOD's electronic health records rollout hits 30% completion

The Defense Department's electronic health records system rollout nearly a third complete with 42,000 active users across more than a dozen states.

Acquisition

First CMMC assessment organization approved

The accrediting body overseeing the Defense Department's Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification program announced the debut of the first organization authorized to assess defense contractors.

Acquisition

Security clearance demands are exploding and government must keep up

The federal government must evolve security clearance standards to reflect certain cultural realities while also looking to improve clearance reciprocity between agencies.

Acquisition

DHS faces setbacks implementing CDM, watchdog says

The Department of Homeland Security has failed to address critical vulnerabilities across information technology assets due to significant delays in the department's rollout of a federal Continuous Diagnostics and Mitigation program.

Acquisition

The small federal office at the heart of Biden's equity agenda

The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs at the Department of Labor may not be a household name but it plays an outside part in conducting oversight of pay and hiring discrimination.

Acquisition

White House leverages procurement authority to address racial wealth gap

The Biden administration is hoping to steer $100 billion in federal contracting opportunities to small, disadvantaged businesses over the next five years in an effort to narrow economic divides in the United States.

Modernization

Shared services funded in 2022 budget plan

The federal government's Quality Services Management Offices, set up to deliver services in grants, financial management, human resources and cybersecurity, are chugging along in the proposed FY2022 budget.

Acquisition

Biden's first budget ups cyber and tech spending; gives feds a 2.7% pay raise

The Biden administration released its $6 trillion fiscal year 2022 budget proposal on Friday, including $1.5 trillion in discretionary spending across federal agencies.

Acquisition

CMMC assessor training expected in late summer

The professional training needed to carry out assessments for the Defense Department's unified cybersecurity standard for contractors won't kick off until later this summer.

Acquisition

NITAAC releases long-awaited RFP for $50 billion CIO-SP4

The National Institute of Health's Information Technology Acquisition and Assessment Center (NITAAC) has released its highly-anticipated request for proposals for the new CIO Solutions and Partners 4 (CIO-SP4) contract vehicle.

Acquisition

VA lowballed health record modernization costs, watchdog says

In a newly released report, the inspector general at the Department of Veterans Affairs indicates that the $16 billion estimate for the switch to the Cerner electronic health record system doesn't incorporate billions in needed physical infrastructure costs.

Acquisition

NASA looks to change course on cybersecurity with new contract

NASA's inspector general says the agency's "fragmented" IT approach has left it with an overly risky cybersecurity posture. Meanwhile the agency is preparing a solicitation for a wide-ranging cybersecurity management contract.

Acquisition

DOD oversight report tracks pandemic spending

A recent inspector general report looks at contractors who received COVID-19 reimbursement under a $1 billion allocation in the CARES Act

Cybersecurity

Connecting and supporting the post-pandemic workforce

After a year of emergency response, IT leaders are planning for a permanently changed operating environment.

Modernization

Unfunded mandates in the cyber EO?

New marching orders for agencies and technology vendors in the Biden administration's new cybersecurity policy need to be supported in the budget, industry reps say.

Acquisition

Is it time to test the limits -- and potential -- of expanding CMMC?

Calls for a certified baseline of cybersecurity seem to increase with every cyberattack. Is the CMMC model the right template for a universal and independently verifiable way to protect supply chains?

Acquisition

Lawmakers reach bipartisan deal to probe Jan. 6 attack

The proposed commission would have investigative and subpoena powers and would hold hearings to produce a report by the end of 2021.