Acquisition

GSA preps guidance for using CMMC in civilian contracts

The General Services Administration wants to get ahead on training and education materials contracting officers will need as Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification requirements become standard.

Acquisition

New risks threaten defense industry's cybersecurity, report claims

Newly reported cybersecurity vulnerabilities inched past 17,000 in 2020, signaling worsening security in the defense industrial base, according to a National Defense Industry Association report.

Digital Government

Labor nominee says that unemployment tech needs to be updated

Lawmakers are looking to President Biden's Labor Secretary nominee Marty Walsh for help on modernizing unemployment insurance delivery, worker safety and stimulating growth in STEM jobs.

Acquisition

Labor secretary nominee comes with a long record on union issues, contracting oversight

During his time as mayor, Marty Walsh pursued actions to increase the amount of minority-, women- and veteran-owned contractors in Boston.

People

Biden clears out Trump's FSIP appointees

Federal employee groups and unions had requested that Biden remove the panel's members.

Digital Government

Accenture rebuffed again in Healthcare.gov protest

Accenture Federal Services lost yet another protest in its effort to hold on to a contract operating the Healthcare.gov exchange that connects health insurance applicants to coverage available under the Affordable Care Act.

Cybersecurity

Does Einstein need a post-SolarWinds makeover?

A marquee program designed to protect the government against cybersecurity threats is facing new scrutiny in the wake of Solar Winds Orion breach, but analysts say the program was unlikely to have ever stopped the hacking campaign.

Acquisition

Pandemic response drives DOD's sharp uptick in OTA spending

The Defense Pricing and Contracting Agency recorded more than $16 billion in other transaction agreements in 2020 in the Defense Department's response to the pandemic.

Acquisition

Army CIO details digital strategy, changes for IT enterprise

Army CIO plans to release new enterprise digital strategy and rein in $2 billion of bloated IT spending.

People

Biden repeals Schedule F, rolls back Trump-era workforce policy

An executive order also called for feds and federal contractors to receive a $15 minimum wage.

Acquisition

CMMC, industrial capital strategy could continue in Biden's DOD

The Defense Department's top buyer, Ellen Lord, said the incoming Biden administration will have to contend with adversarial investments and cybersecurity weaknesses in the contractor base.

Acquisition

Labor Dept. official says religious exemption for some contractors won't allow discrimination

Civil rights groups caution that the rule change that allows faith-based organizations that are also federal contractors to favor their members in hiring could lead to employment discrimination.

Acquisition

Dunne: Schedule consolidation is paying off

The departing chief of the Federal Acquisition Service, Julie Dunne, talks to FCW about recent initiatives.

Acquisition

DOD does away with diversity training modification for contractors

The Pentagon eliminated a class deviation that implemented the president's executive order purging diversity training across federal grants and contracts.

Cybersecurity

DOJ says it was hit by SolarWinds hackers

The Justice Department today said hackers likely accessed about 3% of email inboxes.

Acquisition

Judge halts enforcement of diversity training crackdown on contractors

A nationwide injunction blocks sections of the order that apply to contractors and grant recipients, including a hotline created for employees to report training materials.

Modernization

Court denies Perspecta's NGEN protest

Perspecta has held the Next General Enterprise Network contract for 20 years, dating back to when one of its legacy business in EDS won the Navy-Marine Corps Intranet contract in 2000.

Acquisition

GSA preps launch of OASIS replacement

GSA plans a program of customer and industry events and interactions in the early part of 2021 to help shape its OASIS replacement contract.

Acquisition

GAO calls out agencies for IT supply chain risks

The government watchdog determined most federal agencies were not following best practices for supply chain risk management established by the National Institutes of Standards and Technology.