Modernization

IRS’ New Digital Case Management System Failed to Meet Early Expectations

The first releases did not include functionality end-users were expecting and failed to meet Section 508 accessibility standards.

People

TSA head says more union rights coming to airport screeners

Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle want the agency to resolve longstanding compensation issues for the frontline Transportation Security Administration workforce.

Digital Government

Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Buddies Tried to Get the VA to Sell Access to Veterans’ Medical Records

While previous reporting showed the trio had a hand in budgeting and contracting, their interest in turning patient data into a revenue stream was not previously known.

Modernization

Federal CIO tees up 7 new TMF awards

The awards, the first since TMF's $1 billion plus-up in the American Rescue Plan Act, are expected to be made public soon.

Cybersecurity

Audit: IRS Needs to Improve How It Wipes Taxpayer Data  from Devices

Computer and laptop hard drives that aren’t properly scrubbed could allow exposure of private taxpayer data.

Emerging Tech

House NDAA Includes Permanent UFO-Studying Office Within Pentagon

If the legislation clears the Senate as is, the new office would investigate military reports of unexplained incidents—and whether they’re linked to foreign threats.

Emerging Tech

EPA’s New Telecom Contract Will Ensure Every Employee Can Telework

The agency has yet to pick a vendor off the Enterprise Infrastructure Solutions contract but has built-in key modernization goals for remote work, according to the inspector general.

Cybersecurity

Watchdog: CISA Needs to Update Plans to Protect Critical Infrastructure

The Department of Homeland Security Inspector General report on dam security found a lack of coordination among agency teams.

Digital Government

Postal Service Law Enforcement Isn’t Fully Tracking Inspectors’ Use of Cryptocurrencies

Investigators reported using cryptocurrencies in nine closed cases. Auditors found another 1,064 that might not have been properly recorded.

Artificial Intelligence

Postal Service Will Focus on Big Data, Digital Platforms Over Next 10 Years

As the Postal Service looks at the next 10 years, the agency inspector general looked back at the last decade of technology innovation to see what’s worked and what hasn’t.

Digital Government

IG reports delays in COVID notification in GSA facilities

A report from the General Services Administration's Office of the Inspector General says the agency's Public Buildings Services at times failed to follow CDC guidelines around reporting and cleaning procedures for COVID-19 incidents.

Digital Government

Lawmakers Demand Documents From Many Agencies on Jan. 6 Preparation and Response

Information will include how agencies deployed resources and potentially impeded the presidential transition.

Digital Government

IG: State Office of the Science and Tech Adviser Needs Stable Leadership and a Formal Strategy

The 10-year-old office has done good work, the inspector general found, but suffers from staff turnover and a lack of strategic vision.

Modernization

Report: Agencies aren't fielding interactive digital forms

A law passed in 2018 requiring executive agencies to make online versions of paper-based forms used by the public, but only a few are fully compliant according to a new report.

Cybersecurity

IG: 5 Things USAID Needs to Do to Better Protect Personally Identifiable Information

A recent audit showed gaps remain in the agency’s policies despite progress over the last seven years.

Cybersecurity

FDIC’s Temporary Wi-Fi Network Tool Doesn’t Have Needed Security Authorizations

The program is in limbo while the tool awaits an ATO, prompting the inspector general’s office to express its “concerns.”

Digital Government

‘All the Signs Have Been There’ Predicting Afghan Security Force Collapse, IG Says

For more than a decade, the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction has been warning about “ghost soldiers” and corruption to anyone willing to pay attention.

People

Was DOD ready for telework in 2020?

Slow networks, a lack of management buy-in and the need for more government equipment all affected how DOD feds transitioned to telework at the start of the pandemic, new reports from DOD's IG found.

Cybersecurity

Census servers hacked in 2020

A watchdog report indicates that aging remote-access servers at the Census Bureau were successfully targeted by hackers in early 2020 using a known vulnerability, and while no data was stolen, the incident revealed flaws in the bureau's cybersecurity response.