Acquisition

GAO: Agencies are missing EIS targets

Federal agencies are slow to adopt the governmentwide $50 billion next generation telecommunications contract vehicle, according to a Government Accountability Office report.

Modernization

MetTel nabs $253M EIS task order

The Social Security Administration has awarded a telecommunications task order to one three small business vendors on the Enterprise Infrastructure Solutions contract.

Modernization

Key EIS transition deadline looms

Agencies are entering a critical time for telecom transitions as March deadline to limit activity on an expiring contract vehicle approaches.

People

Agencies lag on IT workforce planning, GAO says

The congressional watchdog warned that agencies are putting billions in spending at risk by not taking steps to raise skills and competencies in the IT workforce.

Modernization

Two more big agencies issue EIS task orders

The Social Security Administration and the Internal Revenue Service both signed off on EIS contracts last month.

Modernization

Social Security Advisory Board names expert IT panel

Over the next year, a group of experienced federal IT executives will review how the Social Security Administration's system modernization work is progressing.

Cybersecurity

Senate turns up a decade of federal cybersecurity failure

Some of the biggest civilian agencies have failed to act on internal cybersecurity audits dating back multiple years, a Senate report found.

Digital Government

Your personal data is too public for agencies to verify

The widespread loss and theft of data on Americans has made a once popular form of remote identity proofing obsolete, and agencies need to start looking into other options.

Digital Government

10 legacy systems in need of modernization

The Government Accountability Office selected 10 systems that have unsupported hardware and software, are using outdated languages or operating with known security vulnerabilities.

Digital Government

SSA to offer electronic verification of Social Security numbers

An anti-fraud measure under a 2018 banking law requires the Social Security Administration to build an electronic verification system, but first industry has to help pay for it.

Modernization

GAO: cloud saved agencies $300 million, but data is incomplete

Agencies are investing more in cloud and saving hundreds of millions of dollars as a result — but cloud investments still only represent a fraction of government IT purchases, and data on their cost and savings is far from complete.

Digital Government

Use of online Social Security accounts is changing

As the number of online Social Security users has shot up, the percentage of users who access their statements online has plummeted.

Cybersecurity

GAO: Most agencies aren't sticking to the cybersecurity script

A new audit finds that many big federal agencies aren't implementing key strategies contained in NIST cybersecurity framework.

Cybersecurity

With elections over, CISA focus shifts to risk management center

DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen signaled that her newly minted cybersecurity agency will shift its focus to a number of longer term initiatives around risk and supply chain.

People

Senate Dems say federal agencies are bargaining in bad faith

Union talks are grinding to a halt across multiple agencies, and a group of Senate Democrats wants to know if it's because negotiators are taking their cues from invalidated executive orders.

Cybersecurity

SSA nominee 'scared to death' of legacy IT systems

Andrew Saul, President Trump's pick to head the Social Security Administration, plans to make IT modernization, data sharing and cybersecurity top priorities.

Cybersecurity

Federal agencies reacted unevenly to Equifax breach

The federal government's central cyber incident response agency played a minor role in the wake of the Equifax breach, while agencies wondered who was in charge.

People

GAO: Data-driven management is stuck in neutral

The Government Accountability Office says agencies haven't really improved on data-driven decision-making since 2013.

Digital Government

Lawmaker looks to block Trump's latest workforce order

Two leading Democrats on the House Oversight Committee are also seeking hearings on the executive order putting administrative law judges outside of the competitive service.