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CIO Crossroads: Federal IT in the COVID Crisis – DHS Edition

The COVID-19 pandemic has focused a bright spotlight on Federal IT. Leaders are turning on a dime so agencies can deliver vital services, protections, and trillions of dollars in financial assistance. As operations start to normalize, MeriTalk is chronicling the efforts of Federal IT leaders who are meeting the pandemic challenge head-on. How can agencies future proof government tech for what lies ahead? This edition of CIO Crossroads turns to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

Recent News
  1. DIU Awards Zscaler Cloud Security Project

    Cloud security company Zscaler was selected by the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) today to take on a secure cloud management project and deliver a zero-trust solution to defend against cyberattacks.

  2. G-7 Science and Tech Ministers Issue Declaration to Partner on COVID-19 Response

    The G-7 Science and Technology Ministers recognized that a global pandemic will require a global response.

News Briefs
  1. Ross Guckert Appointed to Lead PEO EIS
  2. NIST Offers Guidance on Evaluating Information Security Monitoring Programs
  3. GDIT Wins $50M AI Contract with USPTO
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  1. NIST Creates Formula to Boost 5G Frequency Sharing

    The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) developed a mathematical formula that could help wireless networks, including 5G, select and share communications frequencies more efficiently.

  2. quantum computer processor chip intel computing hardware Quantum Tech Years Away From Full Potential

    Quantum technologies have a broad range of revolutionary capability, but to see their full potential, it may require many years of development.

  3. CFPB Seeking Cloud to Revamp its Travel System

    The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) wants an end-to-end processing, cloud-based solution to improve booking, approving, and reimbursing travel expenses and create a centralized platform for all agency travel, per a May 29 request for information (RFI).

  4. Proposals for CISA’s Vulnerability Disclosure Platform Coming this Summer

    The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) is leading the call for a governmentwide vulnerability disclosure platform, with a request for proposals from agencies coming as soon as summer 2020.

  1. NSA Connects Russian Cyber Group to Exim Hacks

    The National Security Agency has identified Russian military cyber actors – part of the General Staff Main Intelligence Directorate’s (GRU) Main Center for Special Technologies (GTsST) – have exploited a vulnerability in Exim mail transfer agent (MTA) software since at least August 2019.

  2. CMMC Accreditation Body Releases Two RFIs

    The Accreditation Body responsible for orchestrating the implementation of the Defense Department’s (DoD) new cybersecurity standard for contractors released two requests for information on May 27 as the organization looks to begin training assessors this summer.

  3. VA CIO Details Telework, Other Pandemic Tech Turns

    The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) – largely because of its broad, hands-on healthcare mission – is not the type of Federal agency that can transform to near 100 percent telework. But that didn’t stop the agency from more than tripling its telework capacity to meet the demands of the COVID-19 pandemic, said agency CIO James Gfrerer during a May 28 AFCEA Bethesda webinar event.

  4. CISA, DoD, Commerce Policies Forcing Progress on Securing Federal IT Supply Chain

    The Federal government and critical infrastructure owners and operators spend $500 billion annually on information and communications technology (ICT) from thousands of suppliers – small, medium, and large; national and international. Digital transformation and globalization have brought technology advancements and operational efficiencies to Federal agencies. But the increasingly labyrinthine nature of Federal supply chains impacts the security of Federal systems, data, and missions.

  5. GAO Recommends Better Cyber Coordination on Fed-State Data Sharing

    The Government Accountability Office (GAO) made several recommendations to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and others to improve coordination of cybersecurity requirements among Federal agencies to protect data shared with state government agencies.

  6. DoD, Air Force Building 5G Prototype

    The Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering at the Department of Defense (DoD) and the United State Air Force Warfare Center are partnering on a 5G prototype to be deployed for both defense and civilian use at the Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada early next year.

  7. What’s Next? Securing the New Age of Government Telework

    According to The Washington Post, 40 percent of Federal employees were set up for remote work before COVID-19. And, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported just four percent of state and local employees had telework capabilities. Hundreds of thousands of government workers across Federal, state, and local levels were suddenly in need of remote access.

  8. Bipartisan Bill Proposes Overhaul of NSF to Solidify U.S. Global Tech Leadership

    To secure the United States’ place as a global tech leader, a bicameral, bipartisan group of legislators have introduced the Endless Frontier Act.

  9. Fed Cyber Incidents Fell by 8 Percent in FY2019, FISMA Report Says

    Federal agencies got better at fending off cyberattacks and improving their overall cybersecurity posture last year, according to the Fiscal Year 2019 Federal Information Security Modernization Act (FISMA) Annual Report to Congress.

  10. NIH to Leverage Digital Health Solutions Against COVID-19

    The National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering and National Cancer Institute are looking to develop digital health solutions to address COVID-19 as well as advance new research in digital health technologies to improve public health responses.