Federal CIO Kent Announces Cyber Reskilling Academy
Federal CIO Suzette Kent this morning announced creation of the Federal Cyber Reskilling Academy–a joint effort of the Office of Management and Budget, the Department of Education, and the Federal CIO Council Workforce Committee–to kickstart the Federal government’s efforts to address gaps in the Federal cybersecurity workforce and help retrain Federal employees. […]
Feds Reach IT Modernization Tipping Point
A new report from MeriTalk and the American Council for Technology and Industry Advisory Council (ACT-IAC) finds that Federal finance, IT, and procurement experts believe we’ve reached an IT modernization tipping point. […]
DHS Launches ICT Sector Supply Chain Risk Task Force
The Department of Homeland Security on Oct. 30 announced launch of the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Supply Chain Risk Management Task Force, which the agency said is charged with developing “consensus recommendations” to identify and manage risk to the global ICT supply chain. […]
DHS’ Manfra Discusses FISMA Update, Impact to CDM
Jeanette Manfra, assistant secretary for the Office of Cybersecurity and Communications at the Department of Homeland Security, said today that the new update to Federal Information Security Modernization Act (FISMA) guidance will place even more accountability on department leaders and reflects an evolution in discussions between agencies and DHS. […]
House Panel Advances 5 Cybersecurity Bills Targeting Energy Infrastructure
Key cybersecurity bills aimed at securing the nation’s energy infrastructure and electric grid are advancing to the full House Energy and Commerce panel after passing out of the House Subcommittee on Energy. […]
Red Hat, NIH Make the Case for Model Meshes to Scale Agentic AI With Trust and Transparency
As agencies race to put generative artificial intelligence (AI) into production, many are confronting the same challenge: The bigger and more “all-in-one” the model gets, the harder it becomes to predict outcomes, explain decisions, and demonstrate accountability. […]
CISA Orders Agencies to Rip and Replace Unsupported Edge Devices
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) told federal agencies on Thursday that they must immediately begin ripping and replacing all end-of-support edge devices. […]
NIST Official Urges Unified Zero Trust Approach
Federal agencies modernizing digital services must rethink how security, identity, and networking systems work together as threats become more sophisticated, a senior National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) official said Thursday. […]
FCC’s Trusty Ties AI’s Future to Connectivity, Competition
Universal connectivity and competitive communications markets will determine whether artificial intelligence (AI) delivers broad economic gains or reinforces market concentration, Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Commissioner Olivia Trusty said on Wednesday. […]
OPM Data Shows Major IT Workforce Shakeup Across Federal Agencies
Out of the 352,285 federal workers who were either laid off or left the federal government in 2025, more than 17,000 of those held IT management or telecommunications-related roles, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) reported. […]
Sen. Cantwell Presses for Salt Typhoon Hearing
Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., the top Democrat on the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, is pressing committee Chairman Ted Cruz, R-Texas, to summon top officials with Verizon Communications and AT&T to testify at a hearing about Salt Typhoon cyberattacks on their networks. […]
GSA Rethinks Federal Acquisitions as AI Reshapes Contracting
While the General Services Administration (GSA) overhauls the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR), it is also grappling with how artificial intelligence (AI) is reshaping the federal acquisition process, Jeffrey Koses, a senior GSA procurement executive, said Wednesday. […]
DIU Seeks New Sensors for Missile Defense
The Pentagon’s Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) is seeking commercial sensing technology that could be launched into space to help detect, track, and defeat ballistic and hypersonic threats. […]
Pentagon Officials Emphasize Securing OT Systems
The Pentagon’s ability to carry out military missions is increasingly dependent on the security of operational technology (OT). But defense officials warn that as these systems become more networked, cyber threats are growing in scale and sophistication – requiring predictive monitoring and resilient architectures across the Defense Department (DOD), rebranded as the War Department by the Trump administration. […]
With 80 percent of every Federal IT dollar spent on life support for legacy systems, the Federal IT community is exploring new options to modernize and innovate – virtualization, cloud computing, Flash technology, software-defined options, shared services, and more. MeriTalk is staying close to the leaders on the front lines, bringing you new ideas and lessons learned.
And, as Federal IT leaders work to meet demands of an “always-on” highly mobile government, we bring you the stories and breaking news on balancing productivity with security. Our government IT news includes how agencies manage advanced persistent threats, and the steps that help guard against socially engineered threats. We look at the latest trends in malware, spyware, ransomware, and spear phishing. And – how can Federal agencies protect data from tomorrow’s cyber threats?
The MeriTalk “Industry Insider” column, offers a weekly news roundup of contracts and other activity in the Federal IT industry. Check with MeriTalk daily for the government technology news you need to know, or subscribe to get the latest stories delivered directly to your inbox. You’ll stay up to date with interesting and timely Federal IT stories on cybersecurity, big data, data center modernization, cloud, mobile, and other developments in your community – from what’s next for the MGT Act to the highly anticipated Federal IT revolving capital fund, MeriTalk brings you the trends and breaking IT news to help you modernize, innovate, and transform public sector technology and the missions you support.