FCW Insider: May 23
Top stories, quick hits and other updates from FCW's reporters and editors.
The Department of Homeland Security is within days of making an award for a dashboard redesign for the Continuous Diagnostics and Mitigation cybersecurity program, according to program manager Kevin Cox. The new "dashboard ecosystem" will better incorporate emerging technologies and make better use of the data created through CDM. Derek B. Johnson reports.
The Defense Information Systems Agency awarded a $75 million sole source contract to vendor Perspecta to create a new background check system for the Department of Defense. The contract, made using "other transaction authority," is a follow-on to an earlier award to Perspecta for a prototype. The award comes as the government is moving to shift background check investigations from the Office of Personnel Management to DOD. Lauren C. Williams explains.
The Defense Digital Service is hunting tech talent with a new recruiting contract. Lauren reports that DDS made five awards in a $7 million pilot program designed to target candidates with backgrounds in computer science, product management, and user experience design.
Federal artificial intelligence is a $1B market, according to a study from the Professional Services Council Foundation. Mark Rockwell reports that the study found that chief data officers are needed to help guide federal artificial intelligence efforts.
Quick Hits
*** The number of electronic devices owned by Americans that are searched and seized at the border has exploded in recent years. Sens. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Rand Paul (R-Ky.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.) and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) introduced the Protecting Data at the Border Act to require Customs and Border Patrol agents to get a warrant before searching the phone or digital device of an American citizen crossing the border.
"The border is quickly becoming a rights-free zone for Americans who travel," said Wyden in a statement. "The government shouldn’t be able to review your whole digital life simply because you went on vacation, or had to travel for work."
*** DHS Cyber Incident Response Teams Act of 2019, recently passed by the House Homeland Security Committee, would cost less than $500,000 to implement over five years, according to a score from the Congressional Budget Office. The bill, which has a Senate companion, codifies existing incident response teams under the control of the National Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Center at the Department of Homeland Security. The teams currently provide expertise to federal and private-sector entities who have experienced hacks or other malicious activity on their networks.