Quick Hits

*** The General Services Administration issued its long awaited solicitation seeking proposals for the initial proof-of-concept for its electronic marketplace. The portal, called "Amazon for government" by procurement watchers, is designed to give federal buyers shopping for commercial, off-the-shelf products a commercial e-commerce experience. The agency is accepting proposals through Nov. 1 and expects to have a proof-of-concept up and running in early 2020.

*** The Food and Drug Administration released a notice Oct. 1 warning health-care providers and patients about 11 cybersecurity vulnerabilities for a third-party software component used by a number of medical devices to communicate across networks. While there are no confirmed attacks using the exploit, the software to do so is publicly available on the internet. The notice advises manufacturers who make devices that rely on the vulnerable software to conduct risk assessments, seek out any available patches from the operating system vendor and open lines of communication with customers and the Department of Homeland Security.

*** To make it easier for federal agencies to implement the Office of Management and Budget's new guidance on Trusted Internet Connections, the Advanced Technology Academic Research Center (ATARC) is setting up a TIC 3.0 test lab. Read more in GCN.