FCW Insider: Feb. 26

Chris Krebs, the director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, said the organization has been "a little bit late to the game" recognizing the potential of ransomware to directly touch the lives of citizens, but that's changing. Derek B. Johnson has more.

Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.), chairwoman of the House Oversight Committee, is reigniting a probe into a controversial White House staffer after he is rehired to take on a key personnel position. Lia Russell explains.

The Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board still has not "fully developed and implemented an effective, organization-wide information security program." Lia reports.

Acting Homeland Security chief Chad Wolf and Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) sparred at Senate hearing about whether technology is a better solution to illegal border crossings than a wall. Mark Rockwell has the story.

Amazon Web Services says the Defense Department is leaving key materials out of the court record in its protest lawsuit over the award of the $10 billion cloud computing contract to Microsoft. AWS is also probing whether DOD has released the full story behind the recusal of Defense Secretary Mark Esper from the procurement. Adam Mazmanian takes a look.

Quick Hits

*** The federal government has become more involved in protecting critical infrastructure from cybersecurity threats, but a new Government Accountability Office report finds that many agencies have not incorporated best practice guidance into their plans. According to the report, five of the government’s nine sector specific agencies charged with protecting critical infrastructure have developed methods to incorporate the National Institute of Standards and Technology's framework for improving critical infrastructure cybersecurity.

*** The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration released an artificial intelligence strategy this month. "AI methods will provide transformative advancements in the quality and timeliness of NOAA science, products, and services," the strategy states. The document comes alongside a NOAA announcement of two new supercomputers set to come online in 2022.

*** Overstock.com withdrew a protest filed with GAO over the planned e-commerce platform pilot to be administered by the General Services Administration. The service is designed to support acquisition at or below the $10,000 micropurchase threshold by government purchase card holders.