FCW Insider: Feb. 3

The Defense Department released its long-awaited unified cybersecurity standard that all defense contractors will have to meet by 2026. Lauren C. Williams reports.

Combating and policing election-based disinformation on social networks and other platforms presents problems for enforcers and for tech companies. Derek B. Johnson takes a look at some proposals and at how the disinformation problem might be different in 2020.

Bots and comment spam can plague policymakers in federal rulemaking, but experts are divided on what constitutes the abuse of the process. Lia Russell has more.

The General Services Administration has started the process of modifying contracts to fit the new unified buying schedule. Mark Rockwell has the story.

Quick Hits

*** The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission confirmed to FCW on Jan. 31 that Commissioner Victoria Lipnic won't seek renomination when her term expires July 1, 2020. The commission needs three members to constitute a quorum for carrying out its duties overseeing labor disputes and enacting workplace rules. EEOC is responsible for enforcing federal anti-discrimination laws in the workplace.

If Lipnic departs without a new member in place, the commission would be down to two members – the second time without a quorum in two years. Keith Sonderling was nominated in July 2019 to fill another vacancy and Bloomberg Law has reported that there may be a pick to fill the open Democratic seat on the bipartisan commission. Lipnic can also opt to continue on the commission through the end of the current congressional session ending in December, according to agency rules.

*** There's no easy solution to the problem of sharing out a commercially desirable but currently occupied swath of spectrum in the 3450-3550 MHz band, according to a Jan. 27 report from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration. Incumbent users of the spectrum include Defense Department shipborne radars and nationwide airborne systems. The report suggests further exploration of relocating the airborne systems to other spots on the radio dial, and also researching the possibility of dynamic, time-based sharing mechanisms to protect federal users and systems while letting commercial users exploit the desirable spectrum. The spectrum in question is considered ripe for sharing because it is widely used abroad for commercial services, potentially helping to create a global market for phones and devices designed to operate on those frequencies – which in turn could lead to lower prices for consumers and the faster deployment of services, according to NTIA.