Cybersecurity
U.S. officials: Sony investigation was thorough
Obama administration officials have vigorously defended what they say was a thorough and careful investigation into the Sony hack that laid the blame on North Korea.
Acquisition
Working around OASIS' lack of BPAs
Federal customers can't use a blanket purchase agreement with OASIS, but they can use task orders to accomplish the same thing.
Acquisition
SEWP IV changes coming as SEWP V emerges
A fee decrease is among the changes taking place for the outgoing SEWP IV vehicle.
Cybersecurity
Federal Cybersecurity Spending is Big Bucks. Why Doesn't It Stop Hackers?
Despite paying $59 billion for data protections since fiscal 2010, the federal government couldn’t stave off hacks against the White House, State Department, Army and dozens of other agencies.
Emerging Tech
How Reverse-Engineering the Brain Could Help Machines Learn
The research arm of the intelligence community wants “human-like proficiency” in processing tasks like one-shot learning, unsupervised clustering and scene parsing
Cybersecurity
The FBI, North Korea and the future of cyber investigations
Experts questioning the FBI's presentation of evidence against North Korea argue that making an arguably ambiguous case is counter-productive to U.S. efforts to build norms in cyberspace.
Digital Government
GSA Wants to Make It Easier for Agencies to Buy Agile
The plan is to come up with a new contracting vehicle that will eventually allow agencies to purchase software and services from agile-certified vendors.
Digital Government
18F tries task-based audition for agile vendors
GSA’s innovation lab is asking vendors to showcase their talents by explaining how they would revamp the FedBizOpps website.
Digital Government
Why Fewer Americans Are Googling Things
People who are coming online now are getting used to a world in which they go to apps rather than a browser to look for something.
Digital Government
How FBI Databases Are Helping France ID the Charlie Hebdo Gunmen
French authorities have reportedly identified three suspects in the attack on the satirical newspaper.
Digital Government
FCC Chief Hints He’ll Enact Obama’s Net Neutrality Plan
The move, a reversal from last year's proposal, would face fierce resistance from Internet providers and Republicans.
Modernization
Better computers, better weather forecasts
Upgrades to NOAA’s two supercomputers should mean more accurate day-to-day and long-term forecasting.
Digital Government
How to catch the attacker with valid user credentials
Behavioral analysis could make continuous diagnostics and mitigation more effective than ever.
Modernization
Updating acquisition guidance, awaiting a patent and hacking damage
News and notes from around the federal IT community.
Cybersecurity
Kim Jong-un’s Operating System Now Available in the Free World
The jingle that plays when you boot up the system is a popular Korean folksong, Motherboard reports.
Digital Government
IBM’s Full-Court Press to Capture DOD Health Records Contract
DOD is expected in June 2015 to award the $11 billion contract for overhauling its electronic health records system.
Digital Government
DISA Aims for Next-Gen System to Secure Millions of Connected Devices
A Jan. 5 request for information queries contractors on a “next-generation” system that would allow the agency to better configure, secure and keep tabs on millions of devices connected to DOD’s networks.
Cybersecurity