Ideas
Lesson from a Robot Swarm: Change Group Behavior by Talking One-on-One Rather than Getting on a Soapbox
Persuading people one-on-one might be the best route to getting them to recognize better alternatives.
Digital Government
VA Records Uptick in Staff Vaccinations Following Expanded Order
The agency uses a records system to document compliance with coronavirus requirements.
Acquisition
CMMC board chief talks assessors, IT staff
Matt Travis, the CEO for the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification Accreditation Body, said proper training and IT access to the Defense Department's Enterprise Mission Assurance Support Service (eMASS) application, which will house CMMC data, still needs to be finalized for the third-party organizations that will be charged with conducting cyber assessments.
Cybersecurity
Hackers Strike Another Hospital System
Cybercriminals struck Memorial Health System, a nonprofit that runs three hospitals, outpatient service sites and clinics spread across southeastern Ohio and northwestern West Virginia.
Cybersecurity
IG: 5 Things USAID Needs to Do to Better Protect Personally Identifiable Information
A recent audit showed gaps remain in the agency’s policies despite progress over the last seven years.
Cybersecurity
CISA Offers Tips to Protect Data in Face of Evolving Ransomware Attacks
The cybersecurity agency warned attackers now threaten to sell or leak stolen data, not just render systems unusable.
Digital Government
You’ve Been Vaccinated. Now Prove It.
Proponents of vaccine passports say the credentials give vaccinated people more assurance as they resume going out and could spur the reluctant to get vaccinated.
Ideas
Government Should Embrace the Advantages of the MVP Approach
The MVP is meant to eliminate waste—save money and time that would otherwise be spent on fruitless ideas.
Digital Government
Agencies Must Set Up COVID-19 Testing for Unvaccinated Feds In-House or Through a Contractor
Employees must receive their test through agency-sanctioned means and may face punishment if they refuse.
Digital Government
FCW Insider: August 20, 2021
The latest news and analysis from FCW's reporters and editors.
Cybersecurity
FDIC’s Temporary Wi-Fi Network Tool Doesn’t Have Needed Security Authorizations
The program is in limbo while the tool awaits an ATO, prompting the inspector general’s office to express its “concerns.”
Cybersecurity
Army looks to revise cyber operations doctrine
Brig. Gen. Paul Stanton, the commanding general for the Army's Cyber Center of Excellence, said the service was in the final stages of publishing a revised field manual on how it executes cyber operations.
Emerging Tech
The Texas National Guard Just Unveiled the Largest 3D Printed Structure in North America
But Russia and China are preparing to 3D print hypersonic components.
Modernization
Pilot IRS awards five scanning contracts
The IRS is using an innovative procurement program to test and deploy experimental solutions to digitize paper files as part of an agencywide effort to reduce the reliance on non-machine-readable documentation.
Emerging Tech
NASA Wants Industry to Build Next-Generation Space Stations
The space agency is looking to industry to design and build destinations in space that can be used for tourism and science-based missions.
Digital Government
‘All the Signs Have Been There’ Predicting Afghan Security Force Collapse, IG Says
For more than a decade, the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction has been warning about “ghost soldiers” and corruption to anyone willing to pay attention.
Emerging Tech
Drug Enforcement Feds Want Augmented Reality to Monitor U.S./Mexico Border
The agency is already putting some capabilities to use.
People
Was DOD ready for telework in 2020?
Slow networks, a lack of management buy-in and the need for more government equipment all affected how DOD feds transitioned to telework at the start of the pandemic, new reports from DOD's IG found.
Cybersecurity