Digital Government

Acting TTS Director to Return to FDIC

Bob DeLuca, who took temporary leadership of the Technology Transformation Services in July, will return to his duties as FDIC deputy chief information officer Dec. 21. 

Cybersecurity

CISA doesn't plan to tackle COVID vaccine disinformation

CISA’s acting director Brandon Wales said his agency is not the right source to counter anticipated disinformation about coronavirus vaccines.

Emerging Tech

NIST Plans New Drone-Advancing Challenge Competition

Potential scenarios include locating stranded first responders with thermal imaging, tracking them where GPS is inaccessible, and more.

People

How dozens of Trump's political appointees will stay in government after Biden takes over

Burrowing has a history that traces back to civil service reforms of the late 1880s, when Congress passed a law to try to ensure that jobs were awarded on merit rather than patronage. The number of hires sought under Trump is so far roughly similar to the tally of other recent administrations, but the types of positions being converted are more political than in the past

Cybersecurity

COVID prompts USCIS' pivot to video

Social distancing requirements under the pandemic led to the acceleration of a modernization plan that included adding video feeds to the asylum interview process.

Cybersecurity

DOD Shares Details on Zero Trust Architecture Timeline

The draft of the cybersecurity-focused document was completed in October and is going through a content review, assessment and approval process.

Modernization

How COVID-19 accelerated IT modernization

As previous IT investments proved their worth in 2020, the pandemic is prompting agencies to accelerate their modernization efforts

Cybersecurity

Experts Call for Government to Designate Commercial Space Sector as Critical Infrastructure

The federal government currently deems 16 sectors as critical infrastructure sectors because of their importance.

Digital Government

FCW Insider: Dec. 3

The latest news and analysis from FCW's reporters and editors.

Digital Government

Quick Hits

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Cybersecurity

Krebs Unloads About Trump’s Election-Fraud Claims

In the fallout from being fired, the former director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency is concerned about how his experience will affect the recruitment of future leaders.

Ideas

Tribes Mount Organized Responses to COVID-19, in Contrast to State and Federal Governments

Responding to the pandemic also means continuing to exercise sovereignty.

Digital Government

DHS IG Opens Probe into Warrantless Cellphone Tracking

The investigation is in response to a Congressional inquiry about Customs and Border Protection getting location data from phones.

Artificial Intelligence

IRS Moves to Speed Up Contracting Through New Procurement Research Partnership

Data-management, machine learning and acquisition expertise will be combined in this collaboration.

Cybersecurity

DOJ's China hack indictments offer businesses key threat intel, officials say

A Justice Department official today disclosed that 1,000 Chinese researchers have been expelled from the country for hiding their affiliation with the Chinese military.

Digital Government

Congressional leaders push back on NDAA veto threats

Defense committee leaders plan to vote on the annual defense bill without key items on President Trump's wish list.

Ideas

Your Brain's Built-In Biases Insulate Your Beliefs from Contradictory Facts

Over the decades, it’s become clear that many decisions people make are not made rationally.

Cybersecurity

Ousted CISA chief would consider role in Biden administration

Chris Krebs, fired by President Trump via Twitter in November, continued to re-enforce his message that the 2020 elections were secure.

Modernization

Pentagon Extends Work From Home Flexibility for Civilian Employees

The Defense Department will allow civilians to telework even if children or other dependents in need of supervision are present at home.

Ideas

Will Android Become the New Federal OS for Rugged Devices?

For the most part, the rugged devices I have evaluated over the years have had some flavor of Windows as their operating system.