Digital Government

Commerce Awards $29M in Coronavirus-Related Innovation Grants

The projects address economic, health and safety risks caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

Cybersecurity

Survey Suggests Public Sector Slightly Better than Industry at Prioritizing Mobile Security    

A majority of respondents said they sacrificed security of IoT devices to respond to COVID-19 policies and for expedience generally.

Modernization

Treasury’s $1B Cloud Contract Aimed at Single Cloud Broker

Contracting officials released a new clarification document as the department continues preliminary work on a broad cloud management contract.

Emerging Tech

U.S. Bans Business with 7 Chinese Supercomputing Firms

The new Entity List inclusions are reportedly due, in part, to use of products in China’s military pursuits.

Cybersecurity

White House to Seek Industry Input on New Software Security Rules, NSC Official Says

The administration wants to make sure the private sector has the ability to weigh in on procurement standards in an impending executive order.

Cybersecurity

Single Sign-in For Government Services Expands to States, Localities

The federal government is looking to partner with state and local governments to grow its Login.gov service, which it says is secure and user friendly.

Modernization

DOD bets big on financial data to improve business performance

The Defense Department is betting that insights from its financial data will help improve its business operations, from optimizing the workforce to divesting of legacy systems.

Modernization

Army Awards SAIC $4B in Modeling and Simulation Contracts

The two contracts will support Army DEVCOM’s Aviation and Missile Center Software, Simulation, Systems Engineering and Integration Directorate.

Artificial Intelligence

Federal Shared Services Provider Needs a System to ID Bots in Its Data Center

One of the four central financial service providers wants to use more robotic process automation in its data centers but needs to be able to track those bots—and any potential malicious bots creeping in, as well.

Modernization

DOD Workforce Wants to Keep Telework Going Despite Early Hiccups

A Defense Department Inspector General report surveyed more than 56,000 employees about telework during the pandemic.

Artificial Intelligence

Pentagon AI Hub Issues $241M Data Readiness Contract

The government intends to issue multiple basic ordering agreements over a five-year performance period, according to solicitation documents.

Modernization

State Department Floats $4B Vehicle to Consolidate Its IT Contracts

The new contract vehicle will also shift the agency’s strategy to focus on fixing problems instead of buying tech.

Modernization

Why the Army Elevated Its Enterprise Cloud Office to Agency Status

Director Paul Puckett explained the move is a recognition that cloud computing is not a temporary project.

Digital Government

Telework Works and Other Workforce Lessons Census Learned During the Pandemic

The U.S. Census Bureau’s customer experience chief encouraged agencies to embrace small gains.

Modernization

GAO Dismisses IBM Bid Protest on $729 Million Task Order

The decision comes after the Army undertook multiple corrective action periods to address concerns mostly related to mapping of government personnel.