People

OMB seeks to reclassify workforce under Schedule F

The agency is gearing up to make 88% of its positions subject to at-will employment.

Cybersecurity

State Department Facing 'Significant' Information Security Issues, OIG Says

Information security and management was one of seven major management and performance issues the State Department faced in fiscal year 2020.

Digital Government

Lawmakers Want to Know Why a Controversial Immigration Figure Was Appointed to a High-Level NIST Job

The pair asked Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross for details about the creation of a deputy undersecretary position and why Congress was not informed. 

Modernization

Making software more than 'IT thing'

Software modernization has a branding problem, and it's going to take more than the colloquial culture shift to speed up the Defense Department's adoption of modern tech capabilities, according to Deputy CIO Peter Ranks.

Emerging Tech

Advisory Committee Recommends DHS Perform Better Outreach Regarding Biometrics Programs

The Homeland Security Advisory Council also said its request to review a controversial biometrics rule was never fulfilled.

Cybersecurity

Transportation IG to Examine Security of Financial Systems Dispersing CARES Act Funds

A new audit will hone in on the security controls of systems being used at the Federal Transportation Department. 

Cybersecurity

DHS panel says 2020 vote was 'most secure in American history'

The statement directly contradicts the most recent in a raft of conspiracy theories put forth by President Donald Trump stating that a voting machine vendor secretly changed votes.

Cybersecurity

Modernized FEMA system still has legacy data issues

Although the Federal Emergency Management Agency's recent modernization of a 30-year-old flood insurance system works well, it still uses old legacy data, according to a new report.

Cybersecurity

Watchdog: GSA needs to account for contractor PIV cards

The General Services Administration still needs to do a better job tracking and recovering access cards from its contractors, according to a report for the agency's watchdog.

Modernization

IG: Treasury’s IT Challenges Persist But No More So Than Other Agencies

Three projects were identified as having a medium risk of failure due to cost and schedule overruns.

People

Civil rights groups sue to block diversity training order

"Regardless of whatever dates or deadlines are in the executive order, the chilling effect is happening now," an attorney involved the case said.

Modernization

Bipartisan, Bicameral Bill Seeks to Formally Authorize IG Website

Oversight.gov was created in 2017 to consolidate IG reports for easy access.

People

House Dems press OPM to block Trump's civil service overhaul

More than 30 House Democrats are calling for an immediate halt to the implementation of President Trump recent executive order to reclassify elements of the civil service as at-will employees.

Digital Government

Rethinking technology governance

A U.S. Digital Service veteran is looking for civil servants and other federal IT stakeholders to talk about governance obstacles that hinder successful acquisition and deployment of big and small technology projects.

People

House Dems mull response Trump's order to remake the civil service

The presidential election is one obvious check on the recent executive order to reclassify many federal civil servants as at-will employees, but congressional Democrats are looking at other ways to block the new policy.

Digital Government

‘For the First Time In Many Years,’ OPM Has a Plan To Fix Its Tech

The agency will need funding, a skilled staff, consistent leadership and more funding to successfully implement the CIO’s latest plan, according to the inspector general.

Acquisition

Real-world CMMC

FCW asked two contract lawyers what vendors really need to know about the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification program.

Cybersecurity

Group warns of gaps in election infrastructure

The security of voting infrastructure has come a long way since 2016, but it still depends on the state and local governments maintaining it, said a digital rights and election technology expert.

Cybersecurity

Automated ATOs and cybersecurity

Software to automate the system authorization process at agencies could work along the same lines as tax filing tools, according to one senior IT advisor at HHS.