Software Development

Critical Update: The Call for Greater Software Transparency is Louder than Ever

Agencies will soon be required to ask vendors for a software bill of materials—or SBOM—to help manage vulnerabilities like those found in the Log4J library, but much of its contents could still be open to negotiation.

  • By Mariam Baksh

Air Force software factory looks to unleash 'chaos' on civilian IT shops

The Kessel Run group is currently developing a playbook that would make it easier for organizations across the federal government to adopt engineering and security best practices.

  • By Lauren C. Williams

Microsoft to Offer Its Office 365 Platform for Classified Workloads

Microsoft’s popular software-as-a-service offering is undergoing government review to ensure it can host some kinds of classified data.

  • By Frank Konkel

Software Certification Could Get A Little Simpler Under Evolving DARPA Project

An effort worth millions, led by GE Research, could result in an automated assurance model.

  • By Brandi Vincent

The Next Big Quantum Leap May Require Better Software

The raw power of increasingly advanced quantum computers could necessitate advances in software to make sense of the noise.

  • By John Breeden II

NIST Suggests Agencies Accept the Word of Software Producers Per Executive Order

The standards agency said an attestation from vendors themselves would be sufficient when screening for cybersecurity, unless an agency's risk calculus suggests otherwise.

  • By Mariam Baksh

Successful DevSecOps Starts With Trust, Government Experts Say

The pandemic forced new ways of thinking in government software development.

  • By Patience Wait

Air Force Chief Software Office Prepares ‘Big Questions’ for Next CSO

A bit has unfolded since the branch's first chief software officer, Nic Chaillan, left the government earlier this year.

  • By Brandi Vincent

Dev[SecAudCom]Ops—Not Really, But Don’t Overlook Audit and Compliance as Part of Security

The acronym for integrating security and agile development cycles may have gotten out of hand, officials say, but the core values are key to producing good software.

  • By Patience Wait

What Agencies Need to Do to Combat Shadow IT Driven by Cloud Sprawl  

Cloud sprawl happens when development teams spin up new cloud resources, forget about them, then move on to the next urgent task.

  • By Aaron Kilinski

Don’t Blindly Trust Software Building Blocks, Report Says

Developers must use safer tools, a recent report concluded.

  • By Patience Wait

NIST Seeks Feedback on Cybersecurity Labels for Software

The effort aims to create a user-friendly label to educate consumers about their purchases.

  • By Alexandra Kelley

Follow These 3 Ts for Faster, More Effective Application Development

Government agencies must optimize application development to realize digital transformation goals. Facilitating collaboration and aligning DevOps, IT, security and mission owners is crucial to this mission.

  • By Ian Tien

Building a Cloud-Savvy Workforce May Mean Rethinking Degree Requirements

Government and industry officials question how they can keep cloud positions filled when they require various degrees and certifications.

  • By Patience Wait
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Why the Navy Is Pivoting to Implement Enterprisewide IT Services

An official provided details about the military branch’s plan to completely reshape its technology approach.

  • By Brandi Vincent

Health Agency CISO Looks to Increase Security in Software Transparency Requirements

Robert Wood aims to improve security while fostering faster mission execution from a DevSecOps “BatCAVE” at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

  • By Mariam Baksh

The Air Force’s First Software Chief Stepped Down—But He Won’t Be Quiet

Nicolas Chaillan briefed Nextgov on his government exit, what’s to come, and why he believes the U.S. should ban TikTok.

  • By Brandi Vincent

Why Government Agencies Fail at DevSecOps—and How They Can Succeed 

Instead of seeking out short-term gains, agencies need to focus on the long-term benefits.

  • By Daniel Riedel

How the Veterans Affairs Department Went Digital During the Pandemic

Senior officials shared details and numbers on the department’s COVID-19-specific deployments.

  • By Brandi Vincent

Air Force’s First Software Chief Steps Down

Leader of a Pentagon-wide DevSecOps initiative, Nicolas Chaillan cited lack of support from senior leadership as one reason for his  departure. 

  • By Brandi Vincent

Air Force Software Chief Provides Update on DOD’s Enterprise DevSecOps Initiative

He shared hard numbers to demonstrate how the massive implementation is saving the department time and money.

  • By Brandi Vincent