Author Archive
Aaron Boyd
Senior Editor, Nextgov

Aaron Boyd is an award-winning journalist currently serving as senior editor for technology and events at Nextgov. He primarily covers federal government IT contracting and cybersecurity issues affecting both civilian and defense agencies. As a lifelong nerd and policy wonk, he feels right at home covering the intersection of technology and policy in the nation's capital.
Cybersecurity
Federal Agencies Likely to Get New Cybersecurity Guidance ‘In Coming Weeks’
New top-level guidance—and requirements—are coming for managing software security risk at federal agencies
- By Aaron Boyd
IT Modernization
GAO: VA’s Multibillion-Dollar Financial System Overhaul Needs Hard Goals
User satisfaction seems to be rising with new deployments but auditors say it’s hard to measure using current metrics.
- By Aaron Boyd
IT Modernization
VA, DOD Electronic Health Record System Suffers Nationwide Outage
The three-hour outage prevented more than 95,000 clinician users from accessing and updating patient medical data.
- By Aaron Boyd
IT Modernization
The ‘Mayor of SAMgov’ Leaves Government After 15 Years of Public Service
Judith Zawatsky talks to Nextgov about her time at the General Services Administration and how building government services has changed over the years.
- By Aaron Boyd
CXO Briefing
Leader of SAM Transition Is Leaving Government
Judith Zawatsky will retire from public service after 15 years to take on a new role in the private sector.
- By Aaron Boyd
CXO Briefing
Special Report: Computing on the Edge
As other infrastructure needs improve—from cloud to 5G networks—agencies are looking at what can be done at the edge, from warehouses to low-Earth orbit.
- By Aaron Boyd and Brandi Vincent
Podcasts
Critical Update: Federal CIO Explains the Tech Side of President’s Management Agenda
Clare Martorana joined the podcast to talk about improving customer experience and the underlying technology that makes good services better.
- By Aaron Boyd
CXO Briefing
Biden’s Management Agenda Highlights Need for High-Tech Federal Workforce
To deliver better citizen services, the government will need a skilled workforce and the technology to support it, management officials said.
- By Aaron Boyd
CXO Briefing
GSA Names 14 Projects Supported by $150M from COVID Stimulus
The $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan enacted at the start of the Biden administration included $150 million to support digital services improvements.
- By Aaron Boyd
IT Modernization
Two-Thirds of Staff at VA Medical Center Considering Quitting After One Year With New EHR
A survey of staff at Mann-Grandstaff VA Medical Center shows plummeting morale tied directly to the Cerner Millennium electronic health record platform.
- By Aaron Boyd
Emerging Tech
EEOC Launches Initiative to Ensure AI Doesn’t Exacerbate Civil Rights Issues
The new program looks to educate employers and employees about how algorithms are used in hiring and other employment decisions.
- By Aaron Boyd
Data
OMB Issues 11 Action Items for 2021 Data Strategy With 2 Months Left in the Year
The 2021 Action Plan focuses on finalizing and building on action items from the original 2020 Action Plan.
- By Aaron Boyd
CXO Briefing
GSA Wants a Real Person Associated With Every SAM Registration Before Fiscal Year’s End
Every organization doing business with the government will have to name a real person as account administrator and go through a three-point ID proofing process.
- By Aaron Boyd
Emerging Tech
CBP Testing Thermal Body Scans at Pedestrian Border Crossings
The agency is piloting a new Pedestrian Detection-at-Range system to identify illegal or dangerous items being smuggled through ports of entry.
- By Aaron Boyd
CXO Briefing
DDS Security Clearance Tool Evolves into ‘SITH’ Insider Threat Program
The Defense Digital Service’s automated investigations tool turns to the dark side of insider threat hunting and gets rebranded to match.
- By Aaron Boyd
Emerging Tech
DHS Wants Wearables to Track Employee Health at Work and at Home
The biometric tech will be used to help employees manage physical and mental health in high-stress mission areas.
- By Aaron Boyd
CXO Briefing
GSA Needs Users to Test SAM.gov Ahead of DUNS Transition
Unique Entity IDs are being issued now and the General Services Administration team wants help testing the system that assigns and manages the new identifier.
- By Aaron Boyd
CXO Briefing
Help Celebrate the Boldest Projects in Government
Nextgov and Government Executive’s BOLD Gov showcases excellence in government—and nominations are open.
- By Aaron Boyd
Emerging Tech
White House Wants to Know How Biometrics Like Facial Recognition Are Being Used
A request for comments is polling governments and the private sector on the full breadth of uses, whether it’s IDing faces or predicting malintent.
- By Aaron Boyd
Cybersecurity
CISA Finalizes Guidance for Securing Federal Networks for Remote Users
The latest guidance is the third of four use cases to be released as part of the Trusted Internet Connection 3.0 initiative.
- By Aaron Boyd