Cybersecurity
McCaul says OPM hack should push Senate to act on cyber
The theft of information on federal employees from government systems should provide the Senate with the urgency to pass cybersecurity legislation, according to one of the bill's key House sponsors.
Modernization
House passes check on Internet transition, multiple DHS measures
In addition to demanding review of any change to the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority, legislators pushed for IT consolidation, improved communications and other reforms for DHS component agencies.
People
Can a one-person data shop make a difference?
Federal Reserve CDO Micheline Casey says doing data management on the cheap is a recipe for disaster.
Digital Government
Meadows loses Gov Ops gavel
A key House subcommittee with broad oversight of government management will be getting a new chairman.
Cybersecurity
White House: IRS, OMB appropriations bill increases cyber risk
Republicans pointed out that the IRS has authority to reallocate some of its funding, and also criticized agency spending on employee bonuses and union activity.
Modernization
Back-end of HealthCare.gov remains in development
HHS internal watchdog recommends automated IT for advance payments under the health care law.
Modernization
Tight budgets can fuel innovation, say top IT leaders
Fiscal necessity is the mother of invention in federal IT.
People
CIO Scott: IT reform is 'different' this time
The federal CIO is confident FITARA will succeed where Clinger-Cohen and other efforts have failed.
Cybersecurity
Justice Department needs a few good hackers
DOJ wants help finding their own security flaws before the bad guys get there.
Acquisition
VA set to test new-look health record interface
VA's pending system helps solve the agency's internal interoperability problems, while extending data to the DoD.
People
How flexible should FITARA be?
The federal CIO told House watchdogs that IT reform would be implemented with strict oversight, but there are already rumblings inside agencies about possible exceptions.
Cybersecurity
Senators: End sequester to pay for cybersecurity
OPM's fiscal 2016 request of $272 million includes $21 million for finishing network upgrades begun in fiscal 2014.
Acquisition
Spires: Some agencies will struggle with FITARA implementation
The former DHS CIO will tell Congress how experienced government and industry IT hands can support the new acquisition legislation.
Acquisition
Should the National Labs be exempt from FITARA?
Senate bill carves out exemption for supercomputing and other lab IT; an earlier version of the measure would have exempted the entire Department of Energy.
Cybersecurity
CJS funding bill would limit high-tech surveillance
Several provisions in the Commerce-Justice-Science bill would bar the use of funds for various surveillance activities.
Acquisition
IARPA looks to the crowd
The intelligence R&D lab wants a platform for crowdsourcing the development and refining of arguments.
Digital Government
CMS to expand access to data program
Program data had been reserved for use by researchers, academics and journalists. Now developers can get their hands on it.
Digital Government
How government data is changing the way we understand health care
Physician utilization data from CMS gives developers the raw material to build tools that allow for the comparison of doctors on a number of criteria.
People
HHS picks Fox for CTO
Susannah Fox ran health and technology surveys for the Pew Internet Project and was entrepreneur-in-residence at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
Digital Government