The Federal Communications Commission is kicking off Small Business Week with a look at the importance of cybersecurity for smaller firms. As part of its efforts, FCC launched an online portal featuring cyber resources and held a cybersecurity roundtable today in Washington, specifically geared toward small businesses. The new portal contains information about connecting small [...]

“It is not at all unusual to hear the Pentagon being criticized for its bloat, bureaucracy and spending binges,” CBS news program 60 Minutes began its report on soon-to-retire Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates. But what makes this particular criticism so insightful and hard-hitting is that it comes from the Pentagon’s head honcho, himself. Gates, [...]

A draft executive order spelling out proposed disclosure rules governing the political donations of government contractors began making the rounds a few weeks ago and has continued to stoke controversy. Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), who heads the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, held hearings last week amid threats of a subpoena to compel administration [...]

High-minded Defense Department “should-cost” acquisition estimates are running square into the brave new world of satellites, in what National Defense magazine called an “outer space imponderable.” Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics Ashton Carter has indicated DoD shells out too much for space systems and even further back than that Defense Secretary Robert [...]

The House is set to vote this week on an intelligence authorization bill that the White House says imposes unrealistic deadlines on the intelligence community in an  “insider-threat” detection program. According to the bill, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence would be required to have such detection systems at least partially operational by [...]

Meredith Attwell Baker, one of two Republicans on the Federal Communication Commission, has announced she will step down from her post next month to join Comcast, the nation’s largest cable company. Baker joined a majority of FCC commissioners in January in approving Comcast’s venture with NBC Universal. According to a Washington Post report, Comcast has [...]

The House Armed Services Committee overwhelmingly voted to approve $553 billion in defense authorizations, part of what The Associated Press called a “broad defense blueprint,” which includes funding for a 1.6 percent increase in military pay, a number of weapons programs and additional money for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The full House will [...]

Following a House oversight hearing yesterday about a draft executive order requiring government contractors to disclose political contributions, the administration’s proposal is continuing to plummet in popularity — on both sides of the aisle. A draft of the proposed executive order began circulating a few weeks ago, instantly drawing the ire of industry. Under the [...]

In a report released last week, the Center for Strategic and International Studies found that spending on defense contracting is increasingly going toward more competitive contracts. Further, the contracts the Pentagon is dropping money have been evolving over the past decade. Here are some key takeaways from the report: The Good News Over the past [...]

Deputy Defense Secretary William J. Lynn is leading a Defense Department effort to create a roadmap ensuring the defense industrial base remains robust even as defense spending is set for a slow-down. In a keynote speech at the Royal Bank of Canada Defense and Aerospace Conference at New York’s Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum, [...]