CIA Deputy Director Avril Haines will succeed Antony Blinken as deputy national security adviser to President Barack Obama after Blinken’s Senate confirmation as deputy secretary of state, Bloomberg reported Thursday. Jonathan Allen reports that Haines has previously advised the president as deputy counsel for national security at the Office of the White House Counsel before she …
Read More »House VA, Small Biz Committee Chairs Ask OFPP to Issue Reverse Auction Guidelines
The chairmen of the House Veterans Affairs and Small Business committees are calling on the Office of Federal Procurement Policy to issue guidance on the use of reverse auctions, Federal News Radio reported Wednesday. Jason Miller writes that Rep. Jeff Miller (R-Fla.) and Rep. Sam Graves (R-Mo.) have asked OFPP Administrator Anne Rung to open a Federal …
Read More »Robert Work, Philip Dunne Eye US-UK Defense Tech Collaboration
U.S. Deputy Defense Secretary Robert Work and Philip Dunne, British minister for defense equipment, support and technology, met Tuesday at the Pentagon to discuss the countries’ defense programs, DoD News reported Thursday. DoD News reports U.S. Navy Lt. Cmdr. Courtney Hillson, a spokesperson for the defense secretary, said Work and …
Read More »Chris Bogdan: Pentagon Expects Lockheed to Deliver 36 F-35 Jets by Year’s End
The Pentagon expects Lockheed Martin to complete the delivery of 36 F-35 fighter jets by the end of 2014, Reuters reported Wednesday. Andrea Shalal writes Air Force Lt. Gen. Chris Bogdan, F-35 program manager, revealed flight testing for the final two aircraft is already underway. The completion of orders signals that Lockheed could soon receive majority of …
Read More »Sen. John McCain Eyes Creation of Senate Cybersecurity Subcommittee
Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) plans to form a cybersecurity-dedicated subcommittee if he is elected chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Defense News reported Thursday. McCain said he wants to add a fresh cybersecurity bill to the Senate’s roster of top-priority legislation, Leo Shane III reports. The senator also highlighted …
Read More »DTSA’s Beth McCormick: Defense Department Urges Asian Allies to Protect US Tech Intellectual Property
Beth McCormick, Defense Technology Security Administration director, said the United States counts on its Asian allies to protect the intellectual property of U.S. technology they acquire, FCW reported Wednesday. Sean Lyngaas writes McCormick told audiences at the Hudson Institute that DoD has been working in the last few months to bolster the government’s …
Read More »David Bennett: DISA Adopts Cyber Network Risk Scoring Method
The Defense Information Systems Agency has implemented a continuous monitoring risk scoring system that will work to measure the cybersecurity risk of the agency’s computer networks, Federal News Radio reported Thursday. Jason Miller writes David Bennett, chief information officer at DISA, said the tool is designed to analyze network security …
Read More »Report: HHS to Pilot DATA Act Financial Reporting Standards; Bryan Sivak Comments
The Department of Health and Human Services will pilot the data standardization measures of the Digital Accountability and Transparency Act over a two-year period beginning May 2015, FedScoop reported Wednesday in an exclusive. Billy Mitchell writes that the Office of Management and Budget has tasked HHS to implement the federal grant reporting portion of …
Read More »DoD Issues New Commercial Cloud Services Acquisition Rules; Mark Testoni on Policy’s Control Effects
The U.S. Defense Department has amended a policy for the agency’s civilian and military organizations that want to procure cloud services from industry, FedTech magazine reported Wednesday. An internal memo obtained by FedTech says the agency will now allow its components to purchase directly from cloud service providers instead of buying …
Read More »Matt Goodrich: New FedRAMP Road Map Includes ATO Reuse Framework
The Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program office has released a two-year road map to outline plans to focus on awareness, intended efficiencies and adaptability of cloud computing, Federal Times reported Wednesday. Aaron Boyd writes that the FedRAMP Forward document highlighted the program office’s efforts to streamline the authorization process through a “do once, …
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