Wayne Lewandowski, vice president of federal operations at Vormetric, has said the federal government should develop a cybersecurity strategy that focuses on the adoption of encryption and access controls for privileged users in order to safeguard critical data from cyber attacks. Lewandowski wrote in a Federal News Radio commentary published Wednesday …
Read More »House Passes Bipartisan IT Software License Mgmt Reform Bill
The U.S. House has unanimously passed a bipartisan bill co-authored by Rep. Matt Cartwright (D-Pennsylvania) and 28 other colleagues that seeks to reform how the federal government manages software licenses. Cartwright’s office said Wednesday the Making Electronic Government Accountable By Yielding Tangible Efficiencies Act of 2016 received a 366-0 vote and will work to codify and …
Read More »House Panel OKs DHS Cyber Function Reorg Bill
The House Homeland Security Committee has approved a bill to reorganize the Department of Homeland Security‘s cybersecurity functions and component responsibilities, Nextgov reported Wednesday. Aliya Sternstein writes the bill would have DHS turn its National Protection and Programs Directorate into an operational agency under the name of Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Protection, which would be led by …
Read More »EmeSec CEO Maria Horton: FedRAMP Changes Could Cut Approval Times
EmeSec CEO Maria Horton has said the Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program‘s plans to revamp its accreditation process could shorten the approval timelines for cloud service providers and require additional costs. In a guest piece published Wednesday by MeriTalk, Horton wrote the proposed changes could help CSPs gain an authority …
Read More »National Cancer Institute Unveils Genomic, Clinical Data Platform
The National Institutes of Health‘s National Cancer Institute has launched the Genomic Data Commons, a unified system designed to store and facilitate sharing of cancer genomic and clinical data. GDC works to centralize and standardize data from The Cancer Genome Atlas and Therapeutically Applicable Research to Generate Effective Treatments programs, which house …
Read More »Air Force Begins Development Work on Mid-Air Collision Avoidance Tool for Fighter Jets
Engineers at the U.S. Air Force have started development work on an auto-air collision avoidance platform designed to prevent mid-air collisions involving fighter jets, Scout Warrior reported Wednesday. Kris Osborn writes the new platform is based on an auto-ground collision avoidance system that is already installed onboard digital versions of F-16 fighter aircraft. …
Read More »Beth Cobert: OPM Makes Strides in IT Cybersecurity
Beth Cobert, acting director at the Office of Personnel Management, has said she is confident about the cybersecurity of the agency’s new information technology systems in an interview with the Washington Post published Wednesday. She told The Post’s Joe Davidson that OPM moved to implement data protection measures after last year’s breach incident that …
Read More »GovExec: OPM Looks to Extend Identity Theft Protection Services for Up to 10 Years
A spokesman for the Office of Personnel Management has said OPM has initiated steps to extend identify theft and credit monitoring services to victims of data breaches at the agency from three years to up to 10 years, Government Executive reported Wednesday. The spokesman added that OPM also plans to …
Read More »USA Today: FAA Warns Military Tests Could Impact GPS Availability in the West
The Federal Aviation Administration has advised pilots that GPS signals in the West could be affected by military tests at the Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division in China Lake, California, USA Today reported Tuesday. Bart Jansen writes the FAA said tests could make GPS signals unreliable or unavailable on June 7, 9, 21, 23, …
Read More »GSA’s 18F, FEC Add New Tools to Campaign Finance Data Website Through ‘Agile’ Methods, User-Centered Design
The General Services Administration’s 18F organization has collaborated with the Federal Election Commission to incorporate new tools to FEC’s legacy website designed to help users access and explore finance data related to political campaigns. Leah Bannon and Noah Manger wrote in a blog entry published Tuesday that 18F and FEC used a …
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