Democrats Ask Donald Trump to Reconsider Federal Hiring Freeze Bid
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Democrats Ask Donald Trump to Reconsider Federal Hiring Freeze Bid


Democrats Ask Donald Trump to Reconsider Federal Hiring Freeze BidDemocratic lawmakers have called on President-elect Donald Trump to rethink his proposal to freeze federal government hiring once he takes office next week, the Washington Post reported Wednesday.

Joe Davidson writes Trump included the hiring freeze plan in his agenda for his first 100 days in office in a bid to reduce federal employees, save for the military, public safety and public health workforce.

In a letter to Trump, 106 lawmakers warned the president-elect that his plan would have an effect opposite to what he intended to accomplish, according to the report.

“The impact of hiring freezes enacted during previous Democratic and Republican administrations demonstrates that such measures have not, in fact, significantly reduced the size of our federal workforce or enhanced federal government operations,” according to the letter.

The Democrats noted that the previous freezes only led to decreased “efficiency, transparency and accountability government-wide at the expense of the public safety and American taxpayer dollars,” Davidson reports.

Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah), chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, backed Trump’s plan, the Post reports.

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NIST’s Draft Cybersecurity Framework Update Covers Cyber Supply Chain Risk Mgmt
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NIST’s Draft Cybersecurity Framework Update Covers Cyber Supply Chain Risk Mgmt


NIST’s Draft Cybersecurity Framework Update Covers Cyber Supply Chain Risk MgmtThe National Institute of Standards and Technology has released its proposed update to the Cybersecurity Framework in an effort to provide new information on cyber supply chain risk management and introduce measurement processes for cybersecurity.

The 2017 Draft Framework for Improving Critical Infrastructure Security Version 1.1 also includes clarification on the definition of the terms “identity proofing,” “authorization” and “authentication” under the updated “identity management and access control” category, NIST said Tuesday.

Matt Barrett, NIST’s program manager for the Cybersecurity Framework, said the update seeks to facilitate the use of the framework, which he said will remain “voluntary and flexible to adaptation.”

NIST noted the draft update incorporates input from Cybersecurity Framework Workshop 2016 attendees and feedback from a request for information issued in 2015 as well as comments received since NIST published the framework’s version 1 in 2014.

NIST will accept comments to the draft update to the framework through April 10.

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OPM Unveils Federal Cyber Talent Recruitment Portal
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OPM Unveils Federal Cyber Talent Recruitment Portal


OPM Unveils Federal Cyber Talent Recruitment PortalThe Office of Personnel Management has launched a new website that offers information and tools to support talent recruitment from various sources such as federal government websites.

OPM said Tuesday CyberCareers.gov is a central element of the Federal Cybersecurity Workforce Strategy and designed to provide specific cybersecurity information and resource portals to job hunters, managers and supervisors as well as human resources personnel to aid the development of tools and guides for talent recruitment.

“The launching of the CyberCareers.gov website is an important step in advancing OPM’s mission to recruit, hire, develop, and retain the top cybersecurity talent the government needs by building the cybersecurity workforce pipeline,” said Beth Cobert, acting OPM director.

“We collaborated with agency cyber partners to create content for this website and will continue to update the site through user interactions and feedback provided from those experiences,” Cobert added.

The Federal Cybersecurity Workforce Strategy follows existing and forward-leaning policies to help agencies develop, hire, recruit and retain talent as well as build the cybersecurity workforce.

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Coast Guard, USACE Team Up to Develop Marine Safety Info Test Bed in Kentucky
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Coast Guard, USACE Team Up to Develop Marine Safety Info Test Bed in Kentucky


Coast Guard, USACE Team Up to Develop Marine Safety Info Test Bed in KentuckyThe U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the U.S. Coast Guard will collaborate to develop a marine safety information test bed in Kentucky as part of efforts to advance riverine, coastal and intracoastal navigation in the country.

The city of Louisville will host the Ohio River Enhanced Marine Safety Information Test Bed, which will include bulletins that contain navigational and weather information, the Coast Guard said Tuesday.

The new system will also cover additional information on bridge clearances, hazardous cargoes, lock status, safety and security zones collected from various government agencies and compiled into a single bulletin transmitted to nearby vessels.

USACE’s research and development center will team up with the Coast Guard’s office of navigation systems and research and development center teams to manage the test bed, which will also feature an autonomous and continuous broadcast system designed to transmit enhanced marine safety information messages to vessels around Louisville.

The Coast Guard added the test bed will help determine necessary equipment and infrastructure for the modernization of U.S. waterways and aid the discovery of methods to integrate the Automatic Identification System into the existing marine safety information and Aids to Navigation systems.

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George Washington University Unveils Lecture Series on Cybersecurity Law
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George Washington University Unveils Lecture Series on Cybersecurity Law


George Washington University Unveils Lecture Series on Cybersecurity LawThe George Washington University Law School has launched an initiative to provide a lecture series on cybersecurity law and technology.

Orin Kerr, a professor at GW Law, wrote in a guest post published Monday in the Washington Post that the Cybersecurity Law Initiative engages affiliated scholars across the university.

The initiative could also include cybersecurity conferences as well as research papers and a formal educational component in the long term, Kerr added.

Kerr is a former trial attorney in the Justice Department‘s computer crime and intellectual property section who will also serve as director of the initiative.

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Denise Turner Roth Highlights GSA’s Accomplishments for Past Eight Years
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Denise Turner Roth Highlights GSA’s Accomplishments for Past Eight Years


Denise Turner Roth Highlights GSA's Accomplishments for Past Eight Years
Denise Turner Roth

General Services Administration chief Denise Turner Roth has highlighted the agency’s previous accomplishments over the last eight years as the current administration comes to a close.

Roth wrote in a blog post published Thursday that GSA demonstrated its ability “to be an innovative, active and adaptable agency” while the initiatives the agency tries to pursue change over time.

She cited the agency’s partnership with local communities and opportunities provided to small businesses as part of the Freeze the Footprint and in line with the Recovery Act to relocate agencies to new office spaces.

GSA’s Acquisition Gateway, which aims to help officials compare government-wide acquisition services, connect with acquisition professionals and explore product and service category hallways, has also reached 10,000 registered users in its first year.

The agency also kicked off the Technology Transformation Service in early 2016 to overhaul how GSA delivers technology to government, Roth writes.

She also cited GSA’s efforts to consolidate administrative functions to remove redundant support offices within each division.

“All of this is just a snapshot of the work that we are carrying out on behalf of our partner agencies and the American people,” Roth said.

“In the years ahead, GSA remains committed to exploring new ways we can continue delivering the best value in real estate, acquisition and technology services for government and the American people,” she added.

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DoD Senior Leaders Discuss ‘Continued Preparedness’ Amid Leadership Transition
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DoD Senior Leaders Discuss ‘Continued Preparedness’ Amid Leadership Transition


DoD Senior Leaders Discuss 'Continued Preparedness' Amid Leadership TransitionThe Defense Department‘s senior leadership council has met to discuss “continued preparedness” ahead of DoD’s transition to new leadership, DoD News reported Tuesday.

Karen Parrish writes Defense Secretary Ashton Carter told reporters that the meeting included briefings on regional issues such as North Korean and Russian aggression; the Islamic State militant group; change in the Asia-Pacific region; and countering Iran’s influence.

Carter added DoD leaders “will continue to make an important and lasting contribution to the future of our military.”

DoD’s senior leadership council includes heads of combatant commands and services.

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Marine Corps Relocates 1st F-35B Squadron to Japan
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Marine Corps Relocates 1st F-35B Squadron to Japan


Marine Corps Relocates 1st F-35B Squadron to JapanThe U.S. Marine Corps will transfer the homeport of an F-35B squadron from the military service’s air station in Yuma, Arizona to the branch’s station in Iwakuni, Japan.

MCAS Iwakuni will become the first location to accommodate the Lockheed Martin-built F-35B aircraft of Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 121 as part of the service branch’s worldwide deployment effort, the Marine Corps said Tuesday.

Defense News reported Tuesday Capt. Kurt Stahl, a Marine Corps spokesman, said 10 F35Bs are scheduled to arrive at MCAS Iwakuni by Thursday and an additional six jets will eventually relocate to Japan to join VMFA-121.

The U.S. Air Force also looks to permanently station its first F-35A squadron at Royal Air Force Base Lakenheath in England in 2020, according to the report by Valerie Insinna.

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Bloomberg: DoD’s Michael Gilmore Urges Trump Administration to Conduct ‘Comprehensive’ F-35 Program Review
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Bloomberg: DoD’s Michael Gilmore Urges Trump Administration to Conduct ‘Comprehensive’ F-35 Program Review


Bloomberg: DoD's Michael Gilmore Urges Trump Administration to Conduct 'Comprehensive' F-35 Program ReviewMichael Gilmore, director of operational test and evaluation at the Defense Department, has said that President-elect Donald Trump’s incoming administration should launch a comprehensive review of the F-35 program to examine “well-documented deficiencies” in the Lockheed Martin-built aircraft’s combat systems, Bloomberg reported Tuesday.

Anthony Capaccio writes Gilmore told Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-Texas) in a letter that the F-35 program office does not plan to “adequately fix and verify hundreds of these deficiencies using flight testing within its currently planned schedule and resources.”

Gilmore’s annual report on F-35 says military services identified 276 combat performance issues in the aircraft’s 3F software and that less than half of the deficiencies have been addressed, Capaccio reported.

DoD’s office of independent cost analysis has estimated that it will cost up to $1.12 billion to extend F-35’s development phase to as late as 2020 from the scheduled flight test completion in September 2017.

The F-35 program office said the phase could extend to May 2018 and will require an additional $530 million to complete.

Gilmore said combat tests that are currently scheduled to start in August will more likely be concluded in 2020, according to the report.

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WSJ: FBI Chief James Comey Says Russian Hackers Targeted Republican Data During Election Campaign
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WSJ: FBI Chief James Comey Says Russian Hackers Targeted Republican Data During Election Campaign


WSJ: FBI Chief James Comey Says Russian Hackers Targeted Republican Data During Election Campaign
James Comey

FBI Director James Comey has told Senate Intelligence Committee members at a hearing  that Russian hackers also targeted Republican data in the 2016 election campaign and that the documents revealed were less than the unveiled emails of Democrats, the Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday.

Devlin Barrett writes Comey discussed incidents of alleged Russian hacking when he testified along with other intelligence chiefs during the committee meeting Tuesday.

The report said that part of the hearing tackled implications of Russia hacking and propaganda against U.S. democracy.

“There were successful penetrations of some groups and campaigns, particularly at the state level on the Republican side of the aisle, and some limited penetration of old [Republican National Committee] domains,” Comey told lawmakers.

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Florida) noted that Russian hacking aimed to make electoral candidates fight against each other and question the legitimacy of the elections.

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