Jamie Brown, director of global government relations at CA Technologies, has said the incoming administration should give more emphasis on the management of privileged users as part of efforts to build up the U.S. cybersecurity posture.

Brown wrote in a Nextgov article published Wednesday that organizations should facilitate continuous authentication through the use of behavioral-based and risk-factor analysis in the internet-of-things environment.

He cited some of the recommendations in a report released by the Commission on Enhancing National Cybersecurity, such as the creation of a public-private initiative that would help advance identity management and authentication measures as well as adoption of the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s Cybersecurity Framework.

The use of the NIST framework could help technology firms “prioritize cybersecurity investments to improve technology processes,” Brown wrote.

“State and local governments interested in aligning their information security practices with the framework could benefit from additional federal government guidance or incentives,” he added.

Brown also called on federal agencies to extend information technology modernization to deployment.

The Federal Trade Commission has offered to award up to $25,000 to potential partners that can provide applications or tools designed to protect smart home devices against hacking, Nextgov reported Tuesday.

Joseph Marks writes FTC seeks a cloud-based application that checks for security updates or a physical device that can assess Internet of Things device security.

“A dashboard or other user interface might inform the consumer about which devices were up-to-date already, those that had unpatched software vulnerabilities and even those that the manufacturer no longer supported,” FTC said in a notice posted Wednesday on the Federal Register.

The responses should look to mitigate the vulnerabilities of out-of-date IoT software and address potential dangers such as forced factory default updates or weak passwords, the report said.

Nextgov noted that interested parties have until May 22 to submit responses.

Winners, including honorable mention winners that will each receive $3,000, will be announced in July.

The U.S. Cyber Command looks to hire an acquisition professional to manage spending of the command’s $75 million annual rapid procurement funds through 2021 that Congress authorized under the 2016 defense authorization act, Federal News Radio reported Tuesday.

Scott Maucione writes the command acquisition executive will be responsible for the rapid development and fielding of new cyber systems and equipment using the allocated funds.

The command will set up an acquisition office that consists of up to 10 personnel to manage the budget and also use the money to sustain cyber operations systems, according to the report.

A Senior Executive Service employee will lead the team, report directly to the Cybercom commander, oversee programs and logistics, provide legal guidance and negotiate with other military departments for equipment and services acquisition, Maucione reports.

The report said Cybercom also plans to recruit a contracting lead, contract specialist, a warranted contracting officer and an acquisition oversight and policy officer.