The Federal Headlines is a daily compilation of the stories you hear discussed on the Federal Drive and In Depth radio shows each day. Our headlines are updated twice per day — once in the morning and once in the afternoon — with the latest news affecting federal employees and contractors.
The White House is ordering agencies to improve their cybersecurity and is giving them 30 days to come up with a plan. The order comes as the Obama administration acknowledged the cyber breaches at the Office of Management and Budget are much worse than initially reported. It now appears as if two hacks occurred. One took the personal information about as many as 14 million current and former federal employees, not the 4 million first reported. A second hack appears to have stolen millions of SF-86 records, exposing personal information on everyone with a security clearance. Federal CIO Tony Scott announced the formation of a cybersecurity sprint team to review security policies and procedures. The sprint team will recommend a new strategy for civilian cybersecurity. (Federal News Radio )
Maryland and Virginia senators want more credit protections for federal employees affected by the cyber attack. Sens. Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.) and Mark Warner (D-Va.) wrote a letter to Office of Personnel Management Director Katherine Archuleta. They asked OPM to give more than 18 months of credit monitoring. The senators don’t specify how long credit monitoring should go on — just that it should be a “significantly longer period” than the proposed 18 months. They also want OPM to explain why Social Security numbers weren’t encrypted. (Sen. Mark Warner)
A Maryland senator said another layer of security is needed to protect Americans’ Social Security numbers. Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.) said the government has been very reckless with Social Security numbers. At a forum at SSA, he recalled when the numbers used to be printed on congressional ID cards. Cardin’s speech came after recent reports showing OPM doesn’t encrypt Social Security numbers. Up to 14 million current and former federal employees might have had their Social Security numbers stolen. (Federal News Radio)
The Veterans Affairs Department designed a prototype for a new patient record system. NextGov reports the platform would pull patient records from different hospital systems into one virtual place. That would give doctors a more complete look at a patient’s history. The Enterprise Health Management Platform is still in the early stages. In future versions, the system might let health care providers see which drugs a patient has been prescribed. That can help analyze possible drug interactions and other risks. VA plans to give the new platform to all VA facilities by 2017. (NextGov)
The Air Force will offer a third round of early retirement and buyouts to civilian employees starting today. Recipients of the interest surveys will have until June 26 to respond. They’ll have to leave the government by Sept. 30. The Air Force said this will be the last buyout of the fiscal year. Most of the staff cuts will take place at Air Force headquarters. Debra Warner, the director of Air Force civilian policy, hasn’t ruled out involuntary separations if enough people don’t take the buyout. The reductions are part of a Defense Department order to trim headquarters staffs by 20 percent over the next several years. (Federal News Radio)
Federal program management would get a shot in the arm from a new bill in the Senate. It would require agencies to name chief program improvement officers and submit five-year plans for tightening up program management. The bill is co- sponsored by Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) and Sen. Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.). They said their bill would force the government to use the best program management practices of the private sector. Development of standards would fall to the Office of Management and Budget. A similar bill was introduced in the House in April. (Sen. Joni Ernst)
The CIA is reorganizing to better battle the Islamic State. The Wall Street Journal reports top managers are pushing analysts, scientists and economists into new teams aimed at better understanding the terror group. It’s part of a larger effort by Director John Brennan to break down the traditional stovepipes within the agency. Under that plan, the agency is dividing into groups, each containing multiple disciplines that used to operate separately. Brennan wants several of these groups to focus on the Islamic State threat. CIA officials believe the different recruitment and financing models of the Islamic State militants relative to Al Qaida require a new approach. (Wall Street Journal)
Raytheon secured a bomb deal with the Pentagon worth $31 million. The move came just ahead of the Paris Air Show, which opens today. Defense News reports through the low-rate initial production contract, Raytheon will produce the Small Diameter Bomb Two. The bomb passed the Defense Department’s Milestone C review last month. Raytheon said the first round of weapons will be complete in May 2017. (Defense News)
Copyright
© 2024 Federal News Network. All rights reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.
