IT Modernization
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Starting sometime next year, companies that want to sell software to the government will need to sign new attestations – certifying that they have taken certain steps to make sure their software is secure. Earlier this month, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency released its latest draft of the form companies will need to submit. One of the biggest changes is the attestations will have to be signed by a company’s CEO. But there are several other updates, too. For more about them and get an industry perspective, Federal News Network Deputy Editor Jared Serbu talked with Leopold Wildenauer, the Senior Manager for Public Sector Policy at the Information Technology Industry Council.
November 30, 2023 -
The federal government’s made huge progress in reducing security clearance processing times over the last several years. But there are some early signs of backsliding. As Federal News Network reported last week, the latest data shows top secret investigations took an average of 115 days in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2023 – up from 84 days during the same period last year.
November 28, 2023 -
The Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT in HHS is providing seed funding for prototypes and pilots for hospitals and other healthcare providers to test approaches take advantage of technologies that serve all patients equally.
November 27, 2023 -
Reliance on a paper-based system, insufficient staffing and incomplete applications remain the three top barriers to timely processing of federal employees’ retirement applications.
November 21, 2023 -
It starts with federal agencies prioritizing observability strategies. Despite its growing popularity, observability is a fresh concept – one that can be difficult to define and see as a path to resilience without first understanding its foundation. The roots of observability can simply be traced down to a collection of logs, metrics and traces by which monitoring systems can more proactively mitigate potential threats.
November 17, 2023 -
More often than not, legacy contracts and programs with existing providers and solutions are routinely extended. That may save time, but it also prevents the innovation and collaboration needed to address modern threats.
November 16, 2023 -
The Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS), is one of the main tools the agency relies on for environmental regulations, containing information on human health effects that may result from exposure to various chemicals in the environment. A new report from the EPA's inspector general, said the agency needs to do a better job of who has access to it. For more on the report, the Federal Drive with Tom Temin's Executive Producer Eric White talked with Jeremy Sigel, the IG office's Supervisory Audit Manager in the Information Resources Management Directorate.
November 16, 2023 -
We know that true modernization impacts effectiveness and efficiency for agencies, but to achieve real change it requires not just new technology but a balanced mix of culture, people and processes that elevate the technology, to drive enterprise-level transformation. Federal government resilience and innovation within the civil sector requires cloud-native thinking, paired with championing a new kind of role – the chief transformation and strategy officer (CTSO).
November 15, 2023 -
Eric Hysen, the DHS chief information officer, and Dana Chisnell, the director of CX, are expanding their priorities areas to include more customer and employee experience goals as outlined in a new IT strategic plan.
November 06, 2023 -
Ann Lewis, the new director of TTS in GSA’s Federal Acquisition Service, said her organization’s goal is to get the right tech skills into the right place to deliver better outcomes for the public.
November 03, 2023 -
The Navy sees a not-too-distant future in which sailors aboard ships have the same level of connectivity they have on shore, thanks almost entirely to advances in the commercial sector.
October 27, 2023 -
The new TSP loan tracker should help answer questions from participants about the progress of their loan applications, and show them what’s still missing to reach the next step of the process.
October 26, 2023 -
Gabe Camarillo, the undersecretary of the Army, said to create a culture of continuous improvement, the Army needs to institutionalize how it buys, develops and continually improve its applications.
October 26, 2023 -
Along with employee onboarding, effective training and development programs are needed to help employees improve their skills and keep a skilled staff. For example, AI-powered automation can make it easier to sign up for courses, keep track of when they are finished and make progress updates. These features make it easy for government HR departments to make the most of their training resources and keep track of employee growth.
October 26, 2023 -
You might not know him by name, but Federal Drive host Tom Temin's guest oversees an operation that touches thousands of federal employees. He has also worked facilities, operations and budget analysis across the government. Now he's among the new members of the National Academy of Public Administration: Byron Adkins.
October 26, 2023