Friday federal headlines – April 15, 2016

The Federal Headlines is a daily compilation of the stories you hear discussed on the Federal Drive.

• A report on government cybersecurity has found it lags far behind that of the private sector. Experts at SecurityScorecard said NASA had the worst cybersecurity of all 600 federal, state, and local government organizations they analyzed. The State Department was also found to be extremely vulnerable. Federal News Radio executive editor Jason Miller first broke this story in March. (SecurityScoreCard)

• A thorough study on internet security found data breaches in the public sector exposed around 28 million identities last year. The Symantec Internet Security Threat Report said most of those breaches resulted from accidental leaks. Analysts said that number is likely to only go up with the integration of new technologies like the internet of things and connected cars. (Symantec)

• Federal employees with same-sex spouses can take advantage of the same Family and Medical Leave Act benefits as feds with opposite-sex spouses. A final rule from the Office of Personnel Management officially changed the definition of the word “spouse” in FMLA regulations. Acting OPM Director Beth Cobert said the agency also updated Title 5 non-discrimination regulations. OPM said sexual orientation and gender identity topics will soon be a part of agencies’ diversity and inclusion training. (Federal Register)

• The Government Accountability Office is looking to upgrade its bid protest process. A proposed rule in the Federal Registrar said the agency is in the process of establishing a way to file bid protests and find all documents related to protests electronically. It’s creating the Electronic Protest Docketing System to comply with the Consolidated Appropriations Act passed back in 2014. (Federal Register)

• A former owner of two defense contracting businesses gets 57 months in prison for planning to send sensitive military technical data to India. The Justice Department said founder of One Source USA and Caldwell Components Hannah Robert illegally conspired to send defense technical drawings to India without getting the State Department’s permission. She’s also charged with violating contracts she had with the Defense Department by selling it substandard parts. (Justice Department)

• The FBI has a new chief information officer. Gordon Bitko, a RAND Corporation scholar and an employee of the FBI since 2007, has been chosen by Director James Comey to replace Jerry Pender, who left the FBI in August. Bitko will be the CIO and the executive assistant director for the Information and Technology Branch. Comey said he chose Bitko because he thinks well about technology, knows up close the great and less than great ways the FBI uses technology today and has proven that he can get hard things done. (Federal News Radio)

• The Senate Appropriations committee has adopted a provision in a veterans spending bill which would allow Veterans Affairs to pay for in vitro fertilization and other reproductive assistance for vets. Bloomberg reports Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) sponsored the amendment to the Military Construction-VA spending bill. Chairman of the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Jeff Miller (R-Fla.) also introduced legislation in the House which would pay $20,000 to vets who suffer injuries to their reproductive organs. (Bloomberg)

• An annual report from the Government Accountability Office found the Defense Department still has not addressed issues that could add up to billions of dollars in savings. The report states DoD still has not taken advantage of an estimated $4 billion in savings by better leveraging its buying power. GAO said DoD needs to direct more procurement spending to existing contracts and expand its strategic sourcing practices to its highest spending procurement categories. (Federal News Radio)

• Supporters of an open data bill said the legislation will usher in a new era for the government. Rep. Derek Kilmer (D-Wash.) said his Open Government Data Act will build on the administration’s open data policy. The draft bill states that information that isn’t prohibited from public view should be “open by default.” Cosponsors of the bill said it will streamline the process of obtaining data, increase transparency and accountability, and can help with decision and policy support within agencies. (Federal News Radio)

• Chief Human Capital Officer for the Homeland Security Department Angela Bailey said agencies have to consider new incentives like sabbaticals and child care subsidies if they want to attract and retain new talent. DHS is working with the Defense Department and Office of Personnel Management to come up with non-traditional ways to implement congressional hiring authorities. Congress gave DHS the authority to fill one thousand new cybersecurity positions back in 2014. DoD got a similar authority in 2015. (Federal News Radio)

• Microsoft has sued the Justice Department, seeking to stop federal investigators from using court orders to seize customers’ information, often without the customer being notified. Microsoft argued the gag orders violate the company’s constitutional right of free speech. And its customers’ protections against unreasonable search and seizure. The issues are getting thornier in the era of cloud computing and mobile devices, underscored by the recent iPhone cracking fight. (Federal News Radio)

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