DeRusha finds new Google gig after departing government

Federal Newscast

Former Federal CISO Chris DeRusha is headed to Google Cloud to serve as director of global public sector compliance.

Peter Musurlian@PMusurlianWFED

June 26, 2024 7:52 am

< a min read

It didn't take long for Chris DeRusha to find his next job, after leaving as the federal chief information security officer last month. DeRusha is joining Google Cloud as the director of global public sector compliance. DeRusha was the federal CISO from January 2021 to May 2024. He will work with former CISA executive Jeanette Manfra, who is the global director of security and compliance. In his new role at Google Cloud, DeRusha will focus on the expansion of Google Cloud’s growing suite of products and services — across AI, cloud computing and security to the public sector. Besides being federal CISO, DeRusha has worked as the chief security officer for the state of Michigan and worked at Ford Motor Company.
(Former Federal CISO DeRusha lands at Google Cloud - LinkedIn)

The Department of Homeland Security is bringing in some new artificial intelligence talent. DHS has hired the first 10 members of its new AI Corps. The group includes a mix of people with government and industry backgrounds. DHS plans to hire a total of 50 experts into the AI Corps by the end of this year. They will help lead high-priority AI projects across the department. DHS has named some initial use cases for AI, including detecting fentanyl at the border, combating child abuse, and training asylum officers.
(DHS AI Corps hires an initial 10 experts - Federal News Network)

Despite a growing caseload, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is dealing with limited resources. Managing workloads for EEOC caseworkers is becoming all the more difficult as the agency is currently under a hiring freeze. That means when an employee leaves EEOC, for any reason, they cannot be replaced. The workload challenges are especially true for investigators dealing with discrimination cases: “The average is about 100 per investigator, but we have some districts where we are way north of that. That is a real challenge and something that I personally worry a lot about,” EEOC Chairwoman Charlotte Burrows said in an interview. EEOC is trying to work creatively and doing the best with what they do have, but Burrows said more resources are going to be necessary.
(Interview with EEOC Chairwoman Charlotte Burrows - Federal News Network)

The Defense Department’s new IT advancement strategy is a roadmap for better aligning information technology efforts across the entire department. The Fulcrum strategy, signed by Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks, focuses on investing in IT infrastructure and delivering innovative solutions, while prioritizing user experience. Leslie Beavers, the principal deputy CIO at the Defense Department, said the strategy “crystallizes” what success looks like for the DoD in the digital age. The DoD chief information officer office will release an implementation plan this summer.
(DoD releases IT advancement strategy - DoD)

The White House plans to conduct a hiring surge to fill open federal cyber jobs this year, according to a new progress report on the national cyber director’s workforce and education strategy. The report said the Office of Personnel Management’s “Tech to Gov” initiative has extended 150 job offers to experienced cyber professionals over the past year. While OPM plans to conduct another Tech-to-Gov job fair this fall, White House officials are working on a longer term plan to transition most federal IT jobs to skills-based hiring starting next summer.
(Report on “National Workforce and Education Strategy: Initial Stages of Implementation” - Office of the National Cyber Director )

Federal employees with Flexible Spending Accounts have not been receiving any reimbursement payments on their FSA claims since as early as June 16. Federal News Network has learned that the Office of Personnel Management made the decision to suspend all payments in an effort to strengthen the program's security measures. The decision came after a recent surge in fraudulent activity affecting hundreds of FSAFEDS accounts. But FSAFEDS enrollees are raising concerns and frustrations about the pause on payments. Many said there was no communication from OPM or FSAFEDS about the suspension. The pause on reimbursements, however, has been lifted, and enrollees should see payments resume soon.
(FSAFEDS update - Office of Personnel Management)

New data from the Government Accountability Office shows in fiscal 2023, agencies spent $60 billion more on acquisition than in 2022. GAO found total acquisition spending hit $759 billion last year. Civilian agencies accounted for $303.2 billion and the Defense Department spent $456 billion. In 2022, agencies spent $694.2 billion. But it is not just total spending that went up. GAO said agencies spent more on services, on products, and through OTAs (other transaction authority) last year. The one area where an increase isn’t good news is around competition. In 2023, GAO found an overall competition rate of 66%, which is 2% lower than in 2022.
(Federal procurement spending tops $759B in 2023 - GAO)

The Defense Information Systems Agency will release its 2025-2027 data strategy in the coming months. The goal of the current data strategy was to understand the data the agency holds and to start breaking down data silos. The agency will now focus on data integration, establishing data governance, and setting data-related policies. Before releasing the strategy, the Office of the Chief Data Officer is gathering input from senior leaders, as well as the emerging technology team.
(DISA to release data strategy in the coming months - DISA)