• The Securities and Exchange Commission is slapping four companies with fines for misleading disclosures about a major cybersecurity hack. The SEC announced fines against Unisys, Avaya, Check Point and Mimecast this week. The agency said each of those companies downplayed how they were breached as part of the 2020 SolarWinds hacking campaign. U.S. officials alleged the Russian government is behind those breaches. The SEC said the four charged companies have agreed to pay millions of dollars in fines.
  (SEC charges four companies with misleading cyber disclosures - Securities and Exchange Commission )
• The Department of Health and Human Services is advancing a new cybersecurity rule. The White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs is reviewing a proposed rule that would update the security protections required under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. HIPAA’s cybersecurity requirements haven’t been updated in more than a decade. But with ransomware groups targeting the healthcare sector at an alarming rate, HHS wants stronger data protection for sensitive health information. HHS officials aim to release the proposed rule for public comment by the end of this year.
  (White House reviewing HIPAA cybersecurity updates - Federal News Network)
• The Department of the Air Force has a new chief data and artificial intelligence officer. Susan Davenport is taking over for Chandra Donelson, who has served as the service’s acting CDAO since April. Davenport brings over 30 years of experience in intelligence, cyber, space and advanced technology across the federal government to the new position. In this role, she will lead enterprise data management, analytics and digital transformation efforts. Before stepping into her new role, Davenport served as the senior advisor for defense innovation in the Office of the Secretary of the Air Force.
  (Susan Davenport will serve as Air Force’s CDAIO - LinkedIn)
• The Army is looking to reduce the contract awarding process from a nearly two-year cycle to less than six months. To achieve that, the service will move away from overly prescriptive contract requirements to a more flexible approach that focuses on “characteristics of need” and allows vendors to propose solutions. The Army also wants to use incentives and disincentives more effectively to prevent the “race to the bottom” mindset, where contractors compete by offering the lowest possible cost, which often compromises quality.
  (Army works to reduce award times to six months - Federal News Network)

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• The acquisition workforce is about to get some much-needed focus on its career development. The Office of Federal Procurement Policy is detailing a four-pronged approach to training, retaining and further developing contracting officers and other acquisition workers. In a new memo released today, Christine Harada, the senior advisor in OFPP, is establishing a new advisory committee, creating strategic workforce planning efforts and requiring agencies to initiate retention programs for contracting employees. Harada said these initiatives will try to close workforce gaps, especially at grades 5 to 9. "We've only got 12% of our DoD contracting professionals are in those grades, and only 8% of civilian agency contracting professionals are in those grades," she said.
  (Office of Federal Procurement Policy memo - Christine Harada, OFPP senior advisor)
• A senior Democrat is urging former President Donald Trump’s campaign team to move forward with presidential transition planning efforts. House Oversight committee ranking member Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) criticized Trump’s refusal to sign contracts with the White House and General Service Administration. In a letter to the campaign team, Raskin said it will inhibit the ability to have a smooth presidential transition, should Trump win the election. If those agreements are signed, Trump’s team would get access to office space and computer equipment to help with transition planning. Vice President Kamala Harris previously signed contracts with the White House and GSA to get access to the resources.
  (Letter to Trump campaign and transition team - Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.))
• The Energy Department is five years behind in implementing the Geospatial Data Act of 2018, but plans to finally ramp up its efforts in 2025. In response to a recent inspector general report, Energy said it hired a new geospatial information officer in June to lead several new initiatives. Energy said it will finalize the Geospatial Science Program Management Office implementation plan by February. It also will increase engagement and communications with departmental programs and sites by July. Auditors found Energy hadn't fully met 12 of the 13 requirements outlined in the law, including implementing its Geospatial Data Strategy and creating and resourcing an effective geospatial data collection initiative.
  (The Department of Energy has made little progress implementing the Geospatial Data Act of 2018 - Energy Inspector General Office)
• The Postal Service has delivered millions of mail-in ballots to state election boards, and is gearing up prepared to handle millions more. Less than two weeks before Election Day, voters have cast more than 23 million ballots nationwide. More than half of them are mail-in ballots. Mail-in ballots account for the vast majority of early voting in key battleground states, including Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, Nevada and Arizona. USPS Chief Customer and Marketing Officer Steve Montieth said the agency is delivering about 98% of ballots on time. “We have the capacity to handle a high volume of election mail in the final weeks of the election," he said.
  (USPS delivers millions of mail-in ballots, resumes normal operations in hurricane-struck states - Federal News Network)
• House Democrats are leading a bill that would permanently suspend the Postal Service’s network modernization plans. That includes USPS plans to open more large regional mail-processing hubs and consolidating other facilities. The bill would scrap USPS plans to save billions by making fewer trips between processing plants and post offices in more rural areas. Congressman Mark Pocan (D-Wisc.), a senior member of the House Appropriations Committee, is leading the bill, along with 26 of his colleagues.
  (Pocan, colleagues slam Postmaster DeJoy for deterioration of service at USPS - Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Wisc.))
• Federal hiring managers have new tools to help them onboard early-career workers. HR staff should be able to more easily connect with Pathways Program graduates, using a new internal platform on USAJobs, which the Office of Personnel Management launched this week. An update to the Pathways Program earlier this year allowed participants to move from one agency to another for a full-time position, once they finish the program. The new "talent platforms" from OPM are meant to help agencies more easily pinpoint candidates who are eligible to be transferred. In the USAJobs agency talent portal, hiring managers will be able to use one platform for interns, and another for recent graduates in the Pathways Program.
  (New Pathways intern and recent graduates talent programs - Office of Personnel Management)

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