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Collaboration between the Homeland Security Department\'s Science and Technology Directorate and its industrial base is still a work in progress. S&T Undersecretary Reginald Brothers outlines six main priorities for his directorate in September. But some industry groups say S&T needs to create more incentives so vendors get involved. Marc Pearl is the president and CEO of the Homeland Security and Defense Business Council. He testified recently before the House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Cybersecurity, Infrastructure Protection, and Security Technologies. He tells In Depth with Francis Rose about some of the goals within S&T, and the challenges that remain.
New bill to strengthen information sharing is a top legislative priority for House Homeland Security Committee.
A House subcommittee hosted a hearing Thursday to discuss emerging threats and technologies, but the topic that dominated conversation was whether the Homeland Security Department would be funded after Feb. 27.
Larry Zelvin, the director of the National Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Center in DHS's National Protection and Programs Directorate, is expected to tell the House Homeland Security Committee Wednesday that the implementation of the advanced intrusion detection and prevention program known as Einstein is hampered by the lack of clarity of the exact role DHS is allowed to play under the current set of cybersecurity laws.
In his first appearance before House overseers, Jeh Johnson, the DHS secretary, said employee morale is among his top priorities, but didn't say how he would address it. Johnson said he's working to fill top leadership positions on a permanent basis. DHS has a vacancy rate at top positions of 38 percent.
Rep. Jeff Duncan releases a discussion draft of a bill to add more discipline and oversight to the Homeland Security Department's acquisition process.
Agency officials said Thursday that they will switch from a custom-built to a commercial-off-the-shelf approach to modernize TECS, a mainframe system that has been operating for more than a quarter of a century. ICE spent more than $60 million before deciding to change directions after realizing the custom-built approach wouldn't work.
Unsuccessful bidders of one unrestricted portion of the EAGLE II contract are taking their arguments to GAO to try to get a spot on the multiple-award contract. Documents show DHS made no awards to any company whose total bid was more than $500 million.
Despite progress in confirming a new secretary and deputy secretary, DHS still features a large number of officials in acting roles. Former Secretary Tom Ridge told lawmakers the department cannot build nor sustain a mission-focused culture with so many non-permanent positions. NTEU says pay freezes, budget cuts and the government shutdown are more to blame for low morale across DHS and the entire government.
For the first time in its history, the Homeland Security Department turned in a clean financial audit. A new DHS inspector general report, however, says the department has "significant deficiencies" in its internal control over financial reporting.
The troubled HealthCare.gov website has been the subject of at least one attempted but unsuccessful cyber attack, according to one of the of the Homeland Security Department's top cyber officials. Lawmakers at a House Homeland Security Committee hearing said the consolidation of personal information and the glitch-prone website are cause for concern.
Rep. Mike McCaul (R-Texas), chairman of the Homeland Security Committee, and Rep. Jeff Duncan (R-S.C.), chairman of the subcommittee on Oversight and Management Efficiency, wrote a letter to DHS Chief Procurement Officer Nick Nayak earlier this week questioning the agency's entire solicitation process.
A new report from the Government Accountability Office fueled a House subcommittee hearing that revealed security concerns regarding the training and certification of contract guards employed by the Federal Protective Service.
News and buzz in the acquisition and IT communities that you may have missed this week.