The Fed Mission Success Round Up: Government Shut Down, Data at Rest Encryption, TMF Awards and More in Federal Agencies
Monday October 4, 2021
Welcome to the Fed Mission Success News Round Up brought to you by Makpar. Each week, we will provide a summary of actionable news and insights to help aid in overall mission success for Federal agency IT decision-makers and influencers.
Biden Signs Shutdown-Averting Stopgap Spending Bill
President Biden on Thursday evening signed a stopgap funding measure to avoid a shutdown that would have otherwise begun Friday. The Senate had passed the measure, which will keep agencies open through Dec. 3, early in the afternoon, followed by the House. Biden’s signature prevents agencies from having to send hundreds of thousands of employees home on furlough.
House Passes Bill to Establish Job Codes for Software and Data Work
The House voted 416 to 9 to pass legislation that would give the Office of Personnel Management 270 days to create one or more occupational series for Federal positions in the fields of software development, software engineering, data science and data management.
After 3 Years, Key IRS Systems Still Aren’t Properly Encrypted
The Federal tax collection agency has spent years researching the best way to encrypt data stored on its networks but has yet to deploy a working solution, according to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration.
Technology Modernization Fund Support Awarded to 7 New Agency IT Projects
The Technology Modernization Fund Board on Thursday announced seven new projects in its first round of awards for agency IT modernization since the fund received a $1 billion infusion as part of the American Rescue Plan.
Bill to Create Cybersecurity Workforce Rotational Program Passes House
If it becomes law, the Federal Rotational Cyber Workforce Program Act would allow senior tech industry workers to enter government for a set period of time and grant government workers the ability to rotate among federal agencies. Supporters of the proposed legislation have argued that it would open the door for more cyber expertise to enter government.
Standardizing the Playbook for Responding to Cyber Vulnerabilities, Incidents
It is hard to quantify how much the Federal government has been hobbled in its responses to cyber incidents by not having uniform procedures to identify, remediate and recover from vulnerabilities and attacks. But there is no doubt that the lack of a single set of standards makes it difficult for the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency to track agencies’ responses, their effectiveness and their compliance with National Institute of Standards and Technology standards such as multi-factor authentication.
NARA to Strengthen Network Resiliency Following Hurricane Ida Outage
The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is working to strengthen its network resiliency following a two-week outage of its electronic records archives (ERA) caused by flooding from Hurricane Ida.
HHS Unit Wants Insurance Fraud-Detection Platform Largely Unsupervised
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) want to evolve their health insurance fraud-detection platform into a real-time, machine learning (ML) platform that’s largely unsupervised, according to the director of marketplace IT.
Why Government Agencies Fail at DevSecOps—and How They Can Succeed
DevSecOps isn't a technology in and of itself. It's a process that offers both speed and resiliency in software creation. For government entities, this will be an invaluable tool. Already, we're seeing agencies like the Veterans Affairs and Defense departments adopting these strategies to expedite software development while enhancing cybersecurity. However, when reviewing issues with DevSecOps implementation in the private sector, three common failure points—budget, time and people—could be equally challenging when adopting this process for government use.
From the Makpar Blog …
In case you missed it, here are our latest blog posts:
Internal Revenue Services Enhances Compute Power to Bolster Fraud Detection Efforts
The 5 “Whys” for Stronger Cyber Security Governance at Federal Agencies
Makpar’s Pragmatic Agile Approach to Developing Its Fraud Detection Analytics Dashboard
OPINION: Mentor-Protégé Programs Bring Further Value to Government
PODCAST: A Deeper Look at Makpar’s Fraud Detection Analytics Dashboard
How Data Virtualization Saves Agencies Significant Resources
Beyond Passwords: Identity Access Management in the Digital Age
Celebrating Asian Pacific American Heritage Month with Asian Immigrant Contributions to Tech
Tips for Remote Agile Scrum Ceremonies: How to Optimize for Success
Increasing Federal IT Efficiency: How to Streamline the ATO Process Leveraging DevSecOps
How Agencies Can Score Quick Technology Modernization Fund (TMF) Victories
PODCAST: How the Federal Government can Overcome Barriers to Agile Transformation
CIO-SP4 BPA, BIC MAC, and POLARIS Contracts to Drive Further Government Innovation
Makpar Applauds Appointment of First Native American U.S. Cabinet Member
Data Security Win: Virginia is Second State in U.S. to Pass Data Protection Legislation
How Decentralized Decision Making Can Help Federal Agencies Adopt a More Agile Practice
4 Ways to Migrate a Workload to the Cloud for Federal Government Agencies
PODCAST: The SolarWinds Breach Points to Need for Cyber Fundamentals
In Response to The SolarWinds Breach: The Need to Return to Cybersecurity Fundamentals.
Is the Product Owner the Most Important Role in Government Agile Development?
Breaking Down Cultural Barriers to Cloud Adoption for Federal Government Agencies
Cybersecurity Best Practices for Federal Agencies, Small/Medium Businesses, and Individuals
Makpar has over a decade of experience providing high-level strategic and project management services, focused on cybersecurity and cutting-edge technologies. Please contact us here for more information about how we can enhance mission success for your agency.