The Fed Mission Success Round Up: Security, Identity, the Cloud, and More in Federal Agencies

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.

Agencies Get New Guidance for Securing Mobile Devices on International Travel

An interagency panel is out with new guidance for securing government mobile devices when employees travel overseas, as agencies confront a growing list of mobile-specific cybersecurity challenges.

CISA Seeking Answers for Implementation of Endpoint Detection and Response Tools

A request for information from the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency provides insight into what Federal buyers will be looking for in technology central to the Biden administration’s visibility-focused cybersecurity plan, but looks to industry for input on crucial elements.

Army Looks to Increase Oversight, Centralization of IT Spending

The Army has established two new councils to oversee IT spending with the goal of helping the service centralize its purchasing of services and visibility of digital modernization.

GSA Wants a Real Person Associated With Every SAM Registration Before Fiscal Year’s End

The General Services Administration is cracking down on fake and anonymous account managers in SAM.gov.

Bill Would Block Contractors from Selling Data Harvested with AI Tools to Third Parties

A coalition of bipartisan senators introduced new legislation that would regulate data harvested by Federal contractors with artificial intelligence, with a focus on facial recognition data.

Army Will Halve Number of Remaining Data Centers, Says Raj Iyer

The Army plans to pare its 12 enduring data centers down to six by 2028 and close hundreds of other smaller data processing nodes, according to Army CIO Raj Iyer.

Multibillion-Dollar DHS Cloud Contract Protested

The Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) largest-ever cloud contract is under protest. On Oct. 12, General Dynamics Information Technology filed a protest through the Government Accountability Office, alleging DHS conducted an improper evaluation. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) is expected to issue a decision by Jan. 20.

How Cloud Partnerships are Forging Greater Support to Help the Homeless

People experiencing housing instability interact with a variety of different agencies and organizations. But because the information and case management systems used by these organizations don’t talk to each other, that makes it challenging both for those seeking help as well as case workers trying to coordinate care.

Why the Navy Is Pivoting to Implement Enterprisewide IT Services

The Navy’s formal enterprise aims are ultimately meant to help enable the department to seamlessly operate across multiple networks, security domains, systems or organizational units and move away from implementing duplicate capabilities.

From the Makpar Blog …

In case you missed it, here are our latest blog posts:

• Data, Cybersecurity and Digital Services Next Phase for IRS IT Modernization

• Makpar Cybersecurity Forum Video Podcast: The 5 “Whys” for Stronger Cyber Security Governance at Federal Agencies

• FDA Enhancing IT Modernization Efforts with New Office of Digital Transformation

• How Federal Agencies Can Meet New Zero Trust Mandates

• Internal Revenue Services Enhances Compute Power to Bolster Fraud Detection Efforts

• A Practical Cloud Migration Guide for Government: How to Eat the "Migration Elephant" One Bite at a Time

• 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

• Agile Transformation

• Increasing Federal IT Efficiency: How to Streamline the ATO Process Leveraging DevSecOps

• Tackling the Challenges of Big Data for Federal Agencies

• 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

• The Cybersecurity Framework That Keeps You and Your Family Safe as You Access Your IRS Records for Stimulus Checks

• 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?

• Cloud Migration Primer for Federal Agencies

• Breaking Down Cultural Barriers to Cloud Adoption for Federal Government Agencies

• Cybersecurity Best Practices for Federal Agencies, Small/Medium Businesses, and Individuals