It was a shorter work week due to the Juneteenth holiday, but that didn’t stop the government tech media from continuing its focus on pressing issues like cybersecurity and acquisition reform. When there’s change, there’s usually some pushback – and we’re seeing that pushback reported in many cases in which the White House moved quickly to implement its agenda in these areas. Here is a sample of the trending stories that broke this week:
Cyber Reverberations
We reported last week on the broad coverage of the President’s executive order (EO) on cybersecurity. This week, we saw a few analysis pieces on the EO’s implications as well as reactions to the order and other administration cybersecurity policies:
- In a critical take on the Trump EO, Dan Goodin of tech trade publication Ars Technica quoted experts who said the order’s changes to federal cyber policy “will allow government contractors to skirt directives that would require them to proactively fix the types of security vulnerabilities that enabled the SolarWinds compromise.”
- Justin Doubleday of Federal News Network reported that the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) will develop new guidance as a result of the EO’s loosening of rules around secure software development.
- At the state government level, Colin Wood wrote in StateScoop that Washington state CIO Bill Kehoe said the administration’s cuts to the federal government cyber grants program will force states to more closely collaborate with local governments, in the absence of federal aid.
- Pushback on the Trump administration’s approach was evident on Capitol Hill, where senators questioned Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth about the Defense Department’s (DOD) struggle to recruit and retain cyber talent due to the administration’s hiring freeze and cuts to workforce development programs, according to coverage by Lisbeth Perez for MeriTalk.
- Cybersecurity shortfalls were reported this week on the federal civilian side as well. Madison Alder wrote in FedScoop about a new report from the Commerce Department Inspector General noting that the Bureau of Industry and Security couldn’t thwart simulated cyber attacks — including ones that set up malicious software within its networks and exfiltrated thousands of fictitious personal information such as Social Security numbers. In her take on the report, MeriTalk’s Grace Dille added that the bureau was unable to respond effectively even after being notified that its systems had been compromised.
- Despite the criticism, the DOD, NIST and Congress are marching forward with new guidance. Doubleday reported in Federal News Network from this week’s “Defend The Airport” conference that the DOD is advancing a new training program to address the dearth of cybersecurity talent for securing operational technology like industrial control systems. In MeriTalk, John Curran reported that NIST published the final zero trust implementation guide, which includes details on 19 sample zero trust architecture implementations. Miles Jamison wrote in ExecutiveGov about the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s (DARPA) launch of the Resilient Software Systems Capstone program to address software vulnerabilities due to aging IT infrastructure and outdated policies. Finally, a bipartisan bill to accelerate the deployment of quantum-resistant encryption was approved for consideration by the full House this week, according to MeriTalk’s Perez.
Acquisition Reform Continues
The Trump administration continues to promote its agenda to streamline the acquisition process. Much of the action continues to take place within the General Services Administration (GSA), but there are changes happening in other agencies as well:
- Also from Perez, we saw coverage of a Senate hearing in which Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll told lawmakers that the Army will deliver a comprehensive briefing on its sweeping acquisition transformation effort before the end of June.
- A report in FedScoop by Billy Mitchell describes the disruptive effect the GSA OneGov acquisition strategy will have on resellers, who will no longer play the same role as the government deals more directly with manufacturers.
- In other GSA news, the agency plans to expand the scope of the OASIS+ governmentwide contract vehicle for professional services, adding five more service domains on top of the existing eight, according to coverage by Ross Wilkers in Washington Technology.
- Jason Miller of Federal News Network wrote about a new policy at the Department of Homeland Security requiring that all acquisitions worth more than $100,000 be approved by Secretary Krisit Noem’s office – a move one source described as “absolutely nuts.”
- Reporting from a recent AFCEA luncheon event, Kristen Smith of ExecutiveGov shared comments from Col. Richard Kniseley, the senior materiel leader of the Commercial Space Office in the Space Systems Command, asserting that the agency’s new procurement strategy reduced the acquisition time for technology supporting tactical surveillance and reconnaissance to less than 72 hours.
That’s a wrap for this week. I’ll be back next week with a roundup of more trending news from government tech media outlets. Don’t forget to subscribe to this newsletter on LinkedIn or via the form below, if you haven’t already.
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