This week, we looked outside of the Beltway to San Francisco, where the RSA Conference (RSAC) event took place. Federal government cybersecurity initiatives were the focus at a number of sessions and panel discussions at the event, and the tech media was there to report on those. We also saw more action related to acquisition reform by the Trump administration.
Here are some highlights of the news that was trending this week:
Feds Take the Stage at RSAC
Issues such as new travel restrictions may have diminished the presence of government attendees at RSAC this year, but there was still a steady stream of government-related news reported from the event, including several pieces on appearance by current and former leaders the Department of Homeland Security (DHS):
- Top Trump administration cybersecurity leaders attended the conference this year, but those from the National Security Agency and U.S. Cyber Command were absent after the unexpected firing of Gen. Timothy Haugh this month, Sam Sabin wrote in the Axios Future of Cybersecurity newsletter.
- David DiMolfetta reported from the conference for Nextgov/FCW on comments by Alexei Bulazel, the National Security Council’s top cyber official, predicting that hacking back and a more offensive approach to cybersecurity could be the new normal for the government.
- Several media outlets covered a speech at RSAC by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. In MeriTalk, Grace Dille quoted Noem’s speech and her defense of cuts made to the department’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA): “Instead of just talking about cybersecurity, we’re going to do it.” Writing for industry publication CyberScoop, Greg Otto noted that Noem said CISA was too focused on being the “Ministry of Truth” under the Biden administration. DiMolfetta covered the speech as well, reporting that Noem told the audience that DHS will demand products with baseline security baked into them, a nod to CISA’s Secure by Design efforts that recently suffered a defection of key leaders.
- Otto also reported on a panel discussion at RSAC during which congressional staffers and other policy experts “expressed deep concern” about the changes at CISA.
- Former heads of CISA also attended the conference and took the opportunity to hit back at the administration’s current direction. Former CISA Director Jen Easterly appeared in a panel discussion in which she “slammed” Trump for firing Haugh and an executive order targeting another former CISA leader, Chris Krebs, according to an article by Alexander Culafi in the cybersecurity trade publication Dark Reading.
- Krebs also participated in a panel discussion at the conference, stating that the cybersecurity community should be outraged at changes the Trump administration is making to federal cybersecurity staffing, DiMolfetta reported. In a related article from the conference, Otto wrote in CyberScoop about a public letter signed by more than 30 prominent cybersecurity professionals and academics condemning political retaliation against Krebs and his employer, SentinelOne.
The Acquisition Reform Push Continues
We noted last week that there was lots of coverage in government tech media related to acquisition reform. Those activities only intensified this week, both on the federal civilian side of government and with the Department of Defense, particularly the Army:
- The big news on the federal civilian acquisition front was the announcement by the General Services Administration (GSA) of its new OneGov Strategy, a multi-phase acquisition reform plan. According to a report by Alexandra Kelley in Nextgov/FCW, the first iteration of the strategy will give agencies access to IT tools with standardized terms and pricing. Caroline Nihill noted in FedScoop that the strategy calls for more direct engagement with Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs), who “will benefit from a more direct and predictable engagement model.”
- Washington Technology editor Nick Wakeman reported on skepticism on the part of resellers to the OEM approach, writing: “Many of the reactions we are getting from industry range from the extreme of ‘this will be the end of resellers,’ which we highly doubt, to ‘Do OEMs even want to sell directly to the government?’ That question is a good point.” Wakeman’s colleague Ross Wilkers published an analysis of the new strategy that called out its focus on consumer technology.
- On the Fed Gov Today TV show, Francis Rose interviewed former GSA acquisition official Crystal Philcox, who said the new strategy will force GSA to scale up its contract management capabilities and develop infrastructure to absorb the surge in procurement volume.
- On the Defense side, Army acquisition reform took the spotlight. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth this week directed Army leaders to overhaul contracting processes, including “adopting performance-based contracts to reduce waste and expanding multi-year procurement agreements when cost-effective,” according to an update from MeriTalk’s Lisbeth Perez.
- In Breaking Defense, Ashley Roque and Aaron Mehta reported that the changes to Army acquisition were part of a comprehensive “transformation” that includes “divesting outdated, redundant and inefficient programs, as well as restructuring headquarters and acquisition systems.”
- The directive also includes orders for fielding new technology, unloading old equipment and for merging the service’s futures and doctrine organizations, according to an overview by Meghann Myers in Defense One.
- Anastasia Obis reported in Federal News Network that Hegseth wants the Army to include “right to repair” provisions in all contracts as a way to cut costs and reduce delays caused by relying on original manufacturers for maintenance and support.
Before we sign-off for the week, I encourage you to check out the latest edition of the “Gov & Beyond” podcast, where Luca Pagni and Joyson Cherian of W2 Communications interview leading media figures in the government tech space. The new episode features Courtney Rozen of Bloomberg Law, who talks about how she covers the government workforce changes wrought by the Trump administration and its Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
Those are the top trending stories for this week. I hope you find these updates useful for tracking what’s going on in our market. As always, I encourage you to subscribe on LinkedIn or via the form below. See you next week!