Government Matters

Takeaways from the Cyber Storm exercise

Lisa Beury-Russo, Acting Deputy Associate Director for Exercises at CISA, goes over the results of the Cyber Storm exercise conducted by CISA to simulate a cyber attack

USAID gets an “A” on the FITARA scorecard

Jay Mahanand, Chief Information Officer at the United States Agency for International Development, discusses how his team was able to achieve an “A” rating on the Federal IT Acquisition Reform Act scorecard

Cloud migration at Customs and Border Protection

Sanjeev “Sonny” Bhagowalia, Acting Asst. Commissioner and Chief Information Officer at U.S. Customs and Border Protection, discusses cloud transition in the government and CBP specifically

Top challenges in cybersecurity

Bob Bigman, Founder of 2BSecure, discusses the primary cyber challenges extended telework could cause and things that need to be done to secure the remote work environment

Best practices from the private sector for emerging technology

Mallory Barg Bulman, Research Director of Finance Process Excellence at Gartner, discusses how to implement emerging technology strategically

Changes to life expectancy-based withdrawals

Greg Klingler, Director of GEBA Wealth Management, explains the changes in restrictions on life-expectancy based withdrawals in the Thrift Savings Plan

Utilizing CARES Act funds for small businesses

Gen. Herbert “Hawk” Carlisle (USAF, Ret.), President of the National Defense Industrial Association, explains the effort to prevent $17 billion for defense contractors in the CARES Act from expiring

Implementing the Chinese telecommunications ban

Frank Kendall, Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress, comments on how the law banning Chinese telecommunications products and services needs to be more clear and specific

New research on the use of armed forces without resorting to war

Barry Blechman, Co-Founder and Distinguished Fellow at the Stimson Center, discusses new research about the effects of the location of troops and changes in deployments

Combining Multiple Award Schedules and Governmentwide Acquisition Contracts

Jacob Bertram, Principal Consultant at the Lohfeld Consulting Group, Inc., explains the potential benefits of consolidating Multiple Award Schedules and Governmentwide Acquisition Contracts into one contract vehicle

New pilot program for software acquisitions

Nick Sinai, Senior Advisor at Insight Partners, discusses a pilot program to test a new way to do software acquisitions in the military

Preparing for future presidential transitions

Tina Sung, Vice President of Federal Executive Networks at the Partnership for Public Service, explains what people who are interested in applying for jobs in the next administration should do to get ready

Potential vulnerabilities of Virtual Private Networks

Brig. Gen. Gregory Touhill, President of AppGate Federal Group, explains why VPN technology may not be the most secure option for remote connectivity

Updates on the ban on Chinese telecommunications products

Gordon Bitko, Senior Vice President of Policy at ITI, provides guidance for contractors to comply with the ban on Chinese telecommunications components in the supply chain

Codifying FedRAMP in the National Defense Authorization Act

Tony Scott, CEO of The TonyScottGroup, LLC, discusses the significance of the fact that the House’s version of the NDAA would codify the FedRAMP Authorization Act into law

Top IT priorities at the Department of Homeland Security

Karen Evans, Chief Information Officer at the Department of Homeland Security, discusses her work as the new CIO at DHS, initiatives that have come to the forefront during the pandemic, and plans for building the cybersecurity workforce

Restructuring efforts at the Department of Agriculture

Gary Washington, Chief Information Officer at USDA, discusses what “strategic restructuring” will accomplish at USDA and how it will modernize employee skillsets

Space Force releases new capstone document

COL Casey Beard (USSF), Commander of Space Delta 9 in the U.S. Space Force, explains the new Space Force capstone document and the process he and his colleagues undertook to develop it

Progress on the Chief Financial Officers Act

Christie Johnson, Principal at Deloitte, and Dave Mader, Civilian Sector Chief Strategy Officer at Deloitte, detail the Government Accountability Office’s recommendations for modernizing the Chief Financial Officers Act

Utilizing predictive human-centered design in government

Frontis Wiggins, Partner at I3Core, discusses what COVID-19 has revealed about human-centered design and how federal systems can be modernized effectively

New capstone for the Space Force

Todd Harrison, Director of the Aerospace Security Project at the Center for Strategic & International Studies, discusses the new Space Force document outlining its approach to military conflict in space

Recruiting quality candidates for DoD leadership

Robert Work, Former Deputy Secretary of Defense, discusses the process of finding people for high-profile positions in the Defense Department and the necessity of maintaining a deep bench of qualified candidates

Updates on the Defense Production Act and COVID-19

Bill Greenwalt, Visiting Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, explains why the government could face problems working to procure items through the DPA as quickly as it is

Nuclear testing in the National Defense Authorization Act

Eric Gomez, Director of Defense Policy Studies at the Cato Institute, discusses the disagreement between the House and Senate on authorizing nuclear testing in the NDAA for 2021

New Insider’s Guide to the Office of Management and Budget

Dan Chenok, Executive Director of the IBM Center for the Business of Government, describes the importance of OMB in administering the work of the government and facilitating the transitions of presidential administrations

New paid leave benefits for federal employees

Mika Cross, Federal Workplace Expert, details the new paid leave benefits available to government employees and explains who is eligible and when it goes into effect

Assessing the threat of emerging technologies

Chris Cummiskey, CEO of Cummiskey Strategic Solutions, discusses threats from emerging technologies identified by the Homeland Security Advisory Council as areas that need further investigation, including artificial intelligence, unmanned aerial systems and biogenetics

Reforming the FITARA scorecard

David Powner, Director of Strategic Engagement & Partnerships at MITRE, discusses the results of the latest Federal IT Acquisition Reform Act scorecard and recommendations for improving future iterations

Updates on the National Cyber Director role

Suzanne Spaulding, Senior Adviser for Homeland Security at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, explains the authorities that a National Cyber Director role would have and the steps necessary to create this position

Recommendations for the Technology Modernization Fund

Matthew Cornelius, Executive Director of the Alliance for Digital Innovation, discusses technology problems that agencies are facing, including technical debt and antiquated operating models, and ways to address these problems