Federal Drive with Tom Temin

Typically, the process to update the cybersecurity controls that form the basis of federal information security standards takes at least a month, if not longer. But the National Institute of Standards and Technology today is proposing a more urgent “patch release” to Special Publication 800-53, “Security and Privacy Controls for Information Systems and Organizations.” It was last updated through a major revision finalized in December 2020. Today’s proposed update features an expedited two-week comment period. It proposes one new control and two corresponding “control enhancements” to address a major gap in identity and access control processes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Two tough new rules from the Federal Acquisition Regulation Council are coming, but originating with the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. They have to do with contractor incident reporting and for how contractors button up unclassified systems. For analysis Federal Drive Host Tom Temin turned to Haynes Boone procurement attorney Zach Prince. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

An urgent report from the Government Accountability Office is aimed at the State Department. GAO called for State to, in its words, "expeditiously get on with a cybersecurity risk management program." State has a plan, now it has to carry it out. For more on this, Federal Drive Host Tom Temin spoke with Jennifer Franks, GAO's Director of Information Technology and Cybersecurity. GAO REPORT Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Women veterans, who were wounded or injured, are more likely, compared to men, to have post traumatic stress disorder and to die by suicide. That is according to the Wounded Warrior Project, which surveyed 18,000 male and female veterans. For more on the survey, Federal Drive Host Tom Temin spoke with Tracy Farrell, VP of the Project. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today's episode of the Federal Drive with Tom Temin: A tough picture emerges for women veterans. Here's something else the State Department has to do expeditiously. Practical advice for contractors dealing with new cybersecurity rules. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Navy’s Program Executive Office Digital (PEO-Digital) turned to the Small Business Innovation Research program for the first time to find, test and hopefully use innovative technologies to continually improve its processes. PEO-Digital has phase one and two SBIRs to leverage technologies and make improvements with the goal of making work better for sailors and employees. “That’s one place where we’re just getting more creative,” Justin Fanelli, the acting chief technology officer for the Department of the Navy and the technical director of PEO-Digital, told Federal News Network after an AFCEA NOVA panel. “We’re looking at more mechanisms. We have something that’s called Advanced Naval Technology Exercise so that we can do commercial solution offerings. We have both phase one and phase two [opportunities] going out.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Conference work on the National Defense Authorization Act for 2024 proceeds, even as nothing else in Congress seems to be working. As always, the NDAA has provisions affecting Defense contractors. Federal Drive Host Tom Temin spoke with someone who says that sometimes, good intentions aren't matched by good legislation. Tom's guest was the President and CEO of the Professional Services Council, David Berteau. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Insider cybersecurity threats are just as potent as Russian and Chinese hackers. Some employees make mistakes, clicking on that bad phishing link. Unhappy or disgruntled employees, that's another matter. Federal Drive Host Tom Temin talk with someone who says such people are far more susceptible than average to social-engineering attacks. Tom's guest was Max Shier, Chief Information Security Officer at Optiv. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this episode of the Federal Drive with Tom Temin: The government's best and most accomplished get honored this evening. Why disaffected employees are your greatest cybersecurity risk. If it does get passed, the Defense authorization bill has quite a few surprises. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before. The executive saw her office’s dismal employee viewpoint scores and said, “We have to change our culture. Our workforce is too important.” Too often what comes next is a short-lived, ineffective effort because either the executive leaves, gets distracted, loses interest or the workforce doesn’t buy-in and the entire initiative to change the culture falls like a house of cards. But what if this wasn’t the “change the culture” version of the movie Groundhog Day? What if Bill Murray, or in this case the Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Chief Financial Officer, actually didn’t rinse and repeat the day over and over again with the same dismal results? Luckily for HHS, Sheila Conley, the deputy CFO at HHS, looks nothing like Bill Murray, and broke the Groundhog Day cycle of failures. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Service to America Medals program known as the Sammies, administered by the Partnership for Public Service, each year recognizes the most accomplished career civil servants. Here on the Federal Drive we've been featuring interviews with Sammies finalists each week since the spring. Tonight the Partnership will announce the winners at the Kennedy Center. To talk about all of that, Federal Drive Host Tom Temin talked with Max Stier, the President and CEO of the Partnership. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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As the world turns, most of it is probably scratching its collective head at the United States Congress. As the latest crisis, Israel's war against terrorists, enters its second week, President Biden pledged support. So what can we expect this week on the Hill? For more on the matter, Federal Drive Host Tom Temin talks with Zach Cohen, Bloomberg Government congressional reporter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The 8(a) program. It is a piece of federal jargon that has come to symbolize how the government helps small businesses get their fair share of contracting dollars. Now the underlying assumptions of the 8(a) program are under challenge in court. Could this be the end? For analysis, Federal Drive Host Tom Temin turned to Managing Partner of Centre Law and Consulting, Barbara Kinosky. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The National Armaments Consortium is a coalition of industry groups, whose members work on the next generation of ordnance and the energetics that power them. At last week's Association of the U.S. Army conference, Federal Drive Host Tom Temin got an update on a weapons summit coming up soon in Huntsville that will combine three parts of the consortium: Naval Energetics Systems and Technologies(NEST), the Aviation and Missile Technology Consortium, and the Defense Ordnance Technology Consortium. All three are eligible for the Defense Department's use of other transaction authorities. For more on this matter, Temin spoke with the Vice President for Customer Engagement at the Consortium, Army Brig. Gen. Al Abramson (ret.). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices