DHS

Federal CIOs: How To Gear Up For FedRAMP

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Federal CIOs say agencies and government contractors must become completely familiar with FedRAMP security controls and how they relate to each agency prior to the cloud computing service program’s launch this summer.

Richard Spires, CIO of the Department of Homeland Security, was one of several CIOs who spoke about FedRAMP at a trade group breakfast Friday. He told the packed breakfast meeting that contractors and agencies alike have to remember that FedRAMP is “not just an optional thing we can elect to do,” it’s mandatory. Keep reading →

 /  Published April 13, 2012 at 1:30 PM

DHS Pushes For Mobility Solutions; Budgets Threaten Future Innovation

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More than a dozen CIOs and senior IT managers from the Department of Homeland Security on Tuesday told a gathering of industry executives that mobile computing and communications technologies are among the agency’s top strategic IT imperatives.

Speaking at the DHS Information Technology Industry Day, members of the DHS CIO Council and other senior IT program managers underscored the urgent need to modernize outdated systems for new mobile applications while maintaining the agency’s need for security and reliability. Keep reading →

 /  Published February 29, 2012 at 7:49 AM

DHS Building Common View For Multiple Common Operating Pictures

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Common Operating Picture (COP) systems are critical for supporting the situational awareness needs of the homeland security mission.

Through our portfolio review process at the Department of Homeland Security, we identified more than 20 different COP investments, most of which were largely uncoordinated, stand-alone investments. Keep reading →

 /  Published February 23, 2012 at 10:02 AM

Cybersecurity Act Of 2012 Challenged on Capitol Hill; McCain To Draft Alternative

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Sen. John McCain (R-Az.) on Thursday ripped into the authors and supporters of the Cybersecurity Act of 2012 for what he called “legislative bullying,” suggesting that democrats are attempting to push a flawed bill through the Senate without input from those that oppose the bill.

During a hearing of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, McCain sent an unexpected shot across the bow of committee chairman Sen. Joseph Lieberman (I-CT), stating that a lack of transparency in the legislative process that led to the drafting of the bill has now forced him and at least seven other Republicans to begin work on “an alternative” cybersecurity bill that they plan to introduce before the end of the month. Keep reading →

 /  Published February 16, 2012 at 5:54 PM

Technology To Boost Illegal Immigrant Investigations

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Proposed increases in federal technology spending aren’t just for back office operations; they’re also expected to help the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency track down illegal immigrants, weed out illegal job applicants and intercept would be terrorists.

Those are just some of the places where hikes in information technology spending in President Barack Obama’s fiscal 2013 budget would be directed, if approved by Congress. Keep reading →

 /  Published February 16, 2012 at 9:19 AM

DHS Secretary Unveils New National Strategy For Supply Chain Security

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Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano unveiled the Obama administration’s latest “National Strategy for Global Supply Chain Security” today at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
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This story was updated Jan. 26 to reflect additional expert comments. For more news and insights on innovations at work in government, please sign up for the AOL Gov newsletter. For the quickest updates, follow us on Twitter @AOLgov.
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“We must continue to strengthen global supply chains to ensure that they operate effectively in time of crisis; recover quickly from disruptions; and facilitate international trade and travel,” said Secretary Napolitano in a statement released today by DHS. Keep reading →

 /  Published January 25, 2012 at 3:02 PM

Homeland Security Makes It Easier To Identify Department’s Top Leaders

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Looking for a way to keep up with who’s who among the senior management at the Department of Homeland Security?

An updated feature on DHS’s websites not only lists nearly 40 of DHS’s top department and component excutives–with links to each of their profiles–but also provides an email sign up provision to be notified when changes are made to the list. Keep reading →

 /  Published December 28, 2011 at 2:01 PM

GSA To Accept First FedRAMP Third Party Assessment Applications

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The General Services Administration will begin accepting applications Jan. 9, 2012, for the first group of companies to be chosen as Third Party Assessment Organizations (3PAO) for the newly launched FedRAMP initiative, also known as the Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program program.

Officials for GSA and the National Institute of Standards and Technology made the joint announcement during the “Industry Forum on FedRAMP and Third Party Assessment Organizations”, held December 16 at GSA headquarters in Washington, DC. The half-day session presented the most up-to-date guidance for industry representatives on the FedRAMP Third Party Assessment Organization (3PAO) application process. Keep reading →

 /  Published December 16, 2011 at 5:08 PM

Why FedRAMP Is Worth Caring About

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If you have been at a recent Washington Capitals hockey game when the opponent scores a goal, you know the crowd routinely shouts out “Who cares!”

Last week, Steven VanRoekel, Federal CIO, released the long awaited OMB plan for the Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program, or FedRAMP; which reminds me to be thankful for pronounceable acronyms. The purpose of FedRAMP per the implementing OMB memorandum, is to “provide a cost-effective, risk-based approach for the adoption and use of cloud services”. Keep reading →

 /  Published December 12, 2011 at 10:51 AM

OMB Issues FedRAMP Directive; Key Step Toward Common Cloud Security Framework

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Calling it a “monumental first step in addressing security in cloud computing,” Federal CIO Steven VanRoekel announced the official launch of the long-awaited Federal Risk Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP) today.

FedRAMP provides a standardized “do once, use often approach” framework for cloud security; one VanRoekel said will save money and reduce staff time needed to conduct security assessments, thus allowing the government to better purchase and leverage cloud technologies. Keep reading →

 /  Published December 8, 2011 at 3:27 PM
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