Former CIA chief information officer Al Tarasiuk is President Barack Obama’s top choice for CIO of the Intelligence Community. Tarasiuk served as the CIO of CIA from 2005 to 2010. Before that, he was director of the CIA’s Information Service Center. “Al is well known for his leadership in information sharing and intelligence integration, and his experience, distinguished career and dedication to duty will greatly benefit the entire Intelligence Community,” National Intelligence Director James Clapper said in a news release.
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If you plan on landing a cybersecurity job with the federal government, above all, you’d better be honest, a good learner and resilient. Oh yeah, make sure you can read and write. That’s according to most government cybersecurity workers and managers who participated in the Office of Personnel Management’s cybersecurity survey last fall. OPM reached out to 50,000 feds for their thoughts about the most critical tasks and competencies required to be an effective cyber worker. Their responses were used to create a so-called cybersecurity competency model for information technology management, electronics engineering, computer engineering and telecommunications job series. Participants ranked technical and general competencies in order of…
Critical access and rural hospitals will receive a $12 million boost in technical support funding to become meaningful users of certified health information technology, the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology announced Tuesday. The funding will flow through ONC’s regional extension centers, which provide doctors with training and support services and guidance for adopting electronic health records. In September, regional extension centers received $20 million for the same purpose. Similar to other ONC programs, aid for the hospitals is provided through the Health Information Technology Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act in the 2009 stimulus package. The added…
Fairfax-based General Dynamics Information Technology was awarded an $83.6 million contract to provide network support services for U.S. Special Operations Command. Under the five-year contract, the company will manage global enterprise information technology data, voice, and video communications networks for USSOCOM. Most of the work will be performed at MacDill Air Force Base in Florida.
Dan Gordon, administrator for the Office of Federal Procurement Policy, said Friday he would consider disclosing more information about government and contractor interactions, but reiterated that the administration’s so-called “myth busting” campaign will not alter regulations or statutes. “We don’t believe we need statutory change or regulatory change, Gordon said in an interview with reporters. “What we really need is cultural change” in the federal contracting community. It could be months before a cultural shift occurs, but Gordon expects increased awareness about proper communication with industry will result in fewer bid protests and more success stories, especially for high-risk and large…
The administration’s top procurement policy official issued a memo Wednesday encouraging more constructive talks between government and industry, as part of a larger initiative to debunk myths about the acquisition process. In a 13-page memo to senior procurement executives and chief information and acquisition officers, Gordon stressed the importance of “early, frequent and constructive engagement with industry,” especially for high-risk procurements and large information technology projects. The government spends more than $500 billion on goods and services, and “our industry partners are often the best source” for the latest information on pricing and efficient technology, the memo said. Under the…
The Department of Homeland Security has extended the Jan. 11 deadline for accepting bids on its next-generation, $22 billion contract for information technology services. Bids are due Feb. 16 for the unrestricted source category and by Feb. 23 for the small-business category. The five-year Enterprise Acquisition Gateway for Leading Edge Solutions II (EAGLE II) contract has three categories: development and delivery of services; technical support for those services; and independent evaluation on the cost-effectiveness of those services.
A recently launched six-month pilot at the Veterans Affairs Department is intended to reduce the time it takes to collect veterans’ health records from private physicians. VA awarded Virginia-based DOMA Technologies, LLC a six-month, $384,000 contract to aid in collecting records needed to process veterans’ claims for disability benefits. “We are committed to harnessing the best technology and the brightest minds in the government and private sector to ensure veterans receive the benefits they have earned,” VA Secretary Eric Shinseki, said in a news release. Wayne Zinn, DOMA’s chief operating officer, said the pilot is off to a strong start. More…
On Nov. 19, the Obama administration proclaimed a new path for government information technology procurement. But an overview of one agency’s travails suggests that a steep climb lies ahead. The agency is the Housing and Urban Development Department; the newly released Government Accountability Office review finds that HUD officials had a hard time just coming up with a congressionally mandated plan to lay out its IT buying strategy. That document is required by a spending bill approved last December. Under its terms, HUD can’t obligate more than 25 percent of available money for IT modernization until the House and Senate…
One unknown at the Pentagon has finally been answered. Teri Takai, President Barack Obama’s nominee to be the Defense Department’s chief information officer, will finally assume her new role on Nov. 7, Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced Tuesday. “The new CIO position will be central to these efforts as the DoD continues to transform its IT capabilities to meet the enormous mission critical needs of the U.S. military,” according to a DoD news release There was some uncertainty about Takai filling the position after her nomination hearing, set for Aug. 3, was canceled. Under Defense Secretary Robert Gates’ cost-saving plan, it’s unclear whether the…