GovConJudicata Weekly Debrief (11/7–11)
This week's Weekly Debrief covers cyber and critical infrastructure, IoT cyber, IT modernization, DARPA's satellite-servicing robot, and CIO-SP4 protests.
Cyber
"A Wednesday meeting of the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology heard expert opinions on better constructing a cyber-resilient digital infrastructure at the national level, with current government officials advocating for a combination of emerging technologies and risk mitigation."
"Under a 2020 law that goes into effect in December, the federal government will leverage its procurement powers to bolster minimum cybersecurity standards for Internet of Things devices. Katerina Megas, program manager of NIST's IoT cybersecurity program, said on Tuesday that agencies have until next month to meet minimum cybersecurity requirements published last year after Congress passed the IoT Cybersecurity Improvement Act of 2020. The legislation directed NIST to publish standards and guidelines for agencies on best practices for the use and management of IoT devices."
IT Modernization
"Although the Office of Personnel Management has made some progress toward modernizing information technology, it will remain a top management challenge for the agency during fiscal 2023. That’s according to the agency’s Office of Inspector General, which listed IT modernization, along with financial integrity and strategic human capital management, as the top three challenges for OPM over the coming year."
Space
"A robotic arm developed by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency has completed key tests and is on track to be integrated with a Northrop Grumman spacecraft next year and launch to geosynchronous Earth orbit in 2024, the agency said Nov. 8. “The program anticipates on-orbit satellite servicing activities will begin in 2025,” DARPA said in a news release."
CIO-SP4
"The floodgates are open: More protests are pouring in from companies that are unsatisfied over their eliminations from consideration for the $50 billion CIO-SP4 vehicle, a governmentwide acquisition contract for IT services and solutions."
Currently, there are 97 open protests challenging CIO-SP4 on GAO's docket.
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