The Fed Mission Success Round Up: Cyber Standards, Vaccine Mandates, and Customer Experience in Federal Agencies

Weekly News Round Up
Written By Fareeha Khan

Monday September 13, 2021

Welcome to the Fed Mission Success News Round Up brought to you by Makpar. Each week, we will provide a summary of actionable news and insights to help aid in overall mission success for Federal agency IT decision-makers and influencers.

OMB Preparing Agencies for Three-Year Sprint to A New Cyber Standard

The purpose of this strategy is to put all Federal agencies on a common roadmap by laying out the initial steps agencies must take to enable their journey toward a highly mature zero trust architecture.

Biden Mandates COVID Vaccine for Feds, Contractors

President Joe Biden signed an executive order mandating vaccinations among Federal executive branch employees on Thursday. A separate executive order requires employees of companies that do business with the Federal government be vaccinated.

Federal Managers Cite Concerns about Pandemic Workplace Policies

As Federal agencies carry out the Biden administration’s latest Federal workplace pandemic policies, a coalition of groups representing Federal managers has raised concerns about inconsistency among agencies, enforcement and other issues.

White House Makes Major Updates to Customer Experience Guidance

Equity, a Biden administration priority, has been included in the government’s expanded definition of customer experience.

Biden Administration Releases Draft Zero-Trust Guidance

The Federal government is pushing hard for agencies to adopt zero-trust cybersecurity architectures, with new guidance released Tuesday from the administration’s policy arm—the Office of Management and Budget—and lead cybersecurity agency—the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. The documents form a roadmap for agencies to deploy the cybersecurity architectures by the end of fiscal 2024.

OMB Launches Evaluation.gov to Coordinate Actions under Evidence Act, Biden Orders

OMB has launched evaluation.gov to be a resource “to support and build the Federal evaluation community, as well as a central location for the agency plans and policies that guide evaluation efforts across the Federal government.”

Protecting Warehouse Networks While Ensuring Speed

Government agencies and businesses are taking different approaches to warehouse management in the 21st century, one that puts emphasis on connected networks and access to the internet. While that interconnectedness allows for faster shipments and new technologies like Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), it also opens up more access points for hackers and malicious actors to get into those networks.

Benefits Open Season to Go on as Scheduled, Says OPM

The annual Federal benefits open season—this year November 8 – December 13 — “will take place as scheduled,” OPM has told agencies, although adding that they may have to be “creative regarding how you share information with employees.”

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Fareeha Khan
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