The Fed Mission Success Round Up: Cybersecurity, Modernization, Acquisition and More in Federal Agencies

Weekly News Round Up
Written By Elle Newman

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. 

Watchdog Calls on HHS To Improve Feedback System for Health Care Cyber Breach Reporting 

The Government Accountability Office has called on the Department of Health and Human Services to improve how it collects feedback from the health care sector on cybersecurity breach reporting requirements. The watchdog recommended that the agency’s Office of Civil Rights set up a process to assess the ease with which entities like health plans and health care providers can disclose potential cybersecurity incidents to the federal government. 

CISA Recommends Immediate Action for Microsoft Exchange Online Users 

Federal agencies have just three months before their ability to comply with an executive order on cybersecurity while using Microsoft Exchange Online—the company’s cloud-based mail service—expires. CISA has released guidance on switching from Basic Authentication (“Basic Auth”) in Microsoft Exchange Online to Modern Authentication ("Modern Auth") before Microsoft begins permanently disabling Basic Auth on October 1, 2022. 

VA Enables Login.gov for Three Major Veteran Portals 

Three major VA service portals—VA.gov, My HealtheVet and the VA: Health and Benefits mobile app—can now be logged into using credentials through the General Services Administration’s single sign-on product Login.gov. 

Seeing The Citizen as a Customer: Implementing a Customer-First Mindset In Government 

Traditionally the government has not necessarily associated “customers” as citizens. But today’s focus on the “customer” of government promises to prioritize the citizen experience in navigating government services as opposed to just delivering services that check the box on paper.

USPTO Outlines Future Plans for AI, Innovation 

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office is investing in research, development and deployment of artificial intelligence and emerging technologies to discover new process improvements. USPTO is currently looking to bolster its infrastructure to enable innovation. The agency created new rules that minimize barriers and mitigate pitfalls that may impede faster development and deployment of AI and other emerging technologies. The agency has also deployed new AI tools that USPTO's examiners can use to improve the quality of patent and trademark application examinations.   

GSA Acquisition Exec Says Agency Will Proceed with Polaris Solicitation by End Of June 

The General Services Administration plans to unpause the Polaris acquisition, halted to amend the solicitation in light of a pre-award bid protest, by the end of June. GSA will restart the proposal process and add a few extra days to the deadline in light of the July 4 holiday weekend. 

Security Experts Urge Agencies to Test Post-Quantum Cryptography Algorithms Now 

Agencies should test post-quantum cryptography algorithms with their software and decide whether information security benefits outweigh the efficiency losses ahead of a Federally mandated transition. 

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Elle Newman
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