It’s hard to believe that September has arrived and with it another 30 day dash to the end of federal buying season for another year. When you’re ready for a break from purchase orders, be sure to catch up on the latest federal IT news in this week’s Federal News Round Up.
Secretary of Defense Carter Warns that U.S. is Still Failing at Cyber Defense
Following a state-based attack on a Pentagon server, Secretary of Defense, Ash Carter, once again warned that the U.S. needs to do a better job of cyber defense. As well as bolstering in-house defenses, Carter emphasized the importance of public-private partnerships “so that our people have the benefit of getting to know the technology, the culture, and the business practices and so forth of the commercial sector, and we draw the commercial sector into the great mission of helping us protect the nation.” His sentiments were echoed by Army Cyber Command Chief, Lt. Gen. Edward Cardon at TechNet Augusta last week. You can read more of their comments and their prescription for improving U.S. cyber defenses here.
Feds Explore the Possibilities of Desktop as a Service
In a move to reduce costs, improve productivity, and surprisingly, data security, the Defense Information Services Agency (DISA), is exploring the possibility of running Desktops as a Service (DaaS). Jesse Jones, virtual desktop infrastructure program manager for DISA said in a recent interview that “[a] network of zero or think client devices allows modifications and new application deployment with [greater] agility, accuracy, and speed.” Want to learn more about their evaluation criteria for selecting a virtual desktop infrastructure provider, you can read the story on FedTech Magazine.
What’s the Post Office Learning from Uber?
The Inspector General (IG) of the USPS wants the agency to take cues from private sector companies like Uber and Starbucks that run highly successful mobile apps. In looking to continue the modernization of the postal service to improve responsiveness to customer demands and increase revenue. As well as improving the performance of the USPS app, the IG is clearly signaling that the postal service is ready to embrace the Internet of Things in order to deliver parcels and services to the public. Find out what services the improved USPS app will deliver and more about how IoT will help get your mail to you faster here.
What are the Coolest Government Jobs?
With IT innovation clearly driving the federal government in the second decade of the 21st Century, the idea of working for the feds is no longer the boring option that many might think. From overseeing the operation of one of the world’s fastest computers, to researching self-driving vehicles, and monitoring volcanic activity in Hawaii, the federal government has some really fascinating career paths. The team at Fed Scoop identified thirteen of the coolest government jobs and the checked-in with the lucky employees. You can read their stories here
