FCW Insider: Feb. 10

Tech and tweets: Tanden talks policy and social media on Capitol Hill

President Biden's nominee for OMB director came under fire during her hearing for mean tweets aimed at Republican lawmakers. "I regret the language," she said.

Warner, Rubio seek single top official for SolarWinds response

The two leaders of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence say the government's response to the hack so far has been "disjointed and disorganized."

New risks threaten defense industry's cybersecurity, report claims

Newly reported cybersecurity vulnerabilities inched past 17,000 in 2020, signaling worsening security in the defense industrial base, according to a National Defense Industry Association report.

Quick Hits

*** The IRS elevated Nancy Sieger to the post of permanent CIO. She had been serving as acting CIO of the tax agency since June, 2019.

*** Customs and Border Protection reopened the comment period on a proposed rule that would move the use of facial recognition systems on non-citizen and non-resident travelers in and out of the United States out of the pilot phase and make it a permanent fixture of international travel. The comment period for the Biometric Exit/Entry program had concluded in December, 2020. The use of facial recognition in government systems have been controversial, with civil liberties groups worried about the effectiveness of the technology and the adequacy of privacy protections.

*** In its latest bulletin on the $50 billion Enterprise Infrastructure Solutions telecommunications contract, the General Services Administration reminded agencies that zero dollar task orders are banned under the terms of the contract. Agencies have until March 31 to move half of their telecom inventory off legacy contracts and onto EIS. The transition to EIS is expected to be complete by the end of fiscal year 2022.