Tag Archives: cloud

Microsoft has modified the requirements needed by members of the defense industrial base applying for access to the company's U.S. government cloud offerings to help them adapt to the Department of Defense's new Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification standards.

Microsoft and the Healthcare Information Trust Alliance have launched a matrix intended to assist customers of the company’s Azure cloud offering in efforts to implement HITRUST controls and comply with global cybersecurity standards.

Michael Coene, chief cloud architect at Hitachi Vantara Federal, wrote in a commentary published Tuesday on Federal News Network that there are three steps agencies should consider to accelerate digital transformation and data management efforts and one is enabling current operations and planning for future changes. “Strategic architectural design should optimize data management practices for the known, and to the extent possible, the unknown,” he said.

The Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program has approved Code42's cloud-based platform for use in the federal government to help agencies and other customers protect data and assets from insider threats. Code42's FedRAMP "Moderate Impact" authorization, supported by the Department of Energy, adds the platform to the FedRAMP Marketplace and validates its compliance with security assessment, authorization and continuous monitoring standards for cloud products and services, the company said Tuesday.

Cybersecurity experts are urging government agencies to accelerate the adoption of zero trust capabilities in the wake of a cyber attack involving a vulnerability in SolarWinds’ Orion software, FedScoop reported Saturday. “They’re kind of operating on the fly,” Stephen Kovac, vice president of global government and compliance at Zscaler. “They’re buying one solution and thinking they’ve got zero trust now.” 

Paradyme Management has appointed Roger Miller as senior director of growth for justice markets, responsible for further building relationships with federal agencies that serve the homeland security mission. “Roger has a vast amount of experience in the justice community and has been right in the middle of dealing with the complex technical issues it faces," said Jack Ginsburg, chief operating officer of Paradyme. 

Octo has appointed Letitia “Tish” Long, a former director of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) and a two-time Wash100 Award recipient, to the company's board of directors. Long's appointment will place greater focus on the Intelligence Community (IC) as Octo's core customer. “Having Long on our Board of Directors is a massive boon to our ability to understand and support the Intelligence Community,” said Mehul Sanghani, CEO of Octo. 

Matt Kraning, chief technology officer and co-founder of Expanse, wrote in a guest piece published Thursday on Nextgov that the Department of Defense and federal civilian agencies looking to accelerate the acquisition process and deliver more innovative platforms should advance program protection. “In order to be effective and comprehensive, a program protection model should start where an attacker would first begin to surveil a vendor in cyberspace: in its exposed internet presence, such as websites, file transfer services and remote access protocols,” he said.

Avaya will support the North American Aerospace Defense Command’s annual Tracks Santa program by deploying its cloud-based contact center platform designed to handle calls from the public. "The capability to create meaningful connections across a variety of platforms makes for happier customers and a happier holiday season. We are proud to serve so many, including the NORAD Tracks Santa program, and pleased that our technology continues to help spread cheer across the globe,” said Jerry Dotson, vice president of Avaya's public sector business.

Teresa Carlson, vice president of the worldwide public sector business at Amazon Web Services and a 2020 Wash100 awardee, said that industry and government cloud adoption challenges similarly encompass issues in data and operational standards.

Rave Mobile Safety's emergency communications platform has been certified for government use under the Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program.

Nicolas Fischbach, global chief technology officer at Forcepoint, wrote in a guest piece published Friday on Nextgov that government agencies should prioritize data visibility and data loss prevention as they head into 2021. He said agencies should determine how employees and other users interact with government data through user activity monitoring with the aid of behavioral analytics to better detect compromised accounts and malicious actors.

A CAE subsidiary has received a subcontract from BAE Systems for services in support of the latter's work to develop a new cloud-powered training environment for the U.S. Marine Corps. CAE said Wednesday its USA Mission Solutions subsidiary will help BAE prototype cloud models and simulations for USMC Base Quantico's planned Wargaming Center under a $19M contract the military branch awarded to BAE in August.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has partnered with Oracle to utilize the latter’s cloud-based platform for managing procedures related to the U.S. government’s COVID-19 vaccination program.

The Defense Information Systems Agency needs market information on technical services needed to sustain and operate cloud storage and virtual desktop infrastructure assets. DISA said Friday in a source sought notice posted on SAM it wants to validate the availability of architecture, design, engineering, technical, on-boarding and other services for its Cloud Storage Services Portfolio from small businesses including those that are woman-owned and service-disabled veteran-owned.