Author Archive
Adam Mazmanian
Editor-at-Large, Nextgov/FCW
Adam Mazmanian is an editor-at-large and was executive editor of Nextgov/FCW. Before joining the editing team, Mazmanian was an FCW staff writer covering Congress, governmentwide technology policy and the Department of Veterans Affairs. Prior to joining FCW, Mazmanian was technology correspondent for National Journal and served in a variety of editorial roles at B2B news service SmartBrief. Mazmanian has contributed reviews and articles to the Washington Post, the Washington City Paper, Newsday, New York Press, Architect Magazine and other publications.
Defense Systems
FBI is losing track of classified and sensitive data, watchdog finds
The bureau is failing to account for electronic storage media that are marked for destruction at secure facilities.
- Adam Mazmanian
Policy
DOD CIO resigns to take university post
John Sherman will become dean of the Bush School of Government and Public Service at Texas A&M.
- Adam Mazmanian
Business
'ChatGPT, plan my top-secret mission'
Microsoft adds an air-gapped generative AI tool to its cloud services for classified workloads.
- Adam Mazmanian
Threats
Water-system gear hacked by Iran-backed group, US warns
So far, CyberAv3ngers has only managed to deface web interfaces operated by the Israeli-made controllers.
- Adam Mazmanian
Defense Systems
US, Japan warn of China-backed hackers lurking in networking gear
The joint advisory cautioned that a China-backed threat group called BlackTech is exploiting weaknesses in routers to hack government and industrial targets.
- Adam Mazmanian
Science & Tech
Augmented-Reality Goggles ‘On Pace' for Limited 2024 Rollout, Army Says
Full production of the much-delayed Integrated Visual Augmentation System may start in summer 2025, the Army's chief buyer said.
- Adam Mazmanian
Policy
The Pentagon Has Unimplemented Cyber Recommendations from 2012
A new report from the Office of Inspector General points out longstanding unmet requests.
- Adam Mazmanian
Policy
US Sues to Block Spy-Tech Deal
The Justice Department opposes Booz Allen’s bid to acquire a rival ahead of a five-year signals intelligence procurement.
- Adam Mazmanian
Policy
NSA Can Now Order Other Agencies to Fix Their IT Systems
A White House memo grants the intelligence agency new powers under the May 2021 executive order on cybersecurity.
- Adam Mazmanian
Defense Systems
DOD revamps controversial CMMC program
After a nine-month review, the Defense Department is replacing its original cyber compliance program for the industrial base with CMMC 2.0, putting more emphasis on self-assessment.
- Adam Mazmanian
Defense Systems
Biden administration picks former Microsoft exec for VA CIO
Kurt DelBene, a former senior executive at Microsoft and Defense Innovation Board member, is being tapped by the Biden administration to serve as CIO of the Department of Veterans Affairs.
- Adam Mazmanian
Defense Systems
GAO backs Microsoft's protest of $10 billion NSA cloud award to AWS
The Government Accountability Office agreed that aspects of the National Security Agency's evaluation of a major cloud award were "unreasonable."
- Adam Mazmanian
Defense Systems
State Department to get cyber bureau
The secretary of State named cybersecurity and emerging tech as critical areas for capacity building at State, alongside climate, global health and multilateral technology.
- Adam Mazmanian
Defense Systems
CISA seeks 24-hour cyber incident reporting timeline
Two separate Senate bills set different deadlines for federal contractors, critical infrastructure providers and other covered companies to report cyber incidents to the federal government.
- Adam Mazmanian
Defense Systems
CMMC's Arrington sues DOD to clear her name
Katie Arrington, who has been off the job since May, is suing the Department of Defense to get resolution on her personnel case.
- Adam Mazmanian
Defense Systems
DHS adds cyber requirements for transportation industry
The Transportation Security Agency and the Coast Guard are getting increased authority over industry cybersecurity.
- Adam Mazmanian
Defense Systems
CISA chief floats fines to compel threat info sharing
Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Director Jen Easterly told lawmakers that fines may help enable disclosure compliance and enforcement.
- Adam Mazmanian
Defense Systems
White House pushes back on efforts to restore program cuts in NDAA
The Biden administration appears determined to stick to plans to retire legacy platforms and systems.
- Adam Mazmanian
Defense Systems
Senators push DHS to focus intel activities on foreign threats
The Senate version of the annual intelligence authorization bill, which passed out of committee last week, includes a warning to DHS' intelligence arm to distinguish more carefully between its foreign and domestic missions.
- Adam Mazmanian
Defense Systems
Microsoft nabs top secret cloud ATO
Azure Government Top Secret is now "generally available" for national security workloads, Microsoft announced in a blog post.
- Adam Mazmanian