President Donald Trump last week issued an Executive Order on veterans’ health care that included an announcement that the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) would adopt the same electronic records systems as the Department of Defense (DoD), signing off on what was already a done deal. Emphasis on “deal,” because although the departments are on board with a project that could cost $10 billion over 10 years, history raises doubts as to whether a unified health records system can actually be achieved. […]

[…]

Cybersecurity experts offered solutions to protect the U.S. electric grid, including moving the grid off of the public Internet, and using quantum encryption capabilities. “The nation’s electrical grid is a vital resource upon which our economy and our citizens’ daily lives depend,” said Richard Raines, director of the Electrical and Electronics Systems Research Division at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. “It is also a system that is highly vulnerable to cyber intrusions as more and more utility controls and ‘smart’ technologies rely on public Internet connections.”

Department of Homeland Security officials told 21 states on Sept. 22 that their election systems were breached by Russian hackers. This is the first instance that the Federal government told states whether they were targeted.

A draft of the National Infrastructure Advisory Council (NIAC) Cyber Working Group report on securing the nation’s critical infrastructure has found that while the U.S. has the capabilities to defend against cyber attacks, it lacks the coordination to do so effectively.

FedRAMP can open business opportunities within the country and abroad for fledgling companies, according to Doug Bourgeois of Deloitte.

The cyberattack that spread across Europe on June 27 was declared not a ransomware attack after further observation by researchers. The “Not Petya” attack didn’t encrypt files on the infected computers. Instead, it wiped the entire drive, making it impossible to retrieve files if they weren’t backed up on another device.

GSA’s 18F provides positive competition to consultants and contractors, according to Booz Allen Hamilton vice president Bryce Pippert. The proof: the success of DATA Act implementation and the beta website of usaspending.gov.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency on June 30 will become the first component within the Department of Homeland Security to completely roll out Microsoft Office 365 within the agency’s systems. That move is one of several initiatives Adrian Gardner, the agency’s chief information officer, is working on. By late September, FEMA aims to deploy derived credentials, which would enable employees to access the agency system from their mobile devices.

In order to improve the Federal acquisitions process, agencies need to seek out more teamwork with the private sector and with each other, according to Tim Cooke, president and CEO of ASI Government.