FCW Insider: March 7

With less than a year until the 2020 census officially begins, the Census Bureau knows it will be a prime target for cybersecurity attackers. Chase Gunter takes a look at how the agency preparing.

One of the federal government's largest employee unions expects to spend much of 2019 fighting against the Trump administration's proposed workforce changes in court and on Capitol Hill. Chase has more.

The Government Accountability Office released its biennial High Risk List on March 6. Comptroller General Gene Dodaro testified on Capitol Hill that the White House needs to add actionable elements and metrics to its cybersecurity strategy. Mark Rockwell reports.

Also in the GAO report -- the IRS needs to better leverage technology to fight fraud. Derek B. Johnson explains.

Quick Hits

*** More on GAO's High Risk List. The watchdog added two new risk areas since the last report: Department of Veterans Affairs' acquisition management was put on the list this year; in 2018 GAO added the security clearance process in an off-year update. Defense Department supply chain management and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's weather satellite gap problem came off the list.

*** The official in charge of governmentwide security clearance policy can't get a vote confirmation vote in the Senate. Bill Evanina's nomination to lead the Director of the National Counterintelligence and Security Center in the Office of the Director of National Intelligence is being held up in the Senate by Iowa Republican Chuck Grassley. Grassley prevented Evanina from getting a full vote in the last session of Congress, when he was nominated for the same position. In 2018, Grassley -- then chairman of the Judiciary Committee -- cited a lack of cooperation in obtaining documents and briefings from the Justice Department and ODNI. Evanina has been leading counterintelligence on an acting basis at ODNI for several years.

*** The Office of Personnel Management is looking across government to highlight examples of agencies reskilling and upskilling of workforces. An OPM analyst put out the call to the Chief Human Capital Officer Council for "best of breed; promising practices; and innovative approaches" that illustrate the President's Management Agenda's directive that "the workforce for the 21st Century must enable senior leaders and front-line managers to align staff skills with evolving mission needs."