FCW Insider: July 18

All six awards on the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Studies BPA for Medicare Payment Systems Modernization went to non-traditional contractors.  Steve Kelman explains how CMS got to that point, and what it portends for IT procurement across government. 

Are machine learning algorithms being developed with vulnerabilities baked in?  Derek Johnson reports on the risk, and on what IARPA and others are doing about it. 

Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.) is pushing for additional reforms to the Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program.  Mark Rockwell has details on the proposed legislation. 

The Defense Department, meanwhile, is looking to get a better handle on its acquisition data. Lauren C. Williams explains what's in the works. 

The deadline for Government Innovation Award nominations has been extended.  Submit your picks for individual Rising Stars, Public Sector Innovations and Industry Innovators by Aug. 2.

Quick Hits

*** The Senate on July 17 passed the Defending the Integrity of Voting Systems Act, which would make it a federal crime to hack into any voting systems used in a federal election. The bill is designed to fix a loophole identified by Justice Department lawyers, who believe the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act may not explicitly prohibit the hacking of voting machines that aren't connected to the internet. It passed by unanimous consent.

*** The Department of Defense plans to approve the "storing and processing of DOD public information on any cloud service offerings which are assessed at the FedRAMP moderate baseline," DOD Deputy CIO for Cybersecurity Jack Wilmer told a House committee on July 17.  Currently, additional DOD-specific reviews are required for each cloud service. 

*** The Office of Personnel Management has issued new guidance to help agencies better track and evaluate their telework and other work-life programs.  "Evaluation of these programs has historically been unsystematic and based primarily on anecdotal evidence and/or the desire to 'do the right thing,'" the guidance states. "In applying work-life programs within the government, we must take seriously our responsibility to do so consistently with the best interest of the American people we serve."