Federal Drive with Tom Temin

While hackers often target email and other cloud-based work applications, agencies and other organizations now at least have security “baselines” for many of the leading productivity tools on the market. The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, as part of its Secure Cloud Business Applications (SCuBA) project, released a series of nine security configuration baselines for Google Workspace today, including applications like Gmail, Google Drive, and Google Meet. The latest release follows up on CISA’s publication of baselines for Microsoft 365 products last year. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Along with improvements in satisfaction and engagement scores this year, federal employees’ views of their agencies’ commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility (DEIA) are also on the rise. Overall, 71% of feds said they had favorable impressions of their agencies DEIA practices, according to the results of the 2023 Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey (FEVS). It’s an increase of 2% from the 69% average score in the 2022 FEVS. The DEIA component of FEVS is a relatively new addition — the Office of Personnel Management first added the index to the survey just last year. This year, in addition to the overall boost, scores increased within each of the four components that comprise the total DEIA index. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Education performance in developed countries, and in the United States, is a mixed bag. That is according to the latest Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), a periodic project of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. In the U.S., math performance by 15-year-olds was worse than in 2018, among the lowest ever. Reading and science held steady. For analysis of what the results mean, Federal Drive Host Tom Temin spokw with Ryan Taurianen, the Executive Director of Teach For America's D.C. region. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The closer NASA gets to returning to the moon, the farther away the moon seems to move. Contractors on the Artemis III project are having trouble with some basic items, like the spacesuits astronauts would need and the lunar lander itself. The Government Accountability Office has found that NASA may be too ambitious in its schedule for the initial launch. For more on the findings, Federal Drive Host Tom Temin spoke with Bill Russell, GAO's director of contracting and national security. GAO REPORT Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The competition for strategic advantage in economic and military affairs depends more and more on critical materials. Now the Energy Department has launched an initiative it calls the Critical Materials Collaborative. Among its goals, to accelerate a domestic supply chain for critical materials. For more, Federal Drive Host Tom Temin talked with the Senior Technology Manager for the Energy Department's Advanced Materials and Manufacturing Technologies Office, Helena Khazdozian. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this episode of the Federal Drive with Tom Temin: DOE's new collaborative seeks to boost domestic supplies of critical materials. Going to the moon and nothing to wear? How the Education Department could help improve falling math scores. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Space Development Agency is working with the Army to provide alternative positioning, navigation and timing (PNT) capabilities that are not dependent on GPS through its Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture, SDA Director Derek Tournear said. Tournear said the Army has an alternate PNT signal that can be picked up by the Military GPS User Equipment (MGUE) Increment 2 chips. Once fielded, the MGUE chips will be able to use M-code — a new military signal that is jam-resistant and more secure. “We’re working very closely with the Army, who’s been pioneering the alt-PNT across the Department of Defense,” Tournear said at a National Security Space Association event last week. “We’re working with them to be able to broadcast that same signal so it can be picked up by existing, fielded and planned user equipment, so there’ll be no modifications.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It looks like Congress has managed to get the National Defense Authorization law done before December 31. As always, the bill is chock full of items federal contractors should pay attention to. For five of them, Federal Drive Host Tom Temin turned to the President and CEO of the Professional Services Council, David Berteau. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tis the season to be jolly. But military service members and veterans often experience a spike in depression or post traumatic stress disorder -- even suicide -- this time of year. For some of the warning signs and how you can help, we turn to the Director of Admissions at Warriors Heart, Michael O'Dell. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Navy is not quite certain how many ships and submarines it wants to build over the next few decades. In fact, it has offered three alternative plans to Congress, with varying timelines and price tags. For analysis, Federal Drive Host Tom Temin turned to the Senior Analyst for Naval Forces at the Congressional Budget Office, Eric Labs. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today's episode of the Federal Drive with Tom Temin: Navy shipbuilding has an uncertain future and budget. Five things contractors need to know about the Defense authorization bill. How to help troubled service members and veterans get through the holidays. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's down to the wire for the 2024 National Defense Authorization Act, over which the house and senate are still working out differences. This as Congress prepares to depart for the holidays. For the details, Federal Drive Host Tom Temin spoke with Bloomberg Government Deputy News Director Loren Duggan. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As the artificial intelligence phenomenon rolls on, the question emerges: What are the cybersecurity-attack implications of AI? Now Carnegie Mellon University's Software Engineering Institute has formed a team called the Artificial Intelligence Security Incident Response Team. It's working with sponsors in the Defense and Homeland Security Departments. For more, Federal Drive Host Tom Temin spoke with the Director of the CERT division of the Software Engineering Institute, Greg Touhill. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices