Weekly Roundup: February 27-March 3, 2023

NEW: Release of the National Cybersecurity Strategy. Cybersecurity is essential to the basic functioning of the economy, the operation of critical infrastructure, the strength of institutions, the privacy of data and communications, and the national defense. This National Cybersecurity Strategy details the comprehensive approach being taking to better secure cyberspace and ensure the U.S. is in the strongest possible position to realize all the benefits and potential of our digital future.

National cyber strategy faces major implementation challenges, experts say. A depleted workforce, lack of funding and challenges with information sharing across the public and private sectors may severely hamper the federal government’s implementation of a new sweeping cybersecurity strategy, experts told FCW.

The Spoils System Still Threatens the Civil Service. Donald F. Kettl and Daniel Chenok join this podcast to discuss merit systems and modernization. The merit system should be at the core of any reforms agencies make to adapt to fast-changing workplace dynamics.

Sweeping Anti-COVID Fraud Proposal Issued. The plan has three parts: ensure that oversight and law enforcement agencies have the time and resources to go after fraudsters; invest in fraud and identity theft prevention; and help victims of identity theft. While there already have been hundreds of criminal convictions and millions of dollars have been recovered, watchdog officials have repeatedly stressed that their work is far from over. 

Could the Pentagon use a little ChatGPT?. The Air Force’s top tech leader said the AI technology, or something like it, could help “rapidly pull together information” such as figuring out who’s in charge of an organization.  

The great power pivot and the intelligence community. The shift from terrorism to great power competition means changes in tech, acquisition and private-sector partnerships. 

Army Official Discusses Aggregating Data to Meet the Mission. The U.S. Department of the Army has emphasized the importance of aggregating data into a virtualized and centralized capability to meet mission imperatives, according to an agency official. To gain an information advantage over adversaries the service branch must have the “ability to aggregate data from all of its disparate networks and systems into one virtual centralized capability that has just a ton of different feeder sources that continuously and automatically updates.” 

GAO: DHS Must Improve Oversight of System Modernization. The U.S. Coast Guard has failed to meet the full operational capability of its new financial management system, due in part because the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) did not address and remediate known issues identified in operational testing, according to a recent report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO). 

CISA Director Easterly Calls for Secure-by-Design Tech Products. The director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) is calling out technology manufacturers for failing to create tech products that put the safety of customers first and is calling for a new secure-by-design, secure-by-default cybersecurity model. At Carnegie Mellon University, CISA Director Jen Easterly explained how in today’s society we’ve normalized blaming the user for unsafe technology, instead of blaming the technology manufacturer. 

Working with the public to improve digital forms: A GSA case study. The American public spends approximately 11.5 billion hours per year filling out federal government forms. GSA’s Office of Evaluation Services (OES) implemented a randomized control trial (RCT) evaluating two versions of a brief digital form. This evaluation brought together multiple GSA offices to learn about the feasibility of incorporating A/B testing into federal forms and to show that form design matters for form completion.  

Open Government Scan of Canada: Designing and Implementing an Open Government Strategy. This document provides an evidence-based assessment of the governance of Canada’s efforts to foster transparency, accountability, and citizen participation against key provisions of the OECD Recommendation of the Council on Open Government. The Scan seeks to support Canada in its ambition to design the country’s first holistic and integrated Open Government Strategy.  

Ditch power for influence to create resilient leadership. It may be easy for a leader to grab power and lead people through the strength of their will, but leaders who take the time to cultivate influence will develop a long-lasting skill to attract and inspire followers, writes Steve McKee, co-founder of McKee Wallwork + Co. Influential leaders are those who lead by example. There's no shortcut to becoming an influential leader, McKee writes. It takes time to identify our own values and live into them. "If we want to influence others, we must first be worthy of influence," McKee writes. SmartBrief/Leadership  

Change your mindset to become and effective networker. Make networking effective by focusing on how you can help others instead of the other way around, deciding if you want to attend small or large networking events, keeping records of who you meet and following-up to deepen relationships, writes Christine de Largy, and executive fellow with the Leadership Institute at the London Business School. "It takes effort to build your network, but is enjoyable when you choose to be curious, have a learning mindset, and want to help people," de Largy writes. By building off as few as five contacts, you can grow your network by 15 to 50 to 150 people by meeting associates of those you already know, de Largy notes. "When building your network, plan in these terms, to manage the frequency and type of contact at each level."  Forbes (tiered subscription model)

NEXT WEEK on The Business of Government Hour: Deploying the Data Fabric for Multi-Domain Command and Control/JADC2: SPECIAL SPADE 2023 Edition of The Business of Government Hour. How can the Data Fabric help realize the vision of Joint All-Domain Command and Control (JADC2)? What are the key technological developments supporting multi-domain operations? How are the U.S., Canada, and allied countries collaborating to deliver on the vision of joint all domain command and control? Join host Michael Keegan as he welcomes Len Bastien, CIO, Canada’s Dept of National Defence and Terry Halvorsen, former CIO, U.S. Dept of Defense and IBM executive.