House and Senate Armed Services committees | The Contracting Education Academy

The idea that a vibrant insurance market could be an industry-friendly cybersecurity solution may be based on a flawed assumption.

**Click on image above to download a copy of PSC’s letter.**

A broad range of federal contractors fear a watchdog report on the government’s role facilitating coverage of cybersecurity risks — included in the House-passed National Defense Authorization Act — will lead to a mandate that their companies hold related insurance policies.

In a recent letter to leaders of the House and Senate Armed Services committees, the Professional Services Council (PSC) opposed a provision in the House bill calling for the Government Accountability Office to produce recommendations after studying the state of the insurance industry and the extent to which it’s tied to minimum standards for cybersecurity.

The provision — Sec. 1710A — doesn’t require federal contractors to have cyber insurance policies, but it is grouped together in the letter with a number of other proposals around cyber threat hunting and intelligence sharing that are based on recommendations of the public-private, nonpartisan, congressionally established Cyberspace Solarium Commission.

The commission’s lawmakers — who represent the political spectrum — are trying to get as many of its recommendations as possible to survive conference negotiations and make it into the final annual defense authorization bill.

Keep reading this article at: https://www.nextgov.com/cybersecurity/2020/10/federal-contractors-argue-cyber-insurance-isnt-safe-bet-better-security/169231/

The Defense Department has made progress implementing acquisition reforms in recent years, but leadership needs to pay more attention for meaningful change to take place, according to an audit released this week by the Government Accountability Office.

The audit was completed at the request of the House and Senate Armed Services committees, which sought to determine whether and how the Pentagon was handling numerous acquisition reforms included in the 2017 and 2018 National Defense Authorization Acts.

The answers are a mixed bag, according to GAO auditors.

On one hand, military departments have taken on a larger share of the decision-making authority for major multibillion-dollar, multiyear defense acquisitions since 2016. That year, the Office of the Secretary of Defense oversaw 30 major defense acquisition programs, compared to 58 overseen by military departments. As of March, OSD only oversaw nine major defense acquisition programs, while military departments oversaw 80.

OSD oversees only those programs that are high-risk, joint or had significant cost or schedule growth, like the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program or the Army’s Integrated Air and Missile Defense program.

Keep reading article at: https://www.nextgov.com/policy/2019/06/audit-pentagon-acquisition-reform-requires-more-leadership-attention/157548/

Federal contractors argue cyber insurance isn’t a safe bet for better security

The idea that a vibrant insurance market could be an industry-friendly cybersecurity solution may be based on a flawed assumption.

Audit: Pentagon acquisition reform requires more leadership attention

The Defense Department has made progress implementing acquisition reforms in recent years, but leadership needs to pay more attention for meaningful change to take place, according to an audit released this week by the Government Accountability Office.

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