Risk | The Contracting Education Academy

June 20, 2018 By cs

New federal contracting rule cuts off Kaspersky

The government is seeking to eliminate all traces of cybersecurity firm Kaspersky Labs from federal systems, issuing a new interim rule in the June 15 Federal Register to extend the governmentwide ban to contractors.

The rule, issued by the General Services Administration, the Department of Defense and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, amends the Federal Acquisition Regulation to require that all contracts and solicitations finalized after July 16, 2018, include language prohibiting the presence of Kaspersky hardware, software and products.

The rule applies not just to federal contracts but also smaller “micro” purchases and the purchase of commercial off the shelf items, which are often exempt from many contracting regulations. The notice states that the interim rule was issued without prior opportunity for public comment due to “urgent and compelling reasons.”

Keep reading this article at: https://fcw.com/articles/2018/06/15/kaspersky-rule-contractors.aspx

June 1, 2018 By cs

Agencies need to take more risks in acquisition

The recently released president’s management agenda states that efforts to transform government through major acquisitions are hamstrung by processes that “remain captive to a risk-averse culture that rewards compliance over creativity.”

No wonder. The Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) contains a mind-numbing 1,917 pages of policies and procedures that government acquisition officials must follow when buying goods and services. Navigating these rules can be daunting for contracting officers, who often live in fear of something going wrong.

But even within the constraints, there is room for flexibility—approaches that deviate from the norm but hold potential to achieve better quality and innovative outcomes while preserving competition, transparency and accountability.

Following a path toward innovation requires overcoming the fear of failure and the willingness to take risks within reasonable bounds.

For example, improvised explosive devices, or IEDs, have been a major cause of injury and death in the war zones of Afghanistan and Iraq since the United States put its personnel on the ground. Enemy combatants can remotely detonate IEDs using cell phones or other electronic devices.

Keep reading this article at: https://www.govexec.com/excellence/promising-practices/2018/05/agencies-need-take-more-risks-acquisition/148433/

January 26, 2018 By cs

Watchdog: GSA assuming ‘unnecessary’ risk in telecom transition

The General Services Administration’s Federal Acquisition Service is engaging in risky business by providing $9 million in contract support services to agencies without securing interagency agreements that ultimately ensure payment.

Such interagency agreements are required by Federal Acquisition Regulation, but FAS provided services anyway in a rush to meet deadlines imposed by the Enterprise Infrastructure Solutions transition, according to an audit by the General Services Administration inspector general. Due to expiring contracts, all agencies must start buying telecommunications and network infrastructure from the EIS contract by 2020.

GSA awarded the $50 billion EIS telecommunications contract last year, and through the Transition Ordering Assistance task order, GSA is also responsible for helping agencies transition from the Networx contract to EIS. However, FAS “has not executed interagency agreements with transitioning agencies for services being provided under the TOA task order.”

Keep reading this article at: http://www.nextgov.com/it-modernization/2018/01/watchdog-gsa-assuming-unnecessary-risk-telecom-transition/145201/

December 26, 2017 By cs

GSA’s rising star leaving for HHS acquisition

There are few people in the federal acquisition community who are on a higher trajectory than Jose Arrieta.

The General Services Administration’s director of the Office of IT 70 Schedule Contract Operations not only rejects the risk averse culture of the government, but he isn’t afraid to take on bigger challenges.

To that end, sources confirmed Arrieta is leaving GSA to become the deputy assistant secretary for acquisition and senior procurement executive at the Department of Health and Human Services.

Keep reading this article at: https://federalnewsradio.com/reporters-notebook-jason-miller/2017/12/gsas-rising-star-arrieta-leaving-for-hhs/

December 4, 2017 By cs

The ‘huge’ hole in the government’s Russian software ban

The Trump administration’s order barring certain Russian software from government networks doesn’t fully cover one troubling vulnerability — the teeming ranks of government contractors.

That omission could leave open gateways for hackers looking to pilfer government secrets, cybersecurity specialists warn, something that has reportedly happened in recent years with contractors from the CIA and the NSA. But legal experts say the government has only limited ability to require contractors to uproot Kaspersky Lab’s products from their computers.

“It’s a huge area of risk, especially with some of the recent breaches at the NSA and the CIA where it was clear that these contractors were the source of it,” said Trevor Rudolph, the former head of an OMB team that helps agencies improve their cyber defenses.

Matt Keller, who advises government clients on digital security programs as a vice president at GuidePoint, dubbed the issue a “moderate to high risk” for federal agencies.

It’s impossible to quantify the risk exactly, but hundreds of thousands of federal contractors hold top secret clearances.

Keep reading this article at: https://www.politico.com/story/2017/11/24/the-huge-hole-in-the-governments-russian-software-ban-259473

The government is seeking to eliminate all traces of cybersecurity firm Kaspersky Labs from federal systems, issuing a new interim rule in the June 15 Federal Register to extend the governmentwide ban to contractors.

The recently released president’s management agenda states that efforts to transform government through major acquisitions are hamstrung by processes that “remain captive to a risk-averse culture that rewards compliance over creativity.”

The General Services Administration’s Federal Acquisition Service is engaging in risky business by providing $9 million in contract support services to agencies without securing interagency agreements that ultimately ensure payment.

There are few people in the federal acquisition community who are on a higher trajectory than Jose Arrieta.

The Trump administration’s order barring certain Russian software from government networks doesn’t fully cover one troubling vulnerability — the teeming ranks of government contractors.

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