Page 11 - FCW, Jan/Feb 2018

1 quintillion
operations per second will be possible with the Aurora supercomputer planned for Argonne National Laboratory
Digital fellowship program is back and growing for 2018
House demands
docs on
Kaspersky purge
A key House lawmaker has threatened to use his committee’s subpoena powers to compel the Department of Homeland Security to turn over documents related to the government’s purge of Kaspersky Lab software if they are not shared voluntarily.
In a Feb. 1 letter to DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Texas) demanded that DHS turn over all materials requested in previous correspondence and provide a brie ng to members of the House Science, Space and Technology Committee, which he leads. Smith said the goal is to identify any shortcomings or areas for improvement in agency plans to execute a binding operational directive that orders the removal of all traces of the antivirus company’s products from federal networks.
“Given the serious nature of these concerns related to the committee’s broader goal of uncovering all risks associated with Kaspersky, the committee expects a full and complete response from the department...so that the committee can ful ll its oversight responsibilities,” Smith wrote.
According to the letter, DHS of cials told committee staff that they were unable to produce additional documentation because of pending litigation. In December 2017, Kaspersky Lab sued the federal government over the ban, alleging that DHS failed to provide it with adequate due process and relied on “subjective, non-technical public sources” to justify the ban.
Smith dismissed that argument, citing the precedent set by a pair of court cases that upheld congressional authority to review relevant executive branch documents, even those subject to third-party lawsuits.
— Derek B. Johnson
The student-initiated Civic Digital Fel- lowship is back in 2018 at more agencies and with more fellowship slots.
Launched by Harvard University stu- dents Neel Mehta, Athena Kan and Chris Kuang, the program hosted 11 under- graduates and three graduate students from across the country at the Census Bureau for 10 weeks last summer.
The goal was to give quali ed fel- lows the chance to work on technical- ly intensive projects alongside federal employees, while also helping to solve the government’s woes in attracting young tech talent.
Each fellow received a stipend of about $15,000 to cover housing, travel and other expenses.
This year, the departments of State and Health and Human Services will join the Census Bureau as participants in the fellowship program.
Natalie Moore, who works at the U.S. Digital Service and is an advi- sory board member of the students’ Coding It Forward initiative, said the
Department of Veterans Affairs could also participate “if we can hurry up and make this happen.”
Kuang estimated that the fellowship will accept 30 to 50 students to work in data science, design, product man- agement and, starting this year, data journalism.
“We want to expand the de nition of what it means to be a technologist,” he said, adding that the cost structure will be similar to last year’s.
As the program grows in size and scope, Kuang stressed the importance of retaining its cohort feel and the ability to quickly adapt to maximize the impact fellows can make in their 10-week positions.
“The fellowship is a year-to-year experience,” he said, and the found- ers’ goal is to be able “to look at it on a day-by-day, week-by-week basis and continue to make sure the work remains technically challenging and impactful, regardless of agency.”
— Chase Gunter
FCW INSIDER
Trump nally picks a U.S. CIO
President DonaldTrump has chosen Suzette Kent to be the new U.S. CIO. She is currently a principal at Ernst and Young and has been a managing partner
The U.S. CIO, who also serves as administrator of the Office of E-Government at the Office of
Management and Budget, is a political appointee who does not require Senate confirmation. Deputy U.S. CIO Margie Graves has been doing the job in an acting capacity since previous CIO Tony Scott resigned at the end of the Obama administration.
— Adam Mazmanian
at Accenture and worked in other capacities at J.P. Morgan and Carreker Corp.
According to a Trump administration announcement of the appointment, Kent has extensive experience leading workforce and organizational change.
Suzette Kent
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