AI Contract Spending Set to Grow in Federal Market

Source: ecommercetimes.com

The United States government is trying to get smarter about getting smart. Throughout the federal government, and especially in defense and national security, artificial intelligence (AI) is getting an increased amount of attention, including the adoption of hefty AI budgets. That should lead to increasing contract opportunities for information technology vendors with high competence in AI.

Federal civilian and defense contract spending for artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI/ML) is likely to grow to $4.3 billion in fiscal year 2023, according to a recent report from Bloomberg Government.

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The Cybersecurity 202: Wyden calls for 'time out' in government cybersecurity contracting

Source: washingtonpost.com

A top Senate Democrat says the government needs to call “time out” and take a closer look at its cybersecurity spending in the wake of cyberattacks on SolarWinds and other software, as well as on Microsoft Exchange.

Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), who chairs the Senate Finance Committee and also sits on the Intelligence Committee, says Congress needs to examine what went wrong that led to the breaches, which hit nine U.S. government agencies and tens of thousands of organizations.

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GSA's Use of DoD Cybersecurity Language for Future Contracts Signals Increased Security Requirements

Source: jdsupra.com

The General Services Administration ("GSA") is including language regarding cybersecurity requirements in requests for proposals relating to certain IT governmentwide acquisition contracts ("GWACs"). Certain requirements will be modeled on those the Department of Defense ("DoD") is including in its contracts as part of the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification ("CMMC") program.

The GSA confirmed recently that businesses preparing to submit proposals in response to two proposed GWACs should expect to see Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification ("CMMC") level-specific requirements in certain subsequent orders issued against those contracts. Speaking at a recent event, Keith Nakasone, deputy assistant commissioner for IT acquisition at the GSA, explained that these new CMMC requirements will be incorporated at the order level rather than the contract level, in order to introduce flexibility in addressing unique needs and bolster an agile framework.

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