More than two-thirds of federal employees teleworked during pandemic’s peak

New data from the Office of Personnel Management’s annual Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey confirmed what we all have heard anecdotally: Federal agencies pivoted quickly to support a massive surge in teleworking employees during the peak of the pandemic.

At the pandemic’s peak, 74% of federal workers teleworked at least part of the week, with 59% of respondents saying they did so every day and 10% saying they did three or four days per week. Prior to the pandemic, just 3% of federal workers teleworked on a daily basis, per the data of the 2020 FEVS report, released Monday.

For those who didn’t telework during this time, 16% claimed it was because their job required them to be physically present, like law enforcement officers and other federal security agents.

“The federal workforce is made up of dedicated and hardworking individuals who are motivated by the opportunity to make a positive impact through their public service,” OPM Acting Director Kathleen McGettigan said in a statement. “Despite the unprecedented workplace challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic, federal workers adapted quickly to their new realities, continuing to work on behalf of the American people, taking on additional and sometimes new work to ensure critical services have been available to the public.

While the pandemic surely presented the possibility of disruptions, federal employees stayed positive and engaged, with 87% believing they produced high-quality work during the past year. And overall, engagement across the government was up from 68% in 2019 to 72% last year.

“The 2020 survey shows that federal employees were remarkably resilient during a historically difficult year,” said Max Stier, president and CEO of the Partnership for Public Service. “It is important for federal leaders to understand the effects the COVID-19 pandemic has had on the workforce and the opportunities it presents, to listen to employee concerns and reimagine the future of work in the federal government.”

While the topline trends on federal telework appeared mostly good, it wasn’t without challenges. While 72% of employees said they needed and received expanded tech collaboration tools to perform their jobs, 15% said they needed expanded IT support and didn’t get it, and 14% said they didn’t get the training they needed for remote work applications and tools.

The report’s authors conclude that the data can be used to inform future discussions about the planning of the federal workforce, especially now that “changes in management practices and policies in responses to the pandemic have driven widespread speculation about how workplaces might look and function post-pandemic.”

“Sweeping changes to agency designs, for example, have meant a substantial portion of Federal employees have worked in technology-mediated contexts, completely remote from traditional worksites,” the report says. “Such changes have profound implications for management of the workforce, with typical questions centering on performance management. Next steps should include review of OPM FEVS results by decision-makers at all levels to identify how workplace innovations can be retained to foster and support an agile workforce capable of performing despite any external disruptions.

Former federal CIO applauds additional TMF funding

Former Federal Chief Information Officer Suzette Kent is overjoyed by — and a bit envious of — the recent $1 billion injected into the Technology Modernization Fund under the American Rescue Plan Act.

The money will help agencies quickly implement IT solutions addressing challenges that arose during the COVID-19 pandemic, Kent said. Agencies will be looking to manage risk, leverage data and apply modern technologies at both the component and enterprise levels based on lessons learned, she told FedScoop, ahead of her speech at OnSolve Nexus 2021.

A champion of funding the TMF, Kent never saw the amount of money available now for cybersecurity, employee management and shared services projects in her time as federal CIO from February 2018 to July 2020.

“In a way I’m jealous; I am thrilled that it is funded because the mechanism works and agencies need to drive change,” Kent said. “As the TMF Board looks at the projects that agencies bring to them, those projects are supposed to be about pandemic response, use of new and emerging technologies, improved use of data, and leapfrogging for modernization.”

Congress approved the $1 billion TMF appropriation in the American Rescue Plan Act passed in March and not just for IT modernization projects. Cyber projects will likely feature prominently as well.

The exponential increase in remote work during the pandemic has also increased agencies’ cyberattack surfaces exponentially and driven a move to zero-trust security architectures to shore up their environments.

That’s in addition to “back-to-back-to-back supply chain disruptions” and an active hurricane season that left agencies looking to use data and artificial intelligence capabilities to address such challenges, Kent said.

The Biden administration would be wise to fund solutions addressing technology and behavioral changes due to the pandemic and subsequent rise in remote work, Kent said.

Agencies are “generally as effective” having shifted to remote work, Kent said. But they may push for a return to the office, or else supplement remote work with technology solutions like design platforms, in instances where it still posed challenges.

“The training for certain employees and how they’re supervised and managed isn’t structured enough that it works really well in a distributed environment,” Kent said. “So maybe there are types of roles that have more of an apprenticeship model or you need hands-on training — access to certain kinds of facilities that just don’t don’t fit well in a simulation.”

The Army’s first software factory fully up and running

The Army took another step toward getting more code-savvy soldiers in its ranks by embedding its first cohort of developers at its software factory located at the Austin Community College.

The factory will help produce both new applications for Army usage and train soldier-coders to find ways to enhance operations through technology. The software factory’s office space opened in mid-April and is located near the headquarters of Army Futures Command, which houses the factory.

Before the physical location opened, the first cohort started work remotely in December.

The Army recently issued an other transaction agreement contract to VMware to help set up the office, according to a service spokesperson. The factory is intended to eventually be self-sustaining without the need for contractor support.

“This is the first time that we have a soldier-led [software] factory,” said Army Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. “Now some of the services, Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, have little software factories and little incubators, but none have been organized, led and driven primarily by troops, by soldiers.” Milley was referring to other military services’ similar factories and software acquisition-focused units, like the Air Force’s Kessel Run.

Milley was joined by Gen. John Murray, commander of Army Futures Command, and other leaders in Austin for a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new office space.

“It has everything to do with modernization, seeing the future and being able to prevent a great power war,” Milley said of both the factory and the broader push across the Army to use tech more. “It’s to prevent great power war. It’s to maintain great power peace. It’s to maintain cutting-edge and overmatch against any potential adversary.”

Leaders across the Army have said they want the service to transform from the “Industrial Age” to the “information age” and using software is a key part of that. Similarly, under another modernization mission, Project Convergence, the Army has relied on getting code-savvy soldiers in the field to connect weapons systems to increase their targeting speed.

Navy conducting major exercise in Pacific with unmanned systems

The Navy is conducting a major exercise in the Pacific that integrates unmanned and crewed systems, using artificial intelligence to pilot vehicles above, at and below sea level.

The Pacific is conducting the Fleet Unmanned Integrated Battle Problem 21 (IBP21) exercise in San Diego. It is the first of its kind and comes after some initial cross-ocean, autonomous vessel testing, but not in concert with crewed ships like in IBP21.

The Navy is touting the exercise as a major step toward proving new “unmatched” capabilities and marking a transition to a hybrid force structure.

“We are not yet where we want to be,” said Rear Adm. Lorin Selby, chief of naval research. “But we are getting closer. As our potential adversaries go all-in on unmanned platforms, we must and will maintain a dominant force that can meet and defeat any challenge.”

The Navy has some support in Congress for its transition to a networked force of crewed and unmanned systems, but some remain skeptical. The department released its unmanned “Campaign Framework” in March to mixed reviews, with retired naval officer Rep. Elaine Luria, D-Va., saying it lacked needed detail.

“I am not alone as a member of Congress who really doesn’t understand where the Navy is going with this,” she said in a March hearing.

The Navy has pushed forward despite the initial criticism, adding that it will continue to test and develop the technology and strategies behind using more unmanned systems in the fleet.

“Our goal is to operationally integrate and continuously improve the types of intelligent and autonomous technologies that Pacific Fleet is testing right now,” said Jason Stack, Office of Naval Research’s technical director and autonomy lead. “We will do this ethically and responsibly by always ensuring our Sailors and Marines can exercise the appropriate levels of human judgement over our machines. This will be our enduring competitive advantage.”

The Navy said the test event includes medium displacement unmanned surface vehicles (MDUSV) and long-endurance unmanned aeural systems (UAS). The platforms can be used for surveillance, anti-submarine warfare and other missions, according to the Navy.

One of the MDUSV’s used is the “Sea Hunter,” which made a self-piloted journey from San Diego to Hawaii and back in 2019. Other systems, including aerial ones, will be included in the network of systems, the Navy said.

All of the military’s testing of autonomous systems is rooted in its new operational construct, Joint All Domain Command and Control (JADC2). It’s a way of approaching warfare where instead of siloed commands with decisions being made at individual service levels, the forces of the military are combined through an Internet of Things capability. Leaders hope the technology will allow communications and the command and control of forces to integrate and use real-time data.

CDM program manager Kevin Cox to depart

Continuous Diagnostics and Mitigation (CDM) Program Manager Kevin Cox is leaving to become deputy chief information officer at the Department of Justice.

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, which houses the CDM program, doesn’t have an announcement on Cox’s final day or replacement yet, according to a spokesperson.

Cox has been instrumental in steering the CDM program, as it helps civilian agencies adopt tools feeding cybersecurity risk data to agency and federal dashboards for maximum visibility across the enterprise.

“Kevin has done a tremendous job advancing the CDM program over the last four years,” said Eric Goldstein, executive assistant director for cybersecurity at CISA. “We are thankful for his service to CISA and continued service to the federal government.”

The move to DOJ is a return for Cox, who previously served as the department’s deputy chief information security officer.

MeriTalk first reported Cox’s pending departure from CISA.

Senators urge ‘flexibility’ administering Technology Modernization Fund

A group of Democratic senators is the latest to urge the administrators of the Technology Modernization Fund to increase staffing levels, adjust project selection criteria and reconsider repayment terms for agencies.

In a letter sent to the Office of Management and Budget, General Services Administration, and TMF Board, the lawmakers encourage the organizations to use the “flexibility” of the Modernizing Government Technology Act to quickly replace outdated systems and improve cybersecurity.

Congress appropriated $1 billion to the TMF in the American Rescue Plan Act passed in March, but the tech industry soon raised concerns the project approval process would need to be streamlined to meet the demands of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“It is widely acknowledged that our federal government needs to make significant and urgent investments in replacing outdated and insecure legacy IT systems,” reads the letter, sent by Sens. Mark Warner, Va., Chris Van Hollen, Md., and Gary Peters, Mich. “Over the past year of the pandemic however, in which we’ve seen more than 565,000 deaths in the U.S. and devastating degrees of economic hardship, added demands have at times overwhelmed our government’s ability to continue providing effective customer service and critical benefits to Americans.”

The Pandemic Response Accountability Committee reported IT infrastructure is a “top challenge” in February, given the government’s increased reliance on telework and the subsequent broadening of agencies’ cyberattack surfaces. Services like the processing of pandemic relief applications have suffered as a result.

TMF Board cyber, financial management and acquisition experts can “rapidly” evaluate TMF project proposals by bolstering their ranks and prioritizing the most critical, cost-saving ones, according to the letter.

The reimbursement requirement of agencies may also need to be reduced or discarded in the short term.

“We encourage you to take steps to ensure that agencies are able to rapidly and effectively respond to pressing needs, including by significantly adjusting or removing reimbursement requirements for portions of the funding,” reads the letter. “We continue to believe that repayment of funds to the TMF helps ensure its long-term viability, but the magnitude of the current challenges presents an urgent need.”

The lawmakers stressed the need for “clear and transparent guidance” from OMB, GSA and the TMF Board on selection criteria and repayment for the benefit of agencies and Congress.

The TMF Board has awarded more than $125 million to 11 modernization projects to date addressing program operability and cybersecurity.

DOD zero-trust strategy coming this year, CIO says

The Department of Defense plans to release a zero-trust architecture strategy 2021, acting CIO John Sherman announced Thursday, adding to a growing list of new zero-trust-related documents to come this year from the DOD.

While few details were shared about the nature of the strategy, Sherman stressed that reaching a zero-trust framework to improve the cybersecurity of DOD networks is pivotal. A strategy could set in motion changes to how the department establishes its security posture by organizing networks around the zero-trust principles of segmenting a network and limiting users’ access to only the data they need.

“I think we are at one of these inflection points here,” Sherman said during the Billington  CyberSecurity Defense Summit. “Our current approaches are not going to take us into the future here.”

Zero trust is a security architecture that treats every user like an outsider — giving them literally zero trust and limiting their access to roam about a network to minimize damage from an inevitable breach of a system’s perimeter. DOD officials have also teased a reference architecture guide being produced by the Defense Information Systems Agency and the National Security Agency.

The recent SolarWinds breach, where Russian hackers infiltrated networks through the software supply chain, has given government IT officials new motivation to shift to a zero-trust framework. It’s unclear if zero trust would have stopped the Russians’ hack of several government networks and thousands of private companies, but within a zero-trust model, they would not be able to move laterally to access data or be able to hide for long (or so security specialists hope).

While DOD already has some “defense in depth” measures in place, Sherman was emphatic that fully implementing the technical, cultural and strategic changes are security imperatives.

“We have robust security…we have a lot of the pieces here,” he said.

Sherman added that by the time DOD fully implements zero trust, it may already have a new moniker. But it’s the guiding principles of segmenting a network and limiting movement internally that are critical. The strategy, which should be finalized this year, is likely to address technical and practical issues involved in zero trust based on how much Sherman emphasized the change in user and administrator culture for zero trust to work.

“This is not about technology, it’s about strategy,” he said.

New DISA director to publish ‘action plan’ in coming months

With only 50 days on the job, Lt. Gen. Robert Skinner, director of the Defense Information Systems Agency, plans to issue a new action plan on how he will continue digital modernization across the military.

The action plan will sketch out the areas Skinner intends to have DISA focus on over the next few years with partners across the Department of Defense, he said at the Digital Transformation Summit produced by FedScoop Thursday. He is working to publish the plan and strategy in the next “30-45 days.”

“We are doing a lot of sync sessions with mission partners, with industry, with individuals within the organization and across the department to make sure we can get this right,” Skinner said.

DISA has several major initiatives on the horizon that are generating interest from industry. It’s preparing to finalize the $11.7 billion Defense Enclaves Services contract to help consolidate military support agency enterprise IT networks, developing tools for identity management and assisting a departmentwide push to improve cybersecurity.

“One of the biggest things we are working on is identity management,” he said.

DISA recently announced its first use case for a new identity management tool that is slated to eventually be used across the department.

Senate bill looks to boost AI talent in government

Students would receive scholarships to study artificial intelligence in exchange for federal service, should a Senate bill introduced Wednesday become law.

To be eligible undergraduate and graduate students studying AI or a related field would need to agree to work for the federal or a state, local or tribal government after completing their degree for a period equal to the length of the scholarship.

The AI Scholarship-for-Service Act comes as agencies struggle to enlist AI talent, despite the U.S. attempting to become a global leader in the space — ahead of top competitors like China.

“As advancements in artificial intelligence continue, the federal government must be prepared to promote ethical applications based on American values to counter competitors like the Chinese government, which prioritizes investments in this revolutionary technology,” said Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., one of the bill’s cosponsors. “Incentivizing professionals who are studying this emerging field to serve in the public sector will help our country remain competitive in the long term, strengthen our national security and ensure this technology is used ethically for the benefit of all Americans.”

The National Science Foundation would be expected to designate qualified institutions of higher education (IHE) for participation in the program.

Internship opportunities would also be made available, but employment preference would be given to students willing to work at executive agencies.

Recipients who fail to serve at least three years in the public sector would be made to repay the scholarship.

Peters, who cosponsored the bill with Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., previously introduced the bill in 2020, but it was never assigned to a committee.

The University of Michigan, Dakota State University, Carnegie-Mellon University, the Internet Association and BSA | The Software Alliance have all endorsed the legislation.

DOD grapples with the future of its cyber workforce

Over recent years, the Department of Defense has put a number of program and policy initiatives in place to make it easier to recruit and hire cybersecurity personnel to support the military’s increasingly digital mission. And yet, the department continues to struggle, like others across government, to make meaningful progress in narrowing its cyber skills gap, top IT officials testified this week.

“I am concerned about the pace” at which DOD is hiring and training cyber personnel, Lt. Gen. Dennis Crall, CIO of the Joint Staff, said during a hearing before the Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Personnel on Wednesday. “I think the divide between the need is growing compared to what we’re able to fulfill. I’m not sure we’re closing the gap, and time is ticking for us to do so.”

Veronica Hinton, acting deputy assistant secretary for defense for civilian personnel policy, described the DOD as “one of the three largest markets” for cybersecurity talent in the U.S., competing in the ruthless battle with big tech companies and others in the private sector for top personnel out of college. To improve the department’s chances in this battle, Congress has approved hiring and pay flexibilities like the Cyber Excepted Service not afforded to other agencies, while the DOD itself has worked to streamline its recruitment and better work with industry and universities.

While those initiatives in earnest are meant to work toward narrowing the skills gap, Crall said it might not be enough to keep up.

“The digital nature of the fight that we expect, especially at pace and speed, is going to demand a workforce and talent level that we have not seen before,” he said. “The human-machine interface brings a demand that is going to have to be found, cultivated, educated and implemented to get that level of experience as we learn and work our way through this new capability set.”

Continuing, Crall said, “I’m not absolutely certain” the military will be able to get “the right talent delivered at the right time.”

Admitting his take as “more sobering” than his colleagues’, Crall pointed to DOD’s limited understanding of cyber professionals as the glaring issue. “I don’t think we know our target audience as well as we need to. We need to find out what really motivates individuals to want to serve in the capacity that we’re offering.”

He also said the department must do a better job at evaluating the programs and policies set in place to bring on cyber talent. “While they’re interesting to approach and employ, they may not all deliver in the way that we expect.”

Acting DOD CIO John Sherman acknowledged too that there is “still work to be done” and that “we need a more holistic north star” to guide the department’s cyber mission, saying his office will prioritize developing a new cybersecurity strategy to update the previous version from 2018.

“We’ve put many of the key foundational mechanisms in place and have actively leveraged the tools at our disposal,” Sherman said. “But we must build on the progress by updating our overarching strategy to ensure our workforce is prepared to implement zero trust and the other latest approaches to defending our enterprise.”

Sherman really emphasized zero trust as an emerging concept that will widen the aperture for the types of skills the DOD will need to consider for cybersecurity moving forward. “For this and other evolving cyber strategies, we can expect to draw an even wider range of skill sets in areas like data and artificial intelligence,” he said.

Likewise, Crall said it’s hard enough to plan for the cyber needs of the department today — thinking ahead, say five years, is even harder as the U.S. military moves closer to its sensor-driven, connected warfare operating concept of Joint All-Domain Command and Control (JADC2).

“We have not onboarded the very capabilities we need to employ: machine learning, autonomy, artificial intelligence, a real cloud-based environment, pushing that processing to the tactical edge and a reformed network,” Crall said. “So the speed with which that’s going to require us to operate is going to have a level of human-machine interface we’ve never had before. And it’s hard for me to believe that the force we’re looking at today is necessarily rightly aligned to that new mission set. We’re going to have to lead-turn this and keep a careful eye on what those skill sets are necessary to bring this on board.”