Author Archive

Lauren C. Williams

Senior Editor

Lauren C. Williams is senior editor for FCW and Defense Systems, covering defense and cybersecurity.

Prior to joining FCW, Williams was the tech reporter for ThinkProgress, where she covered everything from internet culture to national security issues. In past positions, Williams covered health care, politics and crime for various publications, including The Seattle Times.

Williams graduated with a master's in journalism from the University of Maryland, College Park and a bachelor's in dietetics from the University of Delaware. She can be contacted at lwilliams@fcw.com, or follow her on Twitter @lalaurenista.

Click here for previous articles by Wiliams.

Contracts

Defense companies aren’t seeking reprieve from inflation … yet 

Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks said the department has not received an “influx” of equitable adjustment requests.

  • By Lauren C. Williams
Contracts

CMMC assessments could resume in January

The governing body responsible for implementing the Defense Department’s unified cybersecurity program for contractors expects security procedures for authorized third party assessors to start back up in early 2022. But DOD has the final say on the timeline.

  • By Lauren C. Williams

Pentagon adds new top AI role

The Pentagon is creating a new position to lead its artificial intelligence efforts across the enterprise.

  • By Lauren C. Williams

What’s next for CMMC

After the Defense Department revamped cybersecurity standards for contractors, the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification program’s accreditation body is making adjustments.

  • By Lauren C. Williams

Biden taps former USAF buyer to lead DOD acquisition

The White House has nominated former Air Force acquisition chief William LaPlante to be the Pentagon’s top buyer.

  • By Lauren C. Williams

Leidos, Peraton among winners of $32.6M in spectrum OTAs

The awards were made via an other transaction agreement through the National Spectrum Consortium. DOD has increasingly used OTAs to rapidly buy and fund prototype development as well as fielding new technologies.

  • By Lauren C. Williams

DIU director: Look beyond reform to keep the technological edge

Mike Brown, the director of the Defense Innovation Unit says that more than acquisition reform is required if the U.S. wants to regain its technological edge.

  • By Lauren C. Williams

DOD CIO nominee wants tweaks to CMMC to help small businesses

The Biden administration's pick to be the Pentagon's tech chief wants to make it easier for small businesses to adhere to the Defense Department's cybersecurity standards and expand network optimization across the entire enterprise.

  • By Lauren C. Williams

Biden's pick to lead DOD's weapons testing wants cyber assessments for commercial cloud systems

The Biden administration's pick to lead the Defense Department's operational testing, Nickolas Guertin, called the department's inability to conduct independent cyber assessments of commercial cloud systems "a severe limitation."

  • By Lauren C. Williams

Breaking down the Army's new network plan

The Army wants to be able to freely send data back and forth from its legacy and business systems to the tactical edge. Key to doing that is its strategy to unify tactical and enterprise networks and creating a common "data fabric." But will it work?

  • By Lauren C. Williams

IT spend expected to trend up, acting DOD CIO says

Rising IT and cyber budgets may lay ahead as the Defense Department moves forward with implementing zero trust architecture and begins relying more on artificial intelligence, according to DOD's acting CIO.

  • By Lauren C. Williams
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DISA reorganizes cloud office

The Defense Information Systems Agency has reorganized its cloud offices, combining the Cloud Computing Program Office with DISA's hosting services directorate and ecosystem.

  • By Lauren C. Williams

House passes its version of 2022 NDAA

The House passed its version of the 2022 National Defense Authorization Act with a $24 billion topline spending increase over the Biden administration's budget proposal, potentially eliminating a major hurdle once the bill heads into conference with the Senate.

  • By Lauren C. Williams

Zero trust, EMS top Air Force cyber priorities

Lt. Gen. Timothy Haugh, the commander of the 16th Air Force, said implementing zero trust principles was "foundational" to improve data use and mitigate vulnerabilities from the defense industry supply chain.

  • By Lauren C. Williams

White House nominates John Sherman for DOD CIO

John Sherman was named DOD's principal deputy CIO in 2020 and has been acting in the CIO role since January.

  • By Lauren C. Williams

DOD's silence on CMMC is worrying industry, trade groups claim

Months of silence from the Defense Department on the status of the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification program is palpable and stirring unease among defense contractors, trade associations say in a letter to Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks.

  • By Lauren C. Williams

House panel passes 2022 NDAA with eye on cyber workforce

The House Armed Services Committee passed its version of the 2022 defense policy bill, 57-2.

  • By Lauren C. Williams

Can DOD make buying software easier?

Our sibling publication FCW talked with Tory Cuff, senior advisor for agile acquisitions, to get a better understanding of the Adaptive Acquisition Framework's special software pathway and DOD's pilot experiment with "colorless" money.

  • By Lauren C. Williams

DHS eyes CMMC model

The Homeland Security Department's Office of the Chief Procurement Officer is looking for a way to check contractors' compliance with its cyber hygiene clauses released in 2015.

  • By Lauren C. Williams

Hyten: Combat cloud needed to bolster collaboration with allies, partners

Gen. John Hyten, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said building a combat cloud with correctly tagged data would allow service members, allies and partners alike to login from anywhere with their credentials and biometrics so the U.S. can take full advantage of the capabilities they have to offer.

  • By Lauren C. Williams