Judge strikes down Trump administration's plan to add a citizenship question to 2020 Census

USA Today | January 15, 2019

A federal district judge Tuesday struck down the Trump administration’s plan to add a question on citizenship to the 2020 Census, ruling that Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross exceeded his authority under federal law. The much-awaited decision by Judge Jesse Furman is likely to wind up at the Supreme Court, which next month is scheduled to consider a portion of the case – whether Ross can be required to give a deposition about the reasons for his decision. But Furman’s ruling temporarily makes that question moot. Ross announced the addition of the citizenship question last March, but it has been tied up in court. The government has not asked about individuals' citizenship on the Census since 1950.

Spotlight

How Federal Agencies leverage data for decision making is changing. Historical transaction reporting and static batch data analyses are giving way to predictive data science, streaming analytics, machine learning (ML), and artificial intelligence (AI). Agencies are embracing these new paradigms for more informed, real-time decisions to impact business, operations, and agency performance.

Spotlight

How Federal Agencies leverage data for decision making is changing. Historical transaction reporting and static batch data analyses are giving way to predictive data science, streaming analytics, machine learning (ML), and artificial intelligence (AI). Agencies are embracing these new paradigms for more informed, real-time decisions to impact business, operations, and agency performance.

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EMERGING TECHNOLOGY, CYBERSECURITY

Menlo Security Achieves FedRAMP Authorization for RBI and CBII Technologies

Menlo Security | February 06, 2023

Menlo Security, a well-known cloud security provider, has recently announced that its cloud-native Menlo Security platform has acquired an Authorization to operate (ATO) under the Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP) at the moderate level. This Authorization is for the usage of cloud-based internet isolation (CBII) and remote browser isolation (RBI) technologies, protecting data and humans from zero-day attacks, spyware, malware, and ransomware. With the support of the Isolation CoreTM, it will stop threats before they happen. In addition, it centralizes interfaces, removing the need for other technologies, extends integration with different interfaces, and prevents HEAT attacks. Co-Founder and Chief Product Officer of Menlo Security, Poornima DeBolle, said, "Achieving FedRAMP Authorization for the Menlo Cloud Security Platform is a true testament to the value of our Isolation Core architecture. Our ability to protect the users from sophisticated attacks while maintaining a consistent user experience will enable the government agencies to focus on their mission." She added, "Highly Evasive Adaptive Threats (HEAT) are challenging legacy security stacks with new techniques to deliver malware to the user. Our Zero Trust approach, powered by our innovative Isolation Core, has been proven by CBII in the DoD with millions of users for more than two years. We look forward to bringing the same protection to all government agencies with our FedRAMP Authorization." (Source – Business Wire) About Menlo Security Menlo Security, a leading computer and network security provider, prevents organizations from threats, eliminates cyber-attacks and provides complete protection with its isolation-powered cloud security platform. In addition, it provides the most secure Zero Trust approach, making it invisible to online end users and freeing up security operations to focus on business growth. Headquartered in Mountain View, California, it has been transforming cybersecurity against almost all threats since 2013. It specializes in Zero Trust, CASB, cloud security, remote browser isolation, secure web gateway, network security, cybersecurity, and internet isolation.

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EMERGING TECHNOLOGY

MongoDB Atlas Achieves FedRAMP®’s Moderate Authorization

MongoDB | February 09, 2023

On February 08, 2023, MongoDB, a software development company, announced that its platform, MongoDB Atlas, has achieved FedRAMP, the Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program's Moderate Authorized designation. The MongoDB Atlas for Government platform provides software tools and services for organizations of the U.S. government, enabling them to quickly build and deploy secure, high-scale distributed applications over the cloud. An independent auditor has reported that it fulfills almost all the requirements of the FBI's Criminal Justice Information Services (CJIS). In addition, it makes it easier for educational institutes, local agencies, states, and the federal government, to build updated cloud-native applications while still fulfilling data security and privacy standards. FedRAMP is a U.S. government program providing a standardized approach to authorization, continuous monitoring, and security assessment for cloud-related products and services. MongoDB received FedRAMP's approval because it fulfilled the requirements of strict performance, compliance, and security standards. It is now listed among FedRAMP-authorized companies, offering cloud software to government organizations to help them innovate and grow faster and more confidently with FedRAMP's approval. Chief Product Officer of MongoDB, Sahir Azam, said, "Security is our priority at MongoDB and a top priority for our customers. We know that with the proliferation of different types of data that is transmitted and stored in the cloud, protecting sensitive data is increasingly important for both private and public entities." He added, "The FedRAMP Moderate designation, as well as the assessment of MongoDB Atlas for Government in support of customers with CJIS requirements, are the result of our efforts to ensure that MongoDB Atlas for Government is well positioned to secure the country's most crucial data sets and power the most innovative applications designed to transform government. Now the more than 7,500 government organizations leveraging AWS also have access to MongoDB Atlas for Government to create modern applications. We are grateful for the support and partnership of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) who sponsored MongoDB throughout the authorization process." (Source – Cision PR Newswire) About MongoDB MongoDB, a developer data platform company, has empowered innovators with software and data requirements to build, transform, and disrupt industries since 2007. Headquartered in New York, it has more than 39,100 employees in about 100 countries worldwide. The statistics say that its database platform has been downloaded more than 352 million times, and about 1.5 million people have registered for MongoDB University courses. It provides solutions for the financial services, telecommunications, healthcare, retail, and public sectors. Its strategic initiatives are Legacy modernization, Business agility, Data as a service, and Cloud data strategy for public and private enterprises without any lock-in.

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EMERGING TECHNOLOGY

US Department of Defense and Intelligence Agencies Trust Appian

Appian | February 16, 2023

On February 15, 2023, Appian, a software development company, announced that over 200 government agencies trust it for accelerated mission success through packaged solutions, low-code development, and process automation across various branches of the Department of Defense and Intelligence agencies. With IT modernization, it empowers mission-driven agencies for optimal efficiency and effectiveness. It became popular in military agencies due to the automation of transformational processes through various platforms at a large scale through Appian Data Fabric. The agency, partnering with BigBear.AI and Palantir Technologies, has opted for Appian for the implementation of a single Global Force Information Management system (GFIM) in a recent contract. This system is a platform of intelligence which is providing a holistic view of the agency's global force structure. The two other agencies selected Appian for management deployments connecting data, processes, people, and applications in mission-driven workflows. The Appian Government Acquisition Management (GAM) suite is a set of pre-built solutions designed for the acquisition lifecycle, enabling government organizations to make procurement decisions with confidence and clarity. It also supports the US Air Force CON-IT acquisition system. This system standardizes acquisition contract writing across the government organization. In addition, it drives acquisition and contracting efficiency, decreases costs, enhances functionality, and makes statutory changes quickly. It offers solutions dedicated to government agencies' requirements and challenges, ranging from gathering requirements to contract closeouts. Its GAM suite will continue to serve agencies and upgrade to support their growth, from implementing the DoD contract writing system to the acquisition of the BPM-based acquisition management solution in the United States Federal Government. CEO of Appian, Matt Calkins, said, "We are in a time of economic turbulence, and if we are met with an upcoming recession, like many are predicting, we're going to see the same symptoms we see in any recession. We're all going to be asked to do a little more with a little less. The demands will be higher, and the resources will be lower." (Source – Cision PR Newswire) About Appian Headquartered in McLean, Virginia, Appian, a software company, has been designing, automating, and optimizing complex business processes since 1999. It improves the organization's workflows, data unification and operations optimization for growth and customer experience. It has become a standard for a contract writing system, saving time and manual effort. It provides solutions for digital transformation, process mining, automation, cloud, enterprise software, low-code, automation, enterprise integration, social business collaboration, business process management, and application platform-as-a-service.

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