Under fire, GAO explains its mission to Congress
The Government Accountability Office publishes a blog to explain its role amid threatened budget cuts and rhetoric that questions its value. The Trump administration and Republican lawmakers have made no secret about their displeasure with the Government Accountability Office. GAO was created in 1921 as Congress’s auditor to help track federal spending. In that role, it has […]
WT 360: One founder’s guide to making hard pivots and picking the right investor
Sophia Harris, founder and chief executive of ODRG, charts the path her company has taken since its inception in 2013 and how a full change in approach positioned it for an investment from Advantage Capital. Every founder of a company faces this quandary: What does our next phase look like? How do we get there? […]
Tech, growth and operations leadership moves across the market
One global commercial software provider brings in a new U.S. public sector leader, while USPTO’s now-former chief information officer heads to the private sector. Booz Allen Hamilton Lou Barella has joined the company as chief information officer following seven years as chief technology officer at the pharmaceutical giant Takeda. His 32-year career also includes senior tech […]
Software holding company acquires Monster’s public sector business
Monster Government Solutions gets a new owner following a bankruptcy process undertaken by its former parent company. PartnerOne, a holding firm started in 1996 to acquire enterprise software companies, has purchased the public sector business of Monster to enter the federal talent acquisition and workforce development vertical. Monster Government Solutions was stood up in 2001 to bring […]
Firefly captures $868M in IPO proceeds
This is the second space-focused initial public offering in as many months with both exceeding original expectations on the proceed and valuation fronts. Firefly Aerospace has fetched roughly $868 million in its upsized initial public offering after investor demand for stock in the launch and space system maker exceeded expectations. In Firefly’s Thursday debut on the […]
Small defense industrial base firms pose tempting targets for nation-state hackers, NSA official says
Some 80% of the defense industrial base are actually small firms, according to the NSA’s head of DIB security, who has helped over 200 providers identify thousands of vulnerabilities in their systems. LAS VEGAS — When Bailey Bickley, chief of Defense Industrial Base defense at the NSA Cybersecurity Collaboration Center, took the stage at Black Hat, she […]
Intuitive Machines to acquire navigation software provider for $30M
The space exploration company is bringing in-house one of its partners, which has supported two flights to the moon. Intuitive Machines, a 12-year-old space exploration company that went public in 2023, has agreed to acquire another aerospace company for approximately $30 million to add more navigation and ground software technologies. KinetX opened for business in 1992 […]
Accenture’s federal arm awarded $937M student aid contract extension
Accenture Federal Services was the only bidder for the seven-year Education Department contract to process financial aid applications and modernize related systems. Accenture’s U.S. federal subsidiary will continue its nearly two-decade run as the lead industry partner in processing student aid applications for the Education Department. Education first awarded the work to Accenture Federal in 2006 as a […]
Army reopens $201M IT competition after protests
The Army Materiel Command will clarify requirements and evaluate revised proposals. Three companies will get another chance at a $201 million Army IT task order after taking their objections to the Government Accountability Office. Earlier this summer, Empower AI was selected by the Army Materiel Command to operate and manage the command’s consolidated IT infrastructure. Agile Defense, […]
‘High-severity’ Microsoft Exchange vulnerability disclosed on heels of Black Hat talk
Parts of the federal enterprise are likely susceptible to the flaw that allows hackers to hijack on-premises versions of Active Directory. CISA plans to release an emergency directive on Thursday, according to a person familiar with the matter. Update: Aug. 7 The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency issued an emergency directive Thursday instructing agencies to take […]