The Wrap: Fed Budget Race is On; Walden Lands at Paladin; Calling all Cloud Experts

Welcome to The Wrap for Monday, January 8!?

From the newsroom at MeriTalk, it’s the quickest read in Federal tech news. Here’s what you need to know today:?

Fed Funding Race is On

First the good news: Republican and Democratic leaders on Capitol Hill said on Sunday they reached agreement on top-line Federal government funding levels for fiscal year 2024. Now the hard work: the House and Senate have less than 11 days to turn those very good intentions into a dozen pieces of legislation that win approval in both chambers, and that end up with President Biden’s signature, before current government funding begins to run out – leading to yet another continuing resolution (CR) bill, or at least a partial government shutdown. Here’s the time crunch: under CR legislation approved by Congress in November 2023, some Federal agencies – including the Departments of Transportation, Agriculture, Housing and Urban Development, and Veterans Affairs – are now funded at FY2023 levels only through Jan. 19. Most others are funded through Feb. 2.?The clock is most definitely ticking…

Walden Lands at Paladin

Kemba Walden , who had everything to do with crafting the latest generation of U.S. cybersecurity policy as the acting National Cyber Director for much of 2023, has landed in the private sector as president of the Paladin Capital Group ’s new Global Institute, the investment firm said today. Paladin invests in cyber, AI, and other advanced tech with a broader mission of protecting global critical infrastructure. At the new Global Institute, Walden will lead a global effort to protect the world’s critical infrastructure from cyber threats by fostering innovation, conducting research, and providing recommendations, among other tasks.?“In my time at the National Cyber Director’s Office, I saw firsthand how cooperation between the private and public sectors is critical to secure critical technology from increasingly complex cyber threats,” Walden said. “Paladin is taking a truly innovative approach by establishing this Institute to put forth actionable solutions to make cyberspace and the people who use it safer.”??

Calling all Cloud Experts

If you’re a private sector cloud computing expert, your counterparts in the Federal government want to hear from you . The Federal Secure Cloud Advisory Committee (FSCAC) is?looking to fill ?four open seats on its 15-member board that advises and provides recommendations to the GSA administrator, the Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP) Board, and Federal agencies. Each of the four seats will go to a private sector expert whose company provides cloud products and services, and two of them are reserved for small business reps. The application window is open through Jan. 22.?

CNMF’s new Commander?

Congrats to U.S. Marine Corps Maj. Gen. Lorna Mahlock, who?officially ?took command of the Cyber National Mission Force (CNMF) – the U.S. military’s joint cyber force tasked with defending the U.S. in cyberspace – at a military ceremony on Jan. 5. She succeeds U.S. Army Maj. Gen. William J. Hartman as CNMF commander. Hartman will become U.S. Cyber Command deputy commander. In her latest command, Mahlock will be responsible for more than 2,000 joint service military and civilian personnel across 39 cyber teams organized into six task forces to advance the mission and goals of the CNMF. “I have had the opportunity to observe you from afar and I am humbled by the opportunity to serve alongside you,” the general said. “You are our nation’s elite cyber warriors, competing daily against a threat that is very real, but which few can comprehend, quantify or see.” Prior to taking command at the CNMF, Mahlock was Deputy Director for Combat Support at the Cybersecurity Directorate within the National Security Agency.?

Once again, let’s “call IT a day,” but we'll bring you more tomorrow. Until then please check the MeriTalk breaking news website throughout the day for the latest on government IT people, process, and policy. And finally, please hit the news tip jar [with leads, breaking news, or simply your two cents] at [email protected] .