NIST

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (“CISA”) released a new guide on August 2, 2024 titled, “Software Acquisition Guide for Government Enterprise Consumers: Software Assurance in the Cyber-Supply Chain Risk Management (C-SCRM) Lifecycle” (the “Software Acquisition Guide”).  This guide addresses the cybersecurity risks associated with the acquisition and use of third-party developed software and certain related physical products in an agency enterprise environment, and provides recommendations to agency personnel for understanding, addressing, and mitigating those risks.  This guide was followed on August 6, 2024, by a separate guide issued jointly by CISA and the FBI titled, “Secure By Demand Guide: How Software Customers Can Drive a Secure Technology Ecosystem” (the “Secure By Demand Guide”).  Together, these two guides provide agency and industry personnel a series of questions that can be used to obtain information from suppliers, set technical requirements, and develop contract terms for the acquisition of secure software as contemplated by the Biden Administration’s May 2021 Cybersecurity Executive Order (“EO”) and the Office of Management and Budget (“OMB”) memoranda implementing that Order. 

The specific impact that the guides will have on federal procurements and software developers in the federal supply chain is not yet clear.  With this said, all software producers in the federal supply chain are currently required to fully comply with new secure software development minimum requirements promulgated by the Office of Management and Budget by September 8 of this year, as detailed in our prior post here.  The Software Acquisition Guide in particular builds on those requirements and thus could be adopted by agencies that opt to impose additional obligations on contractors beyond those minimum requirements.Continue Reading New Guides Released Relating to Secure Software Development Requirements

This is the twenty-sixth in a series of Covington blogs on implementation of Executive Order 14028, “Improving the Nation’s Cybersecurity,” issued by President Biden on May 12, 2021 (the “Cyber EO”).  The first blog summarized the Cyber EO’s key provisions and timelines, and the subsequent blogs described the actions taken by various government agencies to…

On January 19, 2023, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (“NIST”) published a Concept Paper setting out “Potential Significant Updates to the Cybersecurity Framework” and requesting public feedback and comments on the proposed revisions by March 3, 2023.  Originally released in 2014 and previously updated in 2018, the NIST CSF is a framework…

This is the nineteenth in a series of Covington blogs on implementation of Executive Order 14028, “Improving the Nation’s Cybersecurity,” issued by President Biden on May 12, 2021 (the “Cyber EO”).  The first blog summarized the Cyber EO’s key provisions and timelines, and the subsequent blogs described the actions taken by various Government agencies to…

This is the sixteenth in a series of Covington blogs on implementation of Executive Order 14028, “Improving the Nation’s Cybersecurity,” issued by President Biden on May 12, 2021 (the “Cyber EO”).  The first blog summarized the Cyber EO’s key provisions and timelines, and the subsequent blogs described the actions taken by various Government agencies to implement the cyber EO from June 2021 through July 2022.  This blog describes key actions taken to implement the Cyber EO during August 2022.Continue Reading August 2022 Developments Under President Biden’s Cybersecurity Executive Order

This is the fifteenth in a series of Covington blogs on implementation of Executive Order 14028, “Improving the Nation’s Cybersecurity,” issued by President Biden on May 12, 2021 (the “Cyber EO”).  The first blog summarized the Cyber EO’s key provisions and timelines, and the subsequent blogs described the actions taken by various Government agencies to implement the Cyber EO from June 2021 through June 2022.  This blog describes key actions taken to implement the Cyber EO during July 2022.Continue Reading July 2022 Developments under President Biden’s Cybersecurity Executive Order

This is the twelfth in a series of Covington blogs on implementation of Executive Order 14028, “Improving the Nation’s Cybersecurity,” issued by President Biden on May 12, 2021 (the “Cyber EO”).  The first blog summarized the Cyber EO’s key provisions and timelines, and the second through eleventh blogs describe the actions taken by various Government agencies to implement the Cyber EO from June 2021 through March 2022, respectively.  This blog summarizes key actions taken to implement the Cyber EO during April 2022.  As with the steps taken during prior months, the actions described below reflect the implementation of the EO within the Government. However, these activities portend further actions, potentially in or before June 2022, that are likely to impact government contractors, particularly those who provide software products or services to the Government.
Continue Reading April 2022 Developments Under President Biden’s Cybersecurity Executive Order

This is the eleventh in a series of Covington blogs on implementation of Executive Order 14028, “Improving the Nation’s Cybersecurity,” issued by President Biden on May 12, 2021 (the “Cyber EO”).  The first blog summarized the Cyber EO’s key provisions and timelines, and the second through tenth blogs described the actions taken by various Government agencies to implement the EO from June 2021 through February 2022, respectively.  This blog summarizes key actions taken to implement the Cyber EO during March 2022.  As with steps taken during prior months, the actions described below reflect the implementation of the EO within the Government.  However, these activities portend further actions, potentially in or before June 2022, that are likely to impact government contractors, particularly those who provide software products or services to the Government.
Continue Reading March 2022 Developments Under President Biden’s Cybersecurity Executive Order

This is the tenth in a series of Covington blogs on implementation of Executive Order 14028, “Improving the Nation’s Cybersecurity,” issued by President Biden on May 12, 2021 (the “Cyber EO”).  The first blog summarized the Cyber EO’s key provisions and timelines, and the second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth, and ninth blogs described the actions taken by various Government agencies to implement the EO from June 2021 through January 2022, respectively.

This blog summarizes key actions taken to implement the Cyber EO during February 2022.  As with steps taken during prior months, the actions described below reflect the implementation of the EO within the Government.  However, these activities portend further actions in March 2022 that are likely to impact government contractors, particularly those who provide software products or services to government agencies.Continue Reading February 2022 Developments Under President Biden’s Cybersecurity Executive Order

This is the ninth in a series of Covington blogs on implementation of Executive Order 14028, “Improving the Nation’s Cybersecurity,” issued by President Biden on May 12, 2021 (the “Cyber EO”).  The first blog summarized the Cyber EO’s key provisions and timelines, and the second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth blogs described the actions taken by various government agencies to implement the EO from June through December 2021, respectively.

This blog summarizes key actions taken to implement the Cyber EO during January 2022.  As with steps taken during prior months, the actions described below reflect the implementation of the EO within Government.  However, these activities portend further actions in February 2022 that are likely to impact government contractors, particularly those who provide software products or services to government agencies.Continue Reading January 2022 Developments Under President Biden’s Cybersecurity Executive Order