Randi Parker Posts

This October, after months of workshops and meetings all over the country, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) released a preliminary framework for voluntary cybersecurity standards for owners and operators of critical infrastructure. As you may recall, this framework was created following an executive order from President Obama in February 2012. A link to the preliminary framework can be found here.  NIST has been a forthright and open leader in this process and in t ...

CompTIA recently hosted a webinar focused on workforce initiatives that are working. The thinking here is to look at what is not being done, instead of analyzing the successes and whether or not those successes can be scalable.

On Wednesday, November 20, CompTIA hosted a webinar focused on workforce initiatives that are working. The thinking here is to look at what is not being done, instead of analyzing the successes and whether or not those successes can be scalable. We were fortunate to have three excellent speakers: Angel Pinero, senior vice president at ASI System Integration (and a CompTIA member); Heather Kenyon, president and CEO of the Tampa Bay Technology Forum (a TechVoice partner organization); and Eric Lar ...

After a slight delay due to the government shutdown, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has released a draft cybersecurity framework that sets voluntary standards and guidelines. As you may recall, this framework was required under the President’s “Executive Order on Cybersecurity” that Obama issued in February 2013. The framework is the result of four different workshops that were held around the country in which NIST consulted with industry and governme ...

Last week I attended the fourth and final National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Workshop on the Critical Infrastructure Cybersecurity Framework in Dallas, TX. The President’s Executive Order on cybersecurity – Executive Order 13636, “Improving Critical Infrastructure Cybersecurity” – directed NIST to host these workshops in order to work with stakeholders on developing a framework to protect critical infrastructure. The workshop provided a great oppo ...

All is quiet here in D.C., with Congress home for its annual summer recess. While members of Congress are back in their districts, they are continuing to hear and talk to their electorates. As in years past, the August recess is a great time for constituents to bend their representatives’ ears on key issues. This year it is immigration reform. TechVoice members and TECNA alliance partners have been playing an enormous role in this process by pounding the pavement and meeting with their loc ...

On Friday, July 19, the House of Representatives passed “the Student Success Act,” which reforms and re-authorizes “the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA),” also known as “No Child Left Behind.” The law as it stands today has been due for reauthorization since 2007 and parties on both sides of the aisle agree that reform was needed to meet the needs and demands of today’s students. The bill passed the House on a mainly party line vote of 221 t ...

Last week, the Senate passed the Gang of Eight’s immigration bill S. 744, the Border Security, Economic Opportunity and Immigration Modernization Act of 2013. The legislation passed by a vote of 68-32, with 14 Republicans supporting the measure.  We applaud the Senate for their commitment to this issue and on passage of the legislation.  Please click here to see the statement we released last week.  However, passage in the Senate was only the first of many battles that th ...

“The Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA),” also known as “No Child Left Behind,” expired at the end of fiscal year 2008 and while it has been due for reauthorization, it has been operating at FY 2008 levels. In recent weeks, we have seen a lot of activity around this legislation as both the House and Senate have begun work on reauthorizing the bill. In the Senate, the “Strengthening America’s Schools Act” was introduced by Senator Tom Harkin (D ...

The Senate is continuing its work on reviewing S. 744, “the Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act of 2013.” The Senate Judiciary Committee, led by Senators Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and Chuck Grassley (R-IA), has held several sessions, known as mark-ups, in which they have made substantive changes to the legislation. In between the formal sessions, compromises are being reached in closed-door meetings. The goal of these continued negotiations is to achie ...