After the recent release of a Special Item Number (SIN) for cloud products and services on IT Schedule 70, GSA is now looking to create two more SINs for targeted technologies. Specifically, these SINs will be related to health IT and cybersecurity. GSA also expanded their agreement with the Defense Health Agency (DHA) regarding health IT spending.

Many small businesses build a federal practice by partnering with companies that act as a reseller to the government. There are enormous benefits to partnering on a reseller’s GSA Schedule as part of your government sales strategy.

In recent years, GSA has been trying to adapt to the continuous evolution of the Health IT market. In order to reach this goal, they worked closely with vendors within the industry to help create and finalize a new Health IT SIN.

CIA Director John Brennan’s personal @AOL.com email account was hacked into by a high school student and his personal information was exposed on WikiLeaks on October 21, 2015. They published his Social Security numbers, passport numbers, credit card and addresses of his family and associates. In addition, they released emails and documents generated before Brennan’s time in the Obama administration and while it did not contain classified government information, this has triggered great concern within the intelligence community and U.S. Government.

The recent Ashley Madison hack doesn’t just have divorce attorneys and spouses scrambling. Federal, municipal and plenty of private sector employers are all on high alert. And they should be.

Data breaches are becoming one of government’s highest IT concerns. It is no longer a question of IF, but WHEN a data breach will occur. According to an April 2014 GAO report titled “Information Security - Agencies Need to Improve Cyber Incident Response Practices”, security incidents at Federal Agencies that have involved the probable exposure of citizens’ personal information have increased from 10,400 to 25,500 plus, between 2009 and 2013. This increase has Federal Agencies turning to the requirements set forth in the Privacy Act of 1974.