Veterans Affairs awarded a $3.7 million contract to SMS, Inc., Aug. 14, to provide “enhanced data security encryption” for all agency computers. The plan calls for all VA laptop computers to have the new encryption program within four weeks of the Aug. 18 start date. After that, SMS will move on to desktop computers and portable media. Sen. Larry Craig, chairman of the Veterans’ Affairs Committee, called this contract, and the one last week to provide credit analysis, “major steps forward” following the May 3 data theft affecting more than 26 million veterans and military members—and subsequent VA tribulations.
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth vowed to undertake far-reaching reforms on the way the U.S. military buys weapons, promising a sweeping overhaul of the way the Defense Department determines requirements, handles the acquisition process, and tests its kit. The fundamental goal, which Hegseth underscored in a 1-hour and 10-minute speech…
