April 11, 2016
Federal Agencies Are Using Last Summer’s ‘Cyber Sprint’ To Justify Sole-Source IT Contracts
Source: Nextgov, Aliya Sternstein,March 9, 2016
Several federal agencies are not letting eligible companies compete for IT contracts, reasoning that only a current or other favored supplier can handle work demanded by a 30-day cybersecurity exercise.
But that exercise was supposed to have ended last July, and some of these so-called sole-source contracts issued by the departments of Homeland Security and Labor, among others, appear to strain, if not outright violate, federal contracting rules, according to procurement attorneys.
A keyword search through the government’s business opportunity website for “cyber” contracts posted July 30 or afterward turned up eight such noncompetitive deals. Because many contracts are not disclosed online or are published in unsearchable PDFs, the total number may be much higher, say federal acquisition experts.
All of this work was prompted by a June 2015 revelation that cyberspies swiped millions of national security background check records from the Office of Personnel Management. During the “cyber sprint,” the White House Office of Management and Budget ordered all federal agencies to race through some basic housekeeping, like patching software bugs and tightening network access controls. READ MORE….
IT contracts are big business for the government. Contact your nearest PTAC if your company might meet government requirements.
.
Keep up to date – follow us on Twitter, LinkedIN or Facebook!
For help with Government Contracting: contact your nearest Procurement Technical Assistance Center (PTAC). Funded through Cooperative Agreements between the U.S. Department of Defense and state and local governments/institutions, PTACs provide free and low-cost assistance in virtually all areas of government contracting.