Executive Summary   The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) Federal Acquisition Regulation supplement (DFARs) 252.204-7012 requires Cloud Service Providers (CSP) to meet a baseline for compliance. CSPs must support DFARs 7012 flow down contract clauses to safeguard Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) against unauthorized disclosure. CSPs must also provide cloud solutions that are Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP) Moderate (or High) authorized or cloud solutions that can demonstrate FedRAMP Moderate ‘Equivalency’.   Microsoft 365 Government (GCC High) has ..read more

Microsoft is committed to U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) contractors and the Defense Industrial Base (DIB) by supporting the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) requirements for the Microsoft 365 Government (GCC High) cloud service offering.   Microsoft 365 Government cloud offerings for GCC High meet the applicable requirements of the DFARS Clause 252.204-7012 (Safeguarding Unclassified Controlled Technical Information). Specifically, the requirements within the Clause that are applicable to the Cloud Service Provider (CSP) and their commitment to fulfill these re ..read more

  With the recent announcements around Copilot, especially Copilot for Microsoft 365, many agencies are excited to adopt the new capabilities and unlock user productivity and accessibility. However, there is one lingering question that has always and continues to be in the background: “How to balance accessibility, productivity and security in an AI world.” So, as we wrap up Disability Awareness Month, I wanted to help address this challenge to enable the community that has inspired me over the years.    The difficulty of this AI enablement challenge is that to fully answer this ..read more

Release News   Teams   Deprecating the ability to view websites inside the Website tabs in the new Teams   Upgrades to importing a schedule in the Shifts app - GCC   Optimize screen sharing for video – GCC March, GCCH & DoD April   Viva   Viva Topics will be retired as Microsoft focuses our efforts on building new knowledge and content experiences in Microsoft Copilot   SharePoint Online   List owners and collaborators with the permission to edit the list will be able to collect information on their lists with the new Lists forms experience &nb ..read more

  Microsoft Copilot for Security and NIST 800-171: Access Control Microsoft Copilot for Security in Microsoft’s US Gov cloud offerings (Microsoft 365 GCC/GCC High and Azure Government) is currently unavailable and does not have an ETA for availability. Future updates will be published to the public roadmap here.   As of this writing we’ve received the Proposed Rule of the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) 2.0, and the public comment period ended on February 26. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) just released their analysis of public comments o ..read more

Release News     Teams   Meeting organizers can now see time-zone information of participants while scheduling a meeting   Share contact information of people in Microsoft Teams chat   Integrate Chat notification with Meeting RSVP status – GCC February, GCCH & DoD March   Mute On Air   External call routing settings - GCC & GCCH   Ability to block users from joining externally hosted Teams meetings   Privacy link in Teams meeting join flow changing to organization's privacy statement   Meeting invite improvements   Preset Org ..read more

As part of our efforts to increase security defaults and follow the principle of secure by design, we are happy to share that a feature change initiated by Microsoft engineering will enable more logging capabilities for Purview Audit (Standard). We have worked closely with the Executive Office of the President (EOP), the Office of the National Cyber Director (ONCD), and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) to prioritize this effort for U.S. government customers. This data will provide new telemetry to assist in meeting OMB 21-31 logging requirements for customers without ..read more

  Brought to you by Planet Technologies and Microsoft, "Shop Talk" is a new event series designed to elevate conversation and build community around the effective use of Microsoft tools and technology to drive maximum public sector impact. Join us Thursday, February 22, 2024, to hear from esteemed special guests Maria Roat, former Deputy Federal Chief Information Officer and Renee Wynn, former NASA Chief Information Officer, as they reflect on their experiences leading transformative government technology programs and share best practices for success. Connect with y ..read more

Pursuant to Section 8 of Executive Order (EO) 14028, "Improving the Nation’s Cybersecurity", Federal Chief Information Officers (CIOs) and Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs) aim to comply with the U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Memorandum 21-31, which centers on system logs for services both within authorization boundaries and deployed on Cloud Service Offerings (CSOs). This memorandum not only instructs Federal agencies to provide clear guidelines for service providers but also offers comprehensive recommendations on logging, retention, and management to increase the Gove ..read more

  Discover the latest updates and best practices for a seamless transition to the new Microsoft Teams. Join us for an informative webinar with Teams Engineering, designed to provide you with firsthand knowledge. Ensure a successful migration as we approach the upcoming deadlines:   3.31.2024 (for Desktop, Web) 6.30.2024 (for VDI)   Session Agenda: New Teams App Considerations for GCC  (Mac/Web/Windows/VDI) Migration Approaches Known Limitations Recent Service Updates Q&A - extended for an additional 30 minutes (attending during this extra time is optional) Reserve y ..read more