Georgia Tech Procurement Assistance Center

  • Home
  • About Us
  • Training
    • Class Registration
    • On-demand Training
    • GTPAC COVID-19 Resource Page
    • Cybersecurity
    • Veterans Verification Video
    • GTPAC Community
    • Other Training Audio & Video
  • Useful Links
  • Team Directory
    • Albany Counselor
    • Atlanta Counselors
    • Augusta Counselor
    • Carrollton Counselor
    • Columbus Counselor
    • Gainesville Counselor
    • Savannah Counselor
    • Warner Robins Counselor
  • Directions
    • Atlanta – Training Facility
    • Atlanta – Office
    • Albany
    • Augusta
    • Carrollton
    • Columbus
    • Gainesville
    • Savannah
    • Warner Robins
  • COVID-19
  • New Client Application
  • Contact Us

SAM registrations and updates suspended until Mar. 25th

March 21, 2013 By ei2admin

The federal government’s on-line vendor database, the System for Award Management (SAM), is temporarily shut down for purposes of accepting new registrations and updating existing vendor registrations.

The General Services Administration (GSA), SAM’s administrator, says that vendor registration in SAM will again be available on Monday morning, March 25, 2013.

GSA gave notice of this temporary suspension of access to vendor records on SAM’s home page at https://www.sam.gov.  In a notice posted there, GSA said:

  • “Some components of SAM.gov are temporarily unavailable. Users will not be able to register a new entity or update an entity record until Entity Management is available at 9:00 a.m. on Monday, March 25. GSA currently is strengthening security measures to protect user information. The security of SAM registrants’ information is a top priority for the agency and we will continue to ensure the system remains secure.”

On March 15, 2013, GSA notified, via email entitled “SAM Security Incident,” all existing SAM registrants of a potential security breach.  In that notice, GSA told vendors:

  • “The General Services Administration (GSA) recently has identified a security vulnerability in the System for Award Management (SAM), which is part of the cross-government Integrated Award Environment (IAE) managed by GSA.
  • “Registered SAM users with entity administrator rights and delegated entity registration rights had the ability to view any entity’s registration information, including both public and non-public data at all sensitivity levels.
  • “Immediately after the vulnerability was identified, GSA implemented a software patch to close this exposure.  As a precaution, GSA is taking proactive steps to protect and inform SAM users.
  • “The data contained identifying information including names, taxpayer identification numbers (TINs), marketing partner information numbers and bank account information. As a result, information identifiable with your entity registered in SAM was potentially viewable to others.
  • “Registrants using their social security numbers instead of a TIN for purposes of doing business with the federal government may be at greater risk for potential identity theft. These registrants will receive a separate email communication regarding credit monitoring resources available to them at no charge.
  • “In the meantime, we wanted you to be aware of certain steps that all SAM users may want to take to protect against identity theft and financial loss.
  • “Specific information is available at www.gsa.gov/samsecurity.  If you would like additional background or have questions, you may call 1-800-FED-INFO (1-800-333-4636), from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. (ET), Monday-Friday starting Monday, March 18. We recommend that you monitor your bank accounts and notify your financial institution immediately if you find any discrepancies.
  • “We apologize for any inconvenience or concern this situation may cause. We believe it is important for you to be fully informed of any potential risk resulting from this situation. The security of your information is a critical priority to this agency and we are working to ensure the system remains secure. We will keep you apprised of any further developments.”

GSA’s March 15th email to vendors was signed by Amanda Fredriksen, Acting Assistant Commissioner, Integrated Award Environment.

There have been system implementation issues associated with SAM ever since its launch in July 2012.  Counselors with the Georgia Tech Procurement Assistance Center (GTPAC) continue to make themselves available to vendors encountering SAM registration problems.  We have identified a number of remedies to assist Georgia businesses in the registration pr0cess.  For vendors located outside the state of Georgia, please be advised that there are procurement technical assistance centers (PTACs) located across the country who stand ready to assist businesses with SAM and other government contracting issues.  To find the PTAC nearest you, please visit: http://www.aptac-us.org/new/Govt_Contracting/find.php.

For more background on SAM implementation, please visit: http://gtpac.org/tag/sam/

 

Filed Under: Contracting Tips Tagged With: cybersecurity, GSA, SAM, sam.gov, security, System for Award Management

Recent Posts

  • The VA’s OSDBU Direct Access Program is hosting a large number of small business events
  • Construction firm pays $2.5 million to settle allegations of exploiting SDVOSB program
  • Five things to know about an 8(a) bona fide place of business
  • Paycheck protection program audits are upon us
  • What federal contractors should know about small business subcontracting plans

Popular Topics

8(a) abuse Army bid protest budget budget cuts certification construction contract awards contracting opportunities cybersecurity DoD DOJ False Claims Act FAR federal contracting federal contracts fraud GAO Georgia Tech government contracting government contract training government trends GSA GSA Schedule GTPAC HUBZone innovation IT Justice Dept. marketing NDAA OMB SBA SDVOSB set-aside small business small business goals spending subcontracting technology VA veteran owned business VOSB wosb

Contracting News

Construction firm pays $2.5 million to settle allegations of exploiting SDVOSB program

Mandatory breach notification requirements are coming for government contractors

EEOC announces EEO-1 data collection to open April 26th

GSA streamlines MAS program requirements for COVID-19 related vendors

Resurfacing contract costs $27.4 million for Henry County

Read More

Contracting Tips

Five things to know about an 8(a) bona fide place of business

Paycheck protection program audits are upon us

What federal contractors should know about small business subcontracting plans

CMMC: Some frequently asked questions

The Infrastructure Plan and The Davis Bacon Act

Read More

GTPAC News

The VA’s OSDBU Direct Access Program is hosting a large number of small business events

SBA hosting “Contract Bonds and Surety Bond Guarantee” webinar April 20th

GSA hosting “Getting on the GSA Schedule” webinar April 13th

NIH hosting 2021 small business program conference April 26-30th

Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency hosting industry day and matchmaking May 6th and 20th

Read More

Georgia Tech News

Georgia Tech and partners to help NASA advance deep space exploration

Georgia Tech structure certified as ‘living building’

Georgia Tech creates new Office of Corporate Engagement

Delta Jacket wins 2021 Georgia Tech InVenture prize

Future of 5G is under the microscope at Georgia incubator

Read More

  • SAM.gov registration is free, and help with SAM is free, too
APTAC RSS Twitter GTPAC - 30th Year of Service

Copyright © 2021 · Georgia Tech - Enterprise Innovation Institute