Smarter Gov Tech, Stronger MerITocracy
Pentagon Military Defense DoD

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has ordered a reduction in mandatory cybersecurity training across the Department of Defense (DOD) – which the Trump administration has rebranded as the Department of War – in an effort to restore what he called “mission focus” for military personnel. […]

DoD Pentagon Military

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has directed a sweeping overhaul of the military’s inspector general (IG) complaint process, raising alarms among legal experts and whistleblower advocates who warn the move threatens independent oversight across the Department of Defense (DOD) – which the Trump administration has rebranded as the Department of War. […]

A federal judge is temporarily allowing select federal agencies and unions to continue collective bargaining after executive orders from President Donald Trump earlier this year sought to cancel those agreements.  […]

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The Trump administration ordered the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to compare DeepSeek to leading U.S. artificial intelligence models, revealing that the United States is outperforming China.  […]

A nonprofit organization is suing four federal agencies after they failed to respond to Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests on their use of artificial intelligence to support decisions in removing federal policies and adopting AI use cases.  […]

Veterans Affairs

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) released an updated artificial intelligence (AI) strategy this week that includes plans to incorporate AI in the Federal Electronic Health Record (EHR) as AI tools are validated. […]

CISA

A senior Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) official said Wednesday that the agency is narrowing its focus to core cyber defense duties after years of mission creep, emphasizing the need to protect federal networks, safeguard critical infrastructure, and push manufacturers to develop technology that is “secure by design.”  […]

State Department

Artificial intelligence (AI) presents a growing set of cybersecurity vulnerabilities that extend beyond traditional software threats, according to Matthew Turek, deputy director of the Information Innovation Office at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). […]

space
AI

The White House’s America’s AI Action Plan gives the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the intelligence community (IC) a timely nudge. For program leaders trying to turn pilots into production, that policy tailwind sets the stage for a shift from reactive cyber operations to AI-enabled cyber intelligence that finds weak signals early and prioritizes what to fix first. That shift – and what it looks like on the ground – was the focus of a recent conversation with two General Dynamics Information Technology (GDIT) leaders supporting DHS and the IC. […]

DoD Pentagon Military

As Congress failed to pass a fiscal year 2026 funding bill before the Oct. 1 deadline, the resulting shutdown is bringing some significant personnel and operational changes to the Department of Defense (DOD) – which the Trump administration has rebranded as the Department of War. […]

The Small Business Innovation Research Program (SBIR) and the Small Business Technology Transfer Program (STTR) expired at midnight after Congress failed to reauthorize them – a casualty of the broader shutdown fight. […]

The government shutdown and Congress’s failure to reauthorize the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act of 2015 (CISA 15) have put cyber defenses at risk, cybersecurity experts are warning, saying the pressure is now on state and local governments and industry members.   […]

The National Science Foundation (NSF) is investing around $30 million in institutions across several states to establish research centers in science and technology that will bolster efforts in semiconductors and biotechnology.   […]

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Pentagon Military Defense DoD

With the deadline fast approaching for defense contractors to meet looming cybersecurity standards under the Pentagon’s finalized Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) rule, the question remains: Will they be ready? According to recent reports, the answer is no. […]

DoD Pentagon Military

The first phase of the National Consumer Complaint Database’s (NCCDB) modernization effort is now live, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced Thursday, calling the update “overdue.”  […]

Air Force
cybersecurity

The Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP) is requiring FedRAMP authorized cloud service providers (CSPs) to identify and report all Cisco Adaptive Security Appliances (ASA) platforms, following the issuance of an emergency directive by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) last week. […]

Budget Federal spending

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) underspent its budget in fiscal year (FY) 2025 by about $38 million in appropriated funds and decided to invest $12 million of the excess funding in its technology development fund, OPM Director Scott Kupor announced today. […]

NASA

A bipartisan group of lawmakers is urging House Appropriations Committee leaders to include language in an upcoming short-term continuing resolution (CR) to protect NASA funding from proposed cuts by the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB). […]

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