To keep the 2020 election secure, experts at the Brookings Institution this week called for further efforts to combat the spread of domestic election disinformation, and instituting paper ballots. […]
Technologists responsible for the website of the Department of Veterans Affairs and other government websites emphasized the need for accessibility, ensuring that no one is excluded from access. […]
Congress is looking to hammer out its next COVID-19 relief bill in the coming weeks and it looks like it will be a contentious negotiation. As part of its opening salvo, Senate GOP leadership released their policy proposal on July 27. […]
The Departments of Veteran Affairs (VA), Health and Human Services (HHS), and Energy are partnering on a new initiative to share COVID-19 health data to enable the research and expertise on the virus. […]
The Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) Enforcement Bureau announced today that it has selected the USTelecom-led Industry Traceback Group as the Official Consortium for coordinating industry-led efforts to trace back the origin of unlawful robocalls. […]
Verizon has hired Jennifer Chronis to lead its Verizon Public Sector business beginning next month. […]
Reps. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., and Joe Kennedy III, D-Mass., introduced the We Need Eviction Data Now Act (H.R. 7743) on July 23 to direct the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to create a database of eviction records. […]
The Technology Modernization Fund (TMF) Board has awarded $15 million of funding to the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Customs and Border Protection (CBP) organization to transform its Collections platform into a modern, cloud-based system. […]
Rep. Jim Langevin, D-R.I. – one of the pioneering policy voices in Congress on cybersecurity issues – told MeriTalk in an exclusive interview that legislative oversight of Federal government actions in the cybersecurity arena remains “absolutely essential.” […]
The House Government Operations Subcommittee is planning to hold a hearing on August 3 at 2 p.m. EST to release the tenth version of the FITARA Scorecard, according to a knowledgeable source. […]
ACT-IAC released its 2021 agenda today listing priority issues that government will face next year including the need for citizen-centric services, transforming national infrastructure, and creating an agile government. […]
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) launched an investigation to see how well facial recognition algorithms could identify people wearing face masks and found that it does so with “great difficulty.” […]
Per new figures from the Office of the CIO, the Department of Defense (DoD) accommodated more than one million personnel on telework as of mid-June, compared to the 95,000 employees that worked remotely prior to the coronavirus pandemic. […]
Securing the software supply chain is a “major source” of national security risk for both public and private-sector organizations, a new report from the Atlantic Council argues. […]
Google’s Chief Executive Officer Sundar Pichai told employees in an email that the company will extend its voluntary work-from-home option through June 2021. […]
While the Federal government has been focused on modernizing its technology infrastructure and legacy systems, COVID-19 has forced agencies to transform at warp speed, particularly when it comes to cloud. However, as agencies deploy new cloud solutions, cybersecurity needs to keep pace. […]
Federal IT has earned the status of lifesaver in the COVID-19 pandemic for its ability to deliver vital services to citizens in times of crisis. MeriTalk is chronicling those successes – along with lessons for the future as agencies turn to the next generation of service improvements. In this edition of CIO Crossroads, we examine the Department of Energy four months into the fray. […]
As crunch time approaches in Congress on a new round of pandemic relief legislation, a group of Democratic lawmakers including leaders of the House Oversight and Reform Committee urged House leadership in a July 24 letter to include in any bill at least $1 billion of additional funding for the Technology Modernization Fund (TMF). […]
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is seeking a wide range of COVID-19 technologies, including ways to secure contact tracing and open source virus reporting, per a July 24 other transaction solicitation (OTS). […]
The Department of Energy (DOE) on July 24 announced America’s Blueprint for the Quantum Internet to further quantum research in the Federal space with private sector collaboration. In February 2020, DOE’s Office of Advanced Scientific Computing Research hosted the Quantum Internet Blueprint Workshop where representatives from DOE National Labs, universities, industry, and other U.S. agencies […]
Four Republican members of the House of Representatives praised the news, originally reported by Reuters on July 22, that France will phase out the China-based company Huawei out of its 5G networks by 2028. […]
The Treasury Department’s Bureau of the Fiscal Service is seeking a third-party provider for data center colocation services, per a July 23 request for information (RFI). […]
A group of Republican senators introduced the Strengthening Trade, Regional Alliances, Technology, and Economic and Geopolitical Initiatives Concerning China (STRATEGIC) Act to advance a comprehensive strategy for U.S. competition with China. The legislation, introduced July 22, is co-sponsored by Sens. Cory Gardner, R-Colo., Jim Risch, R-Ind., Mitt Romney, R-Utah, and Todd Young, R-Ind. […]
The National Security Commission on AI (NSCAI) has submitted its second-quarter recommendations to Congress on July 22 to strengthen ongoing AI efforts in the Executive and Legislative branches. […]
In the latest white papers from the National Academy of Public Administration’s (NAPA) election integrity initiative, the organization is recommending a stronger emphasis on building public trust in government to improve election security. […]
The Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) has released a list of AI ethics and principles to guide the intelligence community (IC) on its use and development of AI and AI tools. […]
As the Federal Communications Commission began July 23 auctioning mid-band spectrum crucial to 5G deployment, senators on Capitol Hill questioned whether the decades-old spectrum management process is working properly, and asked witnesses if changes need to be made. […]
Reps. Will Hurd, R-Texas, and Robin Kelly, D-Ill., released the first of four white papers about a national AI strategy. […]
The Senate approved the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2021 today in an 86-14 vote, following a White House threat to veto the legislation. […]
The Pandemic Response Accountability Committee (PRAC) has released a five-year oversight plan for the government’s handling of coronavirus relief funds that features use of data analytics, artificial intelligence, and other tech tools. […]