Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., introduced legislation Feb. 28 that would increase the number of children who have internet access in their homes to close the “homework gap.” […]
President Trump on Feb. 28 named Rep. John Ratcliffe, R-Texas, as his nominee for Director of National Intelligence, a job that has been vacant since Dan Coats resigned last August. […]
The New Democrat Coalition (NDC) released its 2020 policy priorities on Feb. 28. The priorities cover a wide breadth of issues, but there were a handful focused on the technology sector. […]
The National Association of Counties (NACo) released a report on its TestIT app, which found that over half of U.S.’ counties are experiencing the Federal minimum of broadband standards. […]
The White House announced late Friday that its Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) and Marcia McNutt, president of the National Academy of Sciences, have set up the Standing Committee on Emerging Infectious Diseases and 21st Century Health Threats. […]
American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) President David Cox Sr. resigned effective Feb. 28 amid scandal. […]
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) voted on a final order Feb. 28 to auction mid-band spectrum for use by providers of 5G wireless services, but the vote spurred some criticism from members of both parties in Congress. The auction is set for December 2020. […]
MetTel, formerly known as the Manhattan Telecommunications Corporation, won a $253.5 million enterprise infrastructure solutions (EIS) task order with the Social Security Administration (SSA) Feb. 4 for telecommunications services. […]
On Feb. 27, the Senate passed the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Act of 2019 sending the bill to President Trump’s desk. […]
Acting Secretary of the Navy Thomas Modly shared “one of [his] greatest’s lessons in business” in a recent message to the department. He wrote that the quality of a company’s employee bathroom was a “nearly foolproof indicator” of a good organization. […]
General Motors CEO Mary Barra emphasized at the RSA security conference this week that development of robust cybersecurity technologies for the automotive sector is a crucial factor in the industry-wide push toward autonomous driving technologies and eventually fully self-driving vehicles. […]
The Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (DHS) wants solicitations from start-ups that can develop technology to track objects underwater as a part of its Silicon Valley Innovation Program (SVIP), according to a Feb. 27 announcement. […]
The Department of Defense (DoD) Joint Artificial Intelligence (AI) Center (JAIC) selected Alka Patel, a pull from the private sector with “diverse skills and experience” to help lead its ethical AI adoption, per JAIC spokesperson Lt. Cmdr. Arlo Abrahamson on Feb. 28. […]
The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace released a report Feb. 26 discussing the disjointed nature of international cybersecurity norms. […]
The Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) is seeking proposals from United States universities interested in establishing a Master of Business Administration (MBA) program in security technology. […]
After facing IT challenges with the implementation of the Forever GI Bill, Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) Robert Wilkie said during a Budget Request hearing for Fiscal Year 2021 that the department needed to look at its entire IT infrastructure’s readiness. […]
The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) released a year one report on the American Artificial Intelligence (AI) Initiative, announcing that the administration has met critical milestones. […]
At a Feb. 27 House Science, Space, and Technology Committee hearing, representatives largely criticized the President’s Fiscal Year 2021 budget proposal for cuts to investments in research and development (R&D), but praised funding increases to “industries of the future” like artificial intelligence (AI) and quantum information science (QIS). […]
The House Appropriations Committee questioned today why the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is requesting $2.6 billion in funds for Fiscal Year 2021 for the VA’s Office of Electronic Health Records (EHR)— $1 billion more than the FY2020 request— when the EHR Modernization go-live date was delayed and wants better communication on information from the agency to avoid delays and cost more money. […]
In a Feb. 26 letter to Dana Deasy, CIO of the Department of Defense (DoD), Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., stressed the importance of vulnerability disclosure programs. […]
When it comes to adopting artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) capabilities, it’s important to look at its range of effects from many different viewpoints. […]
The Cybersecurity Tech Accord (CTA), an international, industry-led effort by technology and security companies to combat cyberattacks, said this week it signed up 14 new member companies, bringing its total number of accord signatories to 144 companies. […]
Jim Sullivan, defense intelligence officer (DIO) for cyber at the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), emphasized the value of offensive operations in cyberspace to deter nation-state attackers during a panel discussion this week at the RSA security conference in San Francisco. […]
Katie Arrington, the Defense Department’s (DoD) Chief Information Security Officer for Acquisition and a driving force behind the Pentagon’s recently released Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) program, voiced a vigorous defense on Feb. 26 of U.S. law and policy that bans the Federal government and its contractors from doing business with China-based network equipment maker Huawei. […]
Both the growing ability to project offensive cyber power, and a long list of old friends around the world, are helping the Federal government to develop a greater ability to create more effective deterrence against cyber adversaries, a senior Defense Department (DoD) official said on Feb. 26. […]
The desire to make the employees of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) more efficient in their work led to the creation of a Robotics Process Automation Center of Excellence, explained Pam Dempsey, the center’s lead. […]
Congressional staffers on House and Senate committees with strong interest in cybersecurity issues said today they are watching for “low-hanging fruit” in the form of easy-to-enact legislative proposals expected to make up some of the recommendations in the Cyberspace Solarium Commission (CSC) report set to be released on March 11. […]
In a report released Feb. 25, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) said that “most” of nine agencies tasked with protecting the 16 critical infrastructure sectors “have not developed methods to determine the level and type of adoption of the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s (NIST) Framework for Improving Critical Infrastructure Cybersecurity.” […]
The business side of the intelligence community (IC) has lagged behind the intelligence gathering mission of the IC when it comes to technology and IT, but new investments are moving the human capital enterprise forward. […]
Leaders from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) shared how the agency’s acquisition process fueled successful IT transformation in projects like Accelerate at the Feb. 26 ServiceNow Federal Forum. […]