Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats said Monday that the intelligence community (IC) will be prioritizing a comprehensive cyber posture, machine-augmented intelligence, and modern data management as “foundational priorities” in the coming years, following a year-long reexamination of the IC known as the IC2025 initiative. […]

The Department of Defense (DoD) is using big data analytics and automated intelligence to both uncover discrepancies in budget-draining programs and engage leadership to direct funding to the correct priorities, according to a former Deputy Secretary of Defense and the founder of a business intelligence firm that supports the Pentagon. […]

Welcome to MeriTalk News Briefs, where we bring you all the day’s action that didn’t quite make the headlines. No need to shout about ‘em, but we do feel that they merit talk. […]

As the Federal government looks to emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) to help improve citizen services and lower government costs, applications that enable this new computer-based intelligence via application programming interfaces (APIs) might be the least disruptive and inexpensive way for agencies to get started. […]

The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee advanced 14 bills out of its business meeting today, including legislation to protect against drone threats and to establish a framework for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that will improve data sharing across DHS’s numerous component agencies. […]

The possibilities of quantum computing have been floating on the horizon for a while now, at least since renowned physicist Richard Feynman dreamed up the idea in 1982. But like the horizon itself (at least in a world that isn’t flat), it always seems to recede despite all efforts to close in on it. Until now. […]

Agencies need to leverage digital recruiting initiatives and enhanced data techniques to better attract talented and diverse personnel, according to human relations professionals at several Federal agencies speaking at a FedInsider webinar held May 31. […]

Lawmakers hailed a new partnership that will leverage the Department of Energy’s high-performance computing and machine learning capabilities to help analyze the health records of more than 20 million veterans maintained by the Department of Veterans Affairs. […]

A new study finds that the public is warming up to the use of biometric identification technology, but remains wary of tracking applications and is looking to government to set standards in that area. […]

A bill introduced in the House on Thursday would create a series of minimum functionality and security requirements for all Federal government agency public-facing websites and digital services. […]

Kevin McAleenan, commissioner of the Department of Homeland Security’s U.S. Customs and Border Protection group, told lawmakers last week that CBP is investing to modernize infrastructure, ports of entry, and mobile technologies across its land-sea-air security operations. […]

Americans don’t trust the Federal government. The Pew Research Center found that only 18 percent of Americans say they trust the Feds.  It’s small wonder we have a disruptor in chief in the White House.  […]

Machine learning innovation is kicking into high gear. Investment in this field and data science increased 9.3 percent in 2016 to $2.4 billion, according to Gartner. On top of that, the Federal government is increasing its focus on machine learning, with the MGT Act, Technology Modernization Fund, and the President’s Management Agenda all supporting transformation efforts. […]

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s marathon Congressional sessions in front of both the House and Senate have produced countless talking points and incendiary sound bites. […]

The Government Accountability Office–GAO–recently released a report on an artificial intelligence forum it held in Washington, D.C. last summer. It shows that government’s thinking about the ups and downs of thinking machines. Two highlights to make you think.  […]

An alliance of government agencies is taking a deep dive, as it were, into the world’s oceans as part of a larger project to develop a comprehensive environmental Earth model that could more accurately make predictions about weather and climate. The new model could enable forecasting events ahead of time, by days or even decades. […]

Department of Defense (DoD) officials have been framing Artificial Intelligence (AI) as the center of a “new space race,” citing its growing importance in military and geopolitical operations, the investments other countries such as China have been making in AI, and Russian President Vladimir Putin’s assertion that whoever takes the lead in this field will be “ruler of the world.” […]

The Army is forging ahead with deployment of its Big Data Platform (BDP), a move that underscores the Department of Defense’s (DoD) plans for using open-source software, commercial technologies, and cloud services to get a grip on the data it collects from a wide range of sources. […]

The Inspector General for the Department of the Interior assessed the information that the agency submitted under the DATA Act, and found that some of the data was incomplete or inaccurate. The report noted “deficiencies in completeness, timeliness, quality, and accuracy of the data submissions we sampled.” […]

Government agencies are trying to move beyond simply managing data to analyzing and using data to inform decisions. “We have a lot of information and that information needs to be tied together,” said Michael Peckham, Data Act Project Management Office executive director for Health and Human Services, at Software AG’s Innovation Tour on Nov. 2. […]

The Sunlight Foundation released a report that found that cities use Federal data to make strategic decisions including identifying local issues and informing policy decisions. The majority of cities began using Federal data more than a decade ago and 43 percent plan to increase their use of Federal data in the future. […]

The Internet of Things has spawned many changes within the Federal government, including new methods of data collection at the Department of Agriculture (USDA), new policy considerations at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), and a realignment of the Office of the CIO (OCIO) at the Department of Commerce. […]

In a new series, Tom Soderstrom, the CTO at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, discusses the future of technology: how work evolves, key technologies, and how to engage the next generation. […]

Former Federal Chief Information Officer (CIO) Tony Scott has joined the law firm Squire Patton Boggs as a senior data privacy and cybersecurity adviser, the firm announced. […]

By 2020, there will be three times as many devices as there are people in the world – and the volume of data continues to grow exponentially. Automation and machine learning can accelerate processes and increase efficiency – but automation that crosses outside the network has the potential to expose agencies to new cyber threats. […]

For the Navy to gain the most insights from its operational pause day, fleets could use data analytics to make faster, more informed decisions. Adm. John Richardson, chief of naval operations, ordered an operational pause across the U.S. Navy, following the collision of the USS John S. McCain with an oil tanker near Singapore. Each fleet is tasked with taking one day off, as they see fit, to look into “operational tempo, performance, maintenance, equipment, and personnel.” […]

Wipro announced that its big data analytics platform will be offered on Microsoft Azure. Wipro and Microsoft have collaborated on parts of the solution, including engineering, solution enhancements, and market strategy. […]

Data analytics professionals in the Federal government advised new data analytics teams to earn credibility in their agencies by finding a real-life problem and fixing it. “Pick someone in the C-suite that has a solvable problem and go do it,” said Kevin Garrison, chief of analytics at the Department of Defense, at MeriTalk’s big data webinar. […]

On Aug. 2, experts from the public and private sectors will discuss Federal big data management master strategies, the evolution of big data leadership, and the impact of big data on agency modernization efforts. […]

Booz Allen Hamilton made its analytics platform free for the government, military, and academic sectors. […]