In January, the 2020 U.S. Census officially begins, with the population count in remote parts of Alaska. By April 1, the process begins for the rest of the U.S. population. The census, conducted every 10 years, is the most important initiative of the U.S. Census Bureau, the Federal government’s largest statistical agency and the nation’s leading provider of quality data about its people and economy. The data collected by the census determines the number of seats each state has in the U.S. House of Representatives, and it is used to distribute more than $675 billion in Federal funds to local communities. This funding supports education, healthcare, infrastructure improvements, and more. […]
Nearly one million active military personnel and veterans have been the target of scams that have cost them about $405 million since 2012, according to a report from Comparitech. […]
The present and future state of Federal IT has monumental challenges to address – modernization, data utilization, and automation just to name a few – but none are so critical, or enduring, as cybersecurity. It’s the threat that will never fully go away – and where eternal vigilance, and innovation, are the price of liberty. […]
The Department of Defense’s (DoD) Joint Artificial Intelligence Center (JAIC) is seeking information to conduct market research on AI and other emerging technologies. […]
The California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) that took effect earlier this week will not only erect a higher data privacy bar for citizens of the state, but also may put an important policy stake in the ground for Federal lawmakers who are weighing nationwide data privacy legislation. […]
Industry leaders shared their predictions for 2020 and beyond with MeriTalk, indicating the path to progress will often track uphill, and around plenty of curves. […]
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released volume one of its draft Cloud Interface Reference Architecture for the National Cybersecurity Protection System (NCPS) on December 12, aimed at enabling greater cloud adoption while keeping security concerns at the forefront. […]
Sens. Gary Peters, D-Mich., and Rick Scott, R-Fla., have introduced a bill in the Senate that would establish a K-12 cybersecurity education initiative. […]
The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) released the finalized version of its 2020 Action Plan for the Federal Data Strategy, setting key actions that agencies and OMB will need to undertake over the next year. […]
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announced new cloud contracts with Amazon Web Services (AWS), Google Cloud, and Microsoft to provide easier access to environmental data sets. […]
The U.S. Air Force plans to release a solicitation to help the service branch optimize and modernize its Hill Enterprise Data Center (HEDC) in Utah while supporting a hybrid cloud environment and meeting requirements under the Data Center Optimization Initiative (DCOI), as noted in a beta.SAM.gov post. […]
The Department of Defense’s (DoD) artificial intelligence (AI) development and deployment efforts thus far lacks the communication, strategy, and metrics necessary for success, according to a December 2019 RAND Corporation report mandated by Congress. […]
The United States and Japan have signed the Tokyo Statement on Quantum Cooperation, which supports continued collaboration in quantum information science and technology (QIST) research and development, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy announced Dec. 19. […]
The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) made progress during Fiscal Year 2019 on cybersecurity issues, and closed eight prior recommendations from its Office of Inspector General (IG) during the year, according to the IG’s 2019 Federal Information Security Modernization Act (FISMA) audit. […]
Focusing on the “compute” equation – instead of only prioritizing data center closures – is an important consideration in Federal agencies’ execution of the Data Center Optimization Initiative (DCOI), General Services Administration (GSA) Senior Adviser Stephen Naumann explained at a Dec. 18 ACT-IAC meeting. […]
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has detailed its planned vision for the department to internally transform how it shares, analyzes, and derives new insights by leveraging data. […]
While improving the management of data across agencies is an ongoing challenge for Federal agencies, leveraging geospatial data as a strategic asset is turning into an area of opportunity for the Departments of Energy and Transportation (DoT), officials from both agencies said on Dec. 17. […]
Sens. Gary Peters, D-Mich., Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., and Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., have introduced new legislation to aid workers who lose their jobs to automation. […]
The Federal government took important steps forward with artificial intelligence (AI) technology policy in 2019 with the AI Executive Order, the DoD AI strategy, and the OPEN Government Act. With that said, however, weaving AI into our Federal DNA means integrating with (often aging) agency infrastructure and rethinking how we solve problems and deliver services. […]
The Department of Defense (DoD) began development of the Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure (JEDI) environment on Dec. 11, according to an article on the agency’s website. […]
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has announced the winning team of the agency’s first annual President’s Cup Cybersecurity Competition. […]
A new Office of Inspector General (OIG) report found that the U.S. International Trade Commission is successfully managing the Windows operating system software on its ITCNet system. […]
Infrastructure and workforce have “a long way to go” in the campaign to build out “smart cities” across the U.S., the co-chairs of the Congressional Smart Cities Caucus said on Dec. 10. […]
The biggest downside impacts of tech-fueled automation may come in the form of major labor market dislocation and social costs connected with that – rather than permanent job losses – said James Bessen, Director and Founder of Research on Innovation at Boston University School of Law, at a Brookings Institution event Dec. 12. […]
The Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP) saw a spike in authorizations from 2017 to 2019, but the program is still not used in all cloud acquisitions and agencies have gaps in implementing controls, according to a report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) released December 12. […]
The aviation industry needs to prioritize information sharing and expanding public discussion if it wants to harden itself against cyberattacks, according to a report released by the Atlantic Council on Dec. 11. […]
Federal agencies and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) need to continue notching progress on IT acquisitions, operations, and cybersecurity necessary to meeting FITARA (Federal Information Technology Acquisition Reform Act) requirements, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) said. […]
The Defense Digital Service (DDS) is seeking out a cloud-hosted Software as a Service (SaaS) to “improve, streamline, and automate its hiring process,” according to a Dec. 9 request for information (RFI). […]
The Treasury Department Office of the Inspector General (OIG) reported that the agency’s cyber threat indicators in Calendar Year (CY) 2017 and CY2018 were “adequate and aligned with the provisions of CISA [the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act of 2015]” in an audit released on Dec. 10. […]
Two agency officials involved in the thick of efforts to prepare the government to execute the Federal Data Strategy laid out on Dec. 10 an extensive practical roadmap for embracing the policy’s data innovation mandates. […]