The National Science and Technology Council calls for more modern science and technology capabilities in national security in its report, titled “A 21st Century Science, Technology and Innovation Strategy for America’s National Security.” […]
Calling all young filmmakers! The White House is accepting entries for the White House Student Film Festival through July 15. K-12 students, including graduating seniors, can submit their video on the theme “The World I Want to Live In.” […]
Proponents of the Digital Accountability and Transparency Act (DATA) worry that a change in presidential administration could derail the progress made to release Federal financial data to the public. […]
Politics and blame stand in the way of Federal IT modernization, according to comments made at the House Oversight Committee’s hearing on legacy IT systems. Congressmen said they were disappointed and baffled over the degree of outdated technology in Federal agencies, some in mission critical systems. […]
Big data has the potential to both increase and decrease discrimination based on the ethics of its use, according to speakers at the Ford Foundation Fairness by Design event. […]
The White House is seeking the advice of some of the country’s youngest scientists through the launch of a kid science advisers program, which allows students to submit their thoughts and ideas on STEM education. […]
Industry executives urged the Federal government to do more to advance the use of blockchain technology to secure online financial transactions, and to get behind nationwide adoption of cybersecurity insurance. […]
A cyber vulnerability known to have existed as far back as October 2015 has led to a data breach at the General Services Administration’s 18F digital services organization, the GSA’s inspector general announced today. […]
Secretary of Defense Ash Carter announced a significant expansion of the Pentagon’s Silicon Valley-based experimental technology unit, including dedicated funding pipelines, a new partnership leadership structure, and plans to stand up a second unit in Boston. […]
The General Services Administration will be partnering with the City Innovate Foundation, San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee, and the U.S. Department of Commerce to create a 5,000-square-foot lab to foster technological collaboration between public and private entities. Called the Superpublic innovation lab, the project is designed to improve technological capabilities for city and state programs. […]
Vice President Joe Biden implored attendees of the Health Datapalooza to join in his effort to make cancer data more accessible and usable. “We really need you,” Biden said. […]
The MetroLab Network has grown to 35 city/county-university partnerships working together to research, develop, and deploy technologies and policy approaches in order to address urban areas’ challenges. MetroLab Network was launched in September 2015 by 21 city/county-university pairings, as part of President Obama’s Smart Cities Initiative. […]
The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy announced a series of workshops on artificial intelligence and machine learning, plus recognizing the opportunities and risks involved with this technology. […]
Adding PIN requirements to chip-based credit cards is essential for consumer security, according to panelists at the Protect My Data discussion on credit card security. […]
The White House announced that 53 police departments have committed to an initiative designed to make local policing more transparent. […]
MeriTalk spells out the pros and cons of the Office of Management and Budget’s Data Center Optimization Initiative. […]
The future of scientific and technological innovation is in the hands of today’s students, President Obama said in his speech at the White House Science Fair. “Some of the best moments I’ve had as president have been with science and at the science fair,” he said. “There’s nothing that makes me more hopeful than seeing the young people that are here.” […]
Dave Powner, director of IT issues at the Government Accountability Office, profiled the upcoming agency scorecard on FITARA and discussed the Federal government’s continuing difficulties with data center consolidation and legacy IT modernization. […]
The General Services Administration is pushing Congress to get behind a plan to establish a third service branch, known as the Technology Transformation Service, that would be centered around GSA’s 18F digital service organization and would actively help manage the $3.1 billion IT modernization fund proposed by the White House, MeriTalk has learned. […]
Haley Van Dyck, the co-founder of the U.S. Digital Service, brought the U.S. government’s unique brand of startup to a new TED Talk. Filmed in February in Vancouver, British Columbia, and released this week, Van Dyck’s talk urged technology entrepreneurs to disrupt their government by introducing technologies most of us take for granted. […]
The Agriculture Department’s Flip Anderson is the only known agency-level FITARA director–an indicator of both the level of importance USDA has assigned to the new law and the resources necessary to manage the Federal Information Technology Acquisition Reform Act compliance correctly. […]
Increasing Internet access will be a key component to boosting Cuban businesses, according to President Obama. In remarks made alongside Cuban President Raul Castro as well as a separate forum on Cuban entrepreneurship, the President emphasized the Internet’s role in improving and expanding the country’s ability to innovate. “In the 21st century, countries cannot be successful […]
Federal agencies remain woefully behind on cybersecurity, according to the annual cybersecurity compliance report released Friday by the Office of Management and Budget. During the 2015 fiscal year, Federal agencies reported 77,183 cybersecurity incidents, a 10% increase over the incidents reported in 2014. Though the administration believes this increase may be attributed to improved detection […]
HealthCare.gov had a rocky rollout, but future Federal tech projects could learn a lot from its trials and successes, according to Erin Bliss at the HHS Office of Inspector General. She testified in front of the Senate Finance Committee alongside Seto Bagdoyan, the director of forensic audits at GAO. […]
The President’s Council of Advisers on Science and Technology released a report that suggests 12 current and future technologies and policies that could help older people live longer, more engaged lives. […]
The technology departments at Federal agencies are just as exciting as Silicon Valley startups, U.S. Chief Technology Officer Megan Smith and U.S. Digital Service Administrator Haley Van Dyck told a panel at South by Southwest in Austin. […]
While he was unable to address the Apple versus FBI case specifically, President Obama said he finds the discussion of encryption vitally important to national dialogue. “I am way on the civil liberties side of this thing,” he said Friday at the South by Southwest festival in Austin. […]
The government wants to be better, and technology is the way to get there, President Obama told a crowd at the South by Southwest festival in Austin. The president emphasized the need for the government to advance in its use of technology in order to better serve its people. […]
The White House is encouraging Federal software collaboration and improvement with the software draft policy it released on Thursday. The policy would require software developed by or for the Federal government to be made available for sharing and improvement across Federal agencies. […]
The White House on Wednesday called on all Federal agencies to establish so-called acquisition innovation labs to improve how the government purchases information technology products and services. […]