Modernization
NASA’s long-term missions could be hurt by budget caps, lawmakers warn
House Science Chairman Frank Lucas R-Okla., said Congress needs to provide NASA with “sufficient support” to carry out its work.
Ideas
Federal agencies need to rethink culture in the fight against ransomware
COMMENTARY | Focusing efforts on risk management isn't about checking boxes – it's about building and changing agency culture.
Cybersecurity
Critical infrastructure blueprint gets long-awaited update but maintains status quo on key sectors
The memorandum reaffirms the statutory authority of America’s top cyber agency, but doesn’t update the primary list of critical sectors that can be targeted in cyberattacks, notably leaving out space infrastructure
People
Goodbye degree requirements? Biden administration pushes skills-based hiring for tech talent
The Office of Personnel Management announced on Monday that it will be reworking the policies around the 2210 job series — which covers most government tech employees — to be more skills-based.
Artificial Intelligence
AI could be tapped to design weapons of mass destruction, DHS warns
The new guidance was mandated by President Biden’s October 2023 executive order.
Ideas
Why SD-WAN is the future of government networks
COMMENTARY | The revolution in IT workloads requires flexible, adaptable networking solutions.
Acquisition
Agencies awarded record-breaking $179B to small businesses in FY23
The Small Business Administration’s annual procurement scorecard found that 22 federal agencies received an “A” rating or higher when it came to meeting their contracting goals.
Cybersecurity
FCC fines major wireless carriers $200M for illegally selling customer location data
The wireless providers said they plan to appeal the fine.
Artificial Intelligence
Feds need to be careful when tapping generative AI for work
Human review of AI-generated outputs is critical, OPM says in new guidance for government employees.
Cybersecurity
VA is warning veterans about Change Healthcare cyberattack, secretary says
“There’s no confirmation yet” that veterans’ data was leaked by the ransomware attack, according to the VA secretary, but the department is proactively alerting millions of veterans and beneficiaries to be safe.
Digital Government
IRS considers future of Direct File pilot
The agency hasn’t decided if it’ll field the program long term but does say that user feedback of the tool has largely been positive.
Artificial Intelligence
DHS launches new AI safety and security board
The board will be made up of 22 representatives from private sector, government and academia and will advise Secretary Mayorkas on risk mitigation for AI in critical infrastructure.
Defense
The Army is trying to identify all the obstacles to adopting AI in 100 days
Launched in March, the effort is looking at poisoned datasets, adversarial attacks, Trojans, and more.
Defense
Deal will allow military spouses to telework from overseas
The move to allow federal employees to telework while overseas with their service member spouses is part of a larger effort to boost recruitment of military spouses.
Emerging Tech
Bipartisan bill seeks to grow NASA program using drones to fight wildfires
New legislation attempts to improve NASA’s Advanced Capabilities for Emergency Response to Operations program so firefighters can more effectively use drones.
Ideas
The case for making Direct File permanent
COMMENTARY | The Direct File pilot was a landmark event for the tax system and a victory for the civic technology movement. Now its time to make the program available to all taxpayers on a permanent basis.
Artificial Intelligence
How can feds evaluate the effectiveness of different AIs for various government tasks?
If you work with them enough, AI models almost start to seem like people, with each one having a specific set of strengths, weaknesses and quirks.
People
Industry Eagle Award: Nick Sinai
Nick is renowned for mentoring an up-and-coming generation of government tech and policy talent. One supported said he's, “one of the first lifelines I call when I have a hard problem.”
People
Government Eagle Award: David Shive
The GSA chief information officer has seen the pace of change accelerate dramatically inside of government, especially recently with hard pivots on cybersecurity, customer experience, digital identity, cloud adoption and more.
People
DHS names Michael Boyce to lead its AI Corps
The AI Corps program — modeled after the White House’s U.S. Digital Service — is intended to bring teams of experts to bear on the agency’s most critical mission needs.
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