Artificial Intelligence

NIST Lays Out Roadmap for Developing Artificial Intelligence Standards

The plan is meant to help federal leaders roll out standards that reduce the potential risks of AI without stifling innovation. 

Emerging Tech

CBP Plans to Use Facial Recognition For ‘All Passenger Applications’

The agency is ramping up its use of biometric identification technology as part of a broader effort to overhaul its traveler processing systems.

Cybersecurity

GSA Cyber Expert Offers Tips on Cloud Security

Dan Jacobs says agencies should treat security like a team sport and avoid falling in love with the latest cyber products.

Cybersecurity

Postal Service Watchdog Finds New Vulnerability During Security Audit

The inspector general warned exposure could “have a serious negative impact to the Postal Service brand.”

Cybersecurity

DISA, Cyber Command Are Launching a Zero-Trust Pilot Program

The effort will explore frameworks and technologies that would protect the Pentagon’s networks from unauthorized access.

Artificial Intelligence

DARPA Is Taking On the Deepfake Problem

The agency wants to teach computers to detect errors in manipulated media using logic and common sense.

Cybersecurity

Survey: Cloud Customers, Not Providers, Increasingly Responsible for Managing Threats 

The Cloud Security Alliance found the issues that traditionally plagued cloud service providers aren’t as big of a problem today.

Emerging Tech

DISA Wants to Vet Mobile App Security in a Day or Less

The agency is asking experts to submit ideas for an app development platform that would automatically check apps against the Pentagon’s numerous security standards.

Emerging Tech

CISA Is Using Drones to Help Secure Critical Infrastructure

The aircraft will be used to both shoot footage of security exercises and simulate real-world drone attacks, officials said. 

Cybersecurity

Cisco Agrees to $8.6 Million Settlement After Selling Agencies Insecure Tech

The company’s video surveillance manager, which was used by the Pentagon, DHS, NASA and others, contained vulnerabilities that would let hackers view, modify and disable video feeds at government facilities.

Cybersecurity

The Pentagon Spent Millions on Vulnerable Chinese Tech in 2018, Watchdog Says

The procurements, which could expose the department and its contractors to espionage and cyberattacks, highlight significant gaps in the Pentagon’s supply chain security policies.

Cybersecurity

CISA: Small Planes Vulnerable to Flight Data Manipulation

Pilots would be unable to tell the difference between the real and fake readings, “which could result in loss of control of the affected aircraft,” CISA officials warned.

Modernization

Agencies Should Be More Transparent About Public Comments, GAO Says

By defining and disclosing how they handle commenters’ information, agencies could help combat identity fraud and other abuses, auditors said.

Cybersecurity

Agencies Still Falling Short on Cyber Standards, GAO Says

Despite thousands of watchdog recommendations and a growing array of digital threats, agencies are still dropping the ball on cybersecurity, auditors found.

Cybersecurity

Watchdog Uncovers Cyber Gaps at Radioactive Waste Facility

The Energy Department failed to secure the site in line with federal cyber standards.

Artificial Intelligence

Agencies Need Tech-Savvy Feds to Address AI Challenges

Algorithmic bias, security and explainability are among the top issues the government must address as it hands over more responsibility to AI, according to a recent report.

Artificial Intelligence

White House Science Chief: U.S. is Still Beating China In AI, Quantum Research

But that doesn’t mean the country should rest on its laurels, according to OSTP Director Kelvin Droegemeier.

Cybersecurity

FBI Director Names China the Nation's Most ‘Severe Counterintelligence Threat’

Russia also shows no signs of stopping its election interference efforts ahead of 2020, Christopher Wray told lawmakers.

Cybersecurity

NSA Launches Cybersecurity Directorate

The group is charged with defending the country’s national security infrastructure and defense contractors against digital threats.

Cybersecurity

Barr Calls For An End to ‘Warrant-Proof’ Encryption

The attorney general railed against the tech during a speech in New York City, reinvigorating a debate that’s long rankled law enforcement officials and the tech community.