Ideas

Does the COVID-19 Crisis Cap 25 Years of Government Blunders?

"What went wrong? The answer is: Almost everything went wrong, and almost everything that did go wrong had been foretold."

Cybersecurity

House Appropriations Advances Defense Spending Bill

Areas of concern for cybersecurity include building the workforce and 5G development.

Modernization

How Peer-to-Peer Texting Could Play a Role in Disaster and Pandemic Response

RumbleUp, an app previously tapped by Republican campaigns, is now available through FirstNet.

Modernization

VA Wants a Veteran-Owned Business to Upgrade Wichita Facility’s IT Ahead of Health Records Rollout

The deployment of Veterans Affairs’ new electronic health record program has been on hold while the agency deals with COVID-19 but the agency wants to get Wichita’s infrastructure ready to roll.

Cybersecurity

House Oversight Lawmaker Wants Apple, Google to Step Up Security on Apps With Foreign Ties

Rep. Stephen Lynch seeks commitments from the tech giants to be more transparent about applications on their stores.

Cybersecurity

Congressman Plans to Propose Cyber Director Amendment to NDAA

Testimony at a hearing of the House Oversight Committee will look to drive home the case for the proposal.

Ideas

Contact Tracing Starts with Clean Data

Regardless of how information is gathered, the scale is immense, as is the problem of data accuracy.

Modernization

Coronavirus ‘Shattered the Myth’ that the Defense Workforce Can’t Telework, Official Says

Two Defense Department officials discussed lessons learned from the pandemic with an eye toward a post-coronavirus environment.

Ideas

Airlines Got Travelers Comfortable about Flying Again Once Before – but 9/11 and a Virus Are a Lot Different

Today, fares are at rock bottom, but Americans’ fear of flying may be the highest it’s ever been.

Digital Government

Customs to Expand License Plate Reading Program Nationwide

Customs will have access to commercial datasets including license plate images and data from parking garages, toll booth cameras and financial institutions, as well as local governments and law enforcement.

Modernization

One-Third of U.S. Workers Want Permanent Remote Work

A new Morning Consult survey finds many workers would like to continue working from home after the coronavirus pandemic recedes and some would likely move to a new city or state if remote work becomes permanent.

Cybersecurity

The Defense Bill Could Rewrite How the US Does Cyber Defense

A proposed new office would help private entities and the government respond together to major hacks.

Cybersecurity

Energy IG Finds Science Offices Skirt Security Rules for Peripheral Devices

Officials tell internal watchdogs securing devices like printers and flash drives is just hard, expensive and inhibits collaboration.

Policy

Governments Need Clear Plans to Respond to Disinformation, Experts Say

One of the tricky parts of responding is addressing the conspiracy theories that domestic social media users create but then get amplified by foreign actors, experts said. 

Modernization

COVID-19 Could Change Government Contact Centers Forever

The pandemic has forced major changes in the way federal agencies serve customers.

Cybersecurity

China is Dumping Fiber Optic Cables in the Global Market, Commerce Official Says

The cables are key to the development of fifth-generation networks, and therefore a matter of national security for the Trump administration.

Artificial Intelligence

Walter Reed Scientists Use Artificial Intelligence to Screen Drugs to Potentially Treat COVID-19

The Experimental Therapeutics Branch accelerated its research by turning to machine learning, AI and high-performance computing.