Artificial Intelligence
Energy to Launch $5.5M Artificial Intelligence Research Center
Researchers from the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Sandia National Laboratories, and the Georgia Institute of Technology will join forces to address AI challenges through co-design.
Modernization
GSA to Take Corrective Action on DEOS Cloud Contract
The General Services Administration will rework the Defense Enterprise Office Solutions contract to address a bid protest.
Cybersecurity
DOJ Makes Another Plea for Encryption Backdoors
While officials have long framed end-to-end encryption as an impediment to fighting terrorism, the department is now focusing on its impacts on child sex abuse.
Emerging Tech
FAA Certifies UPS to Operate Nation’s First Drone-Delivery Airline
The company’s subsidiary will expand its unmanned aircraft operation to transport potentially life-saving medical supplies.
Modernization
TSA’s Cloud Future Will Be A Hybrid of Agency-Approved Services
The agency released its Cloud Strategy 2.0, which calls for a mix of public and private cloud, but only from vendors pre-cleared by TSA.
Emerging Tech
The Future of the Marines Is Smaller, More Robotic, More Naval
The new Commandant of the Marine Corps lays out a vision for high-tech force that will often operate like special forces.
Emerging Tech
Air Force CXO: We Don’t Have to Delight the User
Colt Whittall, the Air Force’s first chief experience officer, talks with Nextgov about the new role and what it will take to provide a better user experience for airmen.
Cybersecurity
The Hidden Dangers in Your Phone Number
Using your phone as an authenticator can be a problem.
Cybersecurity
Attorney General, DHS Secretary Call on Facebook to Build Encryption Backdoors
“Security enhancements to the virtual world should not make us more vulnerable in the physical world,” they said in a letter to CEO Mark Zuckerberg.
Emerging Tech
Agencies Offer Sneak Peeks into Their 5G Plans
From fixing planes before they break to doctors performing surgery in real time from two continents, agency officials are already looking at how faster connections could change their missions.
Modernization
Legacy Systems Held DHS' Biometrics Programs Back. Not Anymore.
The cloud-based HART system, which will house data on hundreds of millions of people, promises to significantly expand the department’s use of facial recognition and other biometric software, as well as its partnerships with external agencies.
Emerging Tech
A Federal Privacy Board Is Reviewing DHS’ Airport Facial Recognition Programs
An agency shared new details around its recent observations of one TSA biometrics pilot—and what it aims to assess in a comprehensive report it’s generating over the course of the next year.
Emerging Tech
Local Law Enforcement Should Be Able to Protect Airports From Drones, Report Says
To address security risks, a task force recommends that Congress authorize local law enforcement to take down drones flown too close to airports.
Artificial Intelligence
Lawmakers Press Social Media Giants to Confront Deepfake Threats
Sens. Marco Rubio and Mark Warner want Facebook, YouTube, TikTok and others to create industry standards for handling synthetic content.
Modernization
GSA Opens Bids on Commercial e-Marketplace
The project—which has been called “Amazon for government”—will start with a proof-of-concept with two or more vendors.
Cybersecurity
Fighting Cyber Crime is Critical for National Security, Says Secret Service Chief
While election interference, espionage and power grid threats get all the attention, nation-states also lean on cyber criminals to conduct operations on their behalf, according to Director James Murray.
Ideas
Why I Changed My Mind about Federal User Cyber Training
Layer on all the protective systems you want—at the end of the day, the user still has to make a good decision.
Policy
States Can Craft Own Net Neutrality Rules, Appeals Court Rules
A federal appeals court upheld much of the FCC’s rollback of net neutrality rules but found that the commission overstepped its authority when it blocked states from enacting their own internet regulations.
Podcasts
Critical Update: A Quantum Leap
Quantum computers will be able to crack our encryption but when?
Modernization