Cybersecurity

NIST Asks for Input on Building Secure Software

The draft framework is intended to both instruct developers on building safe tech and help IT buyers, like the government, know which companies they can trust.

Ideas

OMB’s New ID Policy Will Help Consumers Protect Their Identities Online

America should modernize our existing paper-based identification systems around a privacy-protecting, consumer-centric digital model.

Emerging Tech

The Wild-West Era of Streaming TV Is Ending

Cord cutters will soon need several subscriptions to watch all their favorite movies and shows—and the cost could look like the dreaded cable bill.

Cybersecurity

Senators Want to Know If CMS Paid China-Linked Companies for Genetic Testing

Sens. Marco Rubio and Chuck Grassley want more information on how the agency is protecting Americans’ genomic data from foreign entities.

Cybersecurity

DHS Cyber Incident Response Team Gets House Approval

Lawmakers passed legislation that would stand up a permanent team of cyber specialists to help agency and industry recover from digital attacks.

Policy

The True Price of Privatizing Space Travel

As NASA opens up the International Space Station to private astronauts, the romance of space will be within reach for those who can afford it.

Cybersecurity

FBI Warning: The Lock Icon Doesn’t Mean That Website Is Safe

Having HTTPS and a TLS certificate doesn’t mean the site isn’t a platform for scammers and thieves.

Ideas

Gaming’s Biggest Week Gives Clues to Serious Technology’s Future

Advancements in virtual and augmented reality may get government gaming a boost.

Artificial Intelligence

Critical Update: Inside DARPA's DARPA

Valerie Browning, director of DARPA’s Defense Sciences Office, discusses self-aware machines, the future of quantum computing and preventing technology surprises.

Modernization

House Passes Revamped Bipartisan IRS Reform Bill

The Taxpayer First Act would redesign the agency and boost identity theft protection.

Cybersecurity

CBP Says Thousands of Traveler Photos Stolen in ‘Malicious Cyber-Attack’

The breach happened at one of the agency’s subcontractors and didn’t involve any data collected under its facial recognition program, officials said.

Cybersecurity

OMB Chief: Contractors Need More Time to Cut Ties With Huawei, ZTE

Without the extension, there could be “a dramatic reduction” in the contractors that can legally do business with the government, according to acting OMB Director Russel Vought.

Digital Government

Why the Salesforce Acquisition of Tableau Matters to Government

Salesforce is positioning itself as more of a federal player with its purchase of Tableau.

Emerging Tech

Report: White House Should Promote Blockchain with the Federal Data Strategy

By promoting trust and transparency, the tech could encourage agencies to share more information with one another, according to the Data Foundation and Booz Allen Hamilton.

Cybersecurity

Six States to Craft Election Security Plans Through National Academy

The National Governors Association-sponsored policy academy will help officials from Arizona, Hawaii, Idaho, Minnesota, Nevada and Virginia devise communications and response plans to deploy if their election systems come under attack.

Cybersecurity

Audit Raises Concerns for Pentagon’s Joint Regional Security Stacks

A Defense Department inspector general audit says JRSS isn’t working like it is supposed to.

Digital Government

Where a Census Undercount Will Hurt (or Help) Most

A 2020 Census that favors white and Republican-leaning districts—and undercounts younger, lower income, and black and Hispanic residents—seems ever more likely.

Policy

Audit: Pentagon Acquisition Reform Requires More Leadership Attention

The Government Accountability Office also flagged a lack of oversight for many of the department's mid-tier programs.

Emerging Tech

FDA Turns to Emerging Tech to Secure the Food System

The agency wants to implement new digital resources like blockchain to disrupt America’s old way of tracking food to its source.