Digital Government

Federal Data Should be Open to the Public By Default, Lawmakers Say

A bipartisan group of representatives and senators plan to introduce a bill requiring federal agencies to, wherever possible, publish their data in a machine-readable format.

Emerging Tech

DHS: Open Source Software Is Like Giving Mafia a Copy of FBI System Code

The department made a bid to adjust a White House draft policy that would encourage agencies to code in the open, and to share their code with each other.

Digital Government

The Air Force’s Next Chief Might Be Its Space-War General

Gen. John Hyten has never flown a warplane, but he plays a role in just about every Air Force mission.

Modernization

Moving to the Cloud? Change Your Culture First

The biggest barrier to cloud technologies in government has more to do with people than technology, officials say.

Digital Government

Senator: Using USAJobs.gov is Like ‘Typing information Into the Black Hole’

Agencies should start using social media platforms such as LinkedIn to post job openings, said one witness at a Senate roundtable.

Cybersecurity

If You Are in Debt, the IRS Might Have Leaked Your Social Security Number

The leaks partly were because agency personnel, for reasons not explained, printed out final copies of agreements without using the automated redaction feature.

Cybersecurity

White House Is About to Name a New Cyber Official

The administration is considering candidates with previous government experience as well as Washington outsiders.

Emerging Tech

Actually, We Should Teach Robots to Disobey Humans.

Should you always do what other people tell you to do? Clearly not.

Emerging Tech

Postal Service Agents Will Trawl Facebook, Dating Sites to Root Out Fraud

The agency is now planning to formally train agents how to probe wayward personnel using social media and other open source data.

Emerging Tech

How Should the US Fund Research and Development?

The United States leads the world in dollars invested in furthering innovation. It won’t for long.

Emerging Tech

These New Solar Panels Can Create Electricity from Raindrops

This could prove to be a significant step toward creating solar cells that work even when the sun isn’t shining.

Emerging Tech

SpaceX's Reusable Rocket Makes Historic Landing

Falcon 9’s successful mission shows how the cost of space access is headed down as reusable rockets head up.

Cybersecurity

'Hey Siri, Call in an Airstrike': Army Seeks to Outfit Soldiers With Voice-Controlled Gear

To ensure cybersecurity and national security do not become mutually exclusive, the Army is testing various biometric identification methods that can withstand battle terrain.

Digital Government

Facial-Recognition Software Might Have a Racial Bias Problem

Depending on how algorithms are trained, they could be significantly more accurate when identifying white faces than African American ones.

Cybersecurity

Lawmakers Want Answers on Stolen HHS Laptop That Potentially Contained Personal Info on Millions

The chairman and ranking member of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee want to know why it took HHS tow months to notify Congress.

Cybersecurity

DHS: Cyberattack on the Ukraine Power Grid Could Happen Here

“This type of attack can happen in any critical infrastructure company across all sectors," a high-ranking cybersecurity official says.

Cybersecurity

Ex-NSA Deputy Director Wants Coded Messages for All

However, techies, entrepreneurs and the feds should first be hashing out its application, to defuse tensions over the prospect of coded messages for all, Chris Inglis said.