Ideas

Scientists Suggest U.S. Embassies Were Hit with High-Power Microwaves – Here's How the Weapons Work

The technology behind the suspected weapons is well understood and dates back to the Cold War arms race between the U.S. and the Soviet Union.

Cybersecurity

Reports: Suspected Russian Hackers Breach Commerce, Treasury Departments 

U.S. officials are investigating what data may have been stolen and whether the hack is more widespread.

Ideas

Your Robot Vacuum Could Spy on You

Researchers managed to recover speech data with high accuracy.

Cybersecurity

Presidential Advisers Make the Case for a New Cybersecurity Center for Sharing Threats

Current federal efforts to help mitigate threats against privately operated critical infrastructure fall short, according to a National Infrastructure Advisory Council report.

Ideas

Computer Science Jobs Pay Well and Are Growing Fast. Why Are They Out of Reach for So Many of America's Students?

If students from certain groups are being shut out of the field, it means that public education is failing in its role as the great equalizer.

Modernization

$496M Contract Will Give DOD Engineering Capabilities, Official Says

A new Pentagon five-year contracting vehicle will support modernization and the development of the joint warfighting concept and promote technological innovation.

Emerging Tech

Intel Agencies Seek to Perfect Biometric Recognition from Drones

Intelligence and military researchers want to merge facial recognition with other biometric methods to identify people from long distances and steep angles

Emerging Tech

Army Issues $25M Sole-Source Contract to Monitor COVID-19 Vaccine Temperatures

The contract is part of the governmentwide effort to ensure COVID-19 vaccines are safely delivered.

Ideas

5 Rules to Keep Breaking Barriers in Government

The pandemic disrupted how agencies conducted business but federal leaders can harness that momentum. 

Cybersecurity

FBI, CISA, State Leaders Warn Schools About Ransomware Threats

The percentage of ransomware attacks perpetrated against schools more than doubled in 2020.

Ideas

Workers Are Looking for Direction from Management—and Any Map Is Better than No Map

The consequences of just continuing to wing it are piling up.

Emerging Tech

Pentagon Seeks Software to Analyze Data from Twitter

The Defense Department posted a solicitation for software capable of gleaning real-time intelligence from social media feeds.

Emerging Tech

Intel, Nvidia Face Questions from Lawmakers on Sale of Supercomputing Chips to China

The legislators’ probe follows reports that U.S.-built technology is underpinning the mass surveillance of Uighurs and others.

Cybersecurity

FCC Adopts Order to Rip and Replace Huawei, ZTE Equipment Amid 5G Security Challenges

The senior Democrat on the commission noted China’s continued leadership of global 5G standards development in urging further action.

Modernization

GSA Relaunches Federal Service Desk With New Look and Added Security

The help desk for all General Services Administration procurement systems got a makeover and a security lockdown.

Ideas

5 Common Questions about Federal Procurement Answered

Small business owners can take steps to try and make the process of selling to the government more successful and efficient as the new year nears.

Cybersecurity

Beware of COVID-19 Vaccine Scammers, FTC Warns

The Federal Trade Commission expects some opportunists to attempt to bilk the public when COVID-19 vaccines are made available.

Cybersecurity

Why Certain Cybersecurity Provisions Made it into the NDAA and Others Didn’t  

An effort to establish a public-private collaboration environment was cut from the final bill but a controversial insurance provision was retained. 

Modernization

DISA Nearing Completion on Certain EIS Task Orders

The Defense Information Systems Agency, which is leading the move to EIS for the Defense Department, reported the pandemic has not slowed transition progress.