Cybersecurity
Cyber industry coalition urges federal action after suspected Iran-linked water hacks
The group called on CISA to impose baseline security standards across federal operational technology systems and pressed Congress to revive several stalled cyber initiatives.
Policy
Tech bills of the week: Support for quantum sciences; Child-chatbot protections; and more
Bills introduced this week feature bipartisan efforts to bolster emerging technologies, specifically quantum information sciences and AI’s impact on nuclear security, plus more chatbot regulations.
People
Greg Barbaccia to return to Palantir after leaving government
The federal CIO’s departure comes after a turbulent period for the federal technology workforce where thousands of technologists left the government.
Cybersecurity
CISA urges water utilities to take exposed systems down after Minnesota hacks
A memo distributed to water industry members and obtained by Nextgov/FCW makes mention of Iran but does not directly present evidence attributing the latest Minnesota incident to the country.
Cybersecurity
Anthropic confirms its AI breached 3 organizations during testing
Three Claude models were inadvertently given access to the internet during security evaluations, and each model took a different approach to hacking external systems.
Ideas
The agentic SOC for today’s air-gapped environments: rethinking cyber defense in the age of AI
COMMENTARY | If you're not using AI to defend against AI, then the adversary has already closed the gap.
People
GSA official says veterans' preference in federal hiring is hampering tech recruiting
A government workforce expert told Government Executive that many hiring rules, including veterans’ preference, have become “procedural hurdles rather than achieving the intended outcome” because they haven’t been updated in decades.
People
U.S. Digital Corps graduates largest class of fellows yet
“This government has starved for talent,” OPM Director Scott Kupor said during graduation remarks.
Artificial Intelligence
White House’s new high-risk life sciences policy calls for monitoring AI dangers
“The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) will convene an interagency group to monitor advancements at the intersection of biological sciences and artificial intelligence, including in silico life sciences research,” the guidance says.
Digital Government
CMS quietly moved a Medicaid technology project to a federal data hub as new eligibility requirements approach
Federal technology offerings promise to help states implement some parts of Medicaid work requirements kicking in on Jan. 1, 2027, but not all of them.
Ideas
The perimeter is gone. Security has to follow the data.
COMMENTARY | Many zero trust plans are still anchored to the old idea of the border. That protects a version of government IT that no longer exists.
Cybersecurity
Amazon uncovers broad North Korean hacking campaign against open-source software
New findings connect the same Pyongyang-backed group to four compromises dating to 2025, revealing a larger operation than previously known.
Emerging Tech
Leidos saving money, employee time through expanded ServiceNow partnership
Leidos is deploying ServiceNow’s AI Control Tower across its enterprise, adding new capabilities to a partnership that spans a decade.
Artificial Intelligence
NVIDIA CEO to meet with Sen. Cruz on AI
The meeting follows his and other companies’ public push for continued open-source AI model access.
People
Senate confirms Clayton as Trump’s next intelligence director
The former SEC chairman will replace acting intelligence chief Bill Pulte, whose brief tenure oversaw repeated personnel cuts to the nation’s top spy office.
Policy
FCC blocks approval of new foreign-made robots, power inverters
National security agencies said the devices could create supply-chain vulnerabilities, threaten critical infrastructure and enable surveillance or remote manipulation.
People
Pulte announces 30% ODNI staff reduction hours before Clayton vote
The acting intelligence chief said a fifth and “near final” round of terminations was underway Tuesday but did not disclose how many employees were affected.
Artificial Intelligence
Anthropic calls for threading the needle on open-source AI
Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei cited China as the primary threat to such a paradigm and cast doubt over the narrative of open-source as a cybersecurity asset.
Digital Government
HHS continues health tech initiative with 7 new industry pledges
The Trump administration says 60% of Americans now have access to medical records through an app of their choice because of its health technology initiative.
Acquisition