Modernization
The ‘future is at risk’ for government’s biggest civilian payroll provider, study finds
The National Finance Center — a part of the Agriculture Department — provides payroll services for over 170 agencies, but a lot of them aren’t happy with the services they’re getting.
Policy
White House calls on agencies to 'aggressively' reduce telework this fall
Chief of Staff Jeff Zients instructed agencies to focus on executing plans to increase in-person work in September and October.
Cybersecurity
White House launches new cybersecurity campaign to safeguard schools
The administration and its private sector partners announced a slate of new initiatives on Monday aimed at protecting the nation’s school systems and their digital infrastructure.
Emerging Tech
Lawrence Livermore researchers achieve fusion ignition for a second time
After a groundbreaking success in generating fusion ignition in December 2022, researchers repeated the victory in late July and will publish results soon.
Ideas
5 federal use cases for generative AI
COMMENTARY | Leaders who want to hit the ground running with the emerging tech should look to applications where generative AI has demonstrated success.
Cybersecurity
CISA unveils plan to measure cybersecurity success
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency's 2024-2026 cybersecurity roadmap focuses on public-private partnerships and using metrics to gauge the effectiveness of cybersecurity measures.
Artificial Intelligence
NSF aims to drive democratization of AI with its funding
The National Science Foundation is working to expand artificial intelligence research and access to make the technology more equitable and to build a strong public research infrastructure.
Artificial Intelligence
FCC wants to use AI to measure commercial spectrum use
The communications agency voted 4-0 on Thursday to ask the public for input on how it can use AI to bolster its spectrum management policies and understanding of bandwidth use.
Acquisition
DHS extends timeline on enterprise cloud strategy
The department’s much-anticipated ECLIPS contract won’t debut in fiscal 2023, as officials plan for another industry event this fall.
Digital Government
Government contractors grapple with enforcement challenges of TikTok ban
Industry groups are raising censorship and privacy concerns over a ban of popular social media app TikTok on devices used by government contractors.
Policy
Cannabis users could become feds under bipartisan House bill
The legislation also would allow federal job applicants who were previously denied positions or security clearances over marijuana usage dating back to 2008 to have those decisions reviewed under the newly proposed policy.
Cybersecurity
Pentagon lays out plan to boost its cyber workforce
The four-year implementation plan stresses development, recruitment, and retention to fill needed cyber positions.
Cybersecurity
CISA, Five Eyes cyber advisory lists common vulnerabilities among 2022’s top exploits
Several federal and international agencies listed bugs detected across private networks, encouraging greater adherence to Secure By Design principles.
Artificial Intelligence
IARPA grapples with threats posed by generative AI
The intelligence agency is looking for insights about the vulnerabilities within large language models and how it can prevent false information from harming the analysts using them.
Digital Government
IRS’s digital platforms tax users searching for in-person assistance
The tax agency's watchdog said the functionality of the agency’s website and mobile app make it difficult for Americans to find information on taxpayer assistance centers.
Cybersecurity
Report reveals 'sudden surge' in cyberattacks targeting government agencies
Cyberattacks impacting government agencies and the public sector spiked by 40% in recent months, according to a new report.
Defense
DOD pushes cloud buyers to JWCC
The Defense Department's top tech official directed defense agencies to tap the multi-vendor Joint Warfighting Cloud Capability contract for new cloud acquisitions and is requiring all top-secret cloud buys across the Pentagon and military services to use the vehicle for top secret capabilities.
Ideas
Most Americans support NASA – but don’t think it should prioritize sending people to space
COMMENTARY | The United States’ most visible effort to maintain world leadership in space is arguably its Artemis Program to land humans on the Moon by late 2024.
Cybersecurity
House panel probes China-linked email hacks
The House Committee on Oversight and Accountability is investigating how the State and Commerce departments responded to a cyberattack that successfully gained access to unclassified government email accounts of top-level officials.
Artificial Intelligence