Modernization

Space missions rely on private sector engagement, NASA official says

The space agency needs to work more closely with its commercial providers to meet critical flight requirements.

Digital Government

Russia’s influence operations aim to tip US election in favor of Donald Trump, intel official says

The assessment comes two days after the DOJ and others took steps to identify and blunt Russian influence operations.

Policy

Trump vows to establish an 'efficiency commission' with Elon Musk at the helm

The former president said the Tesla CEO has “agreed” to head up a task force aimed at cutting federal programs.

Cybersecurity

5 Russian military hackers plotted to spread malware to Ukraine through a US company, new charges say

The hackers also tried to target a federal agency based in Maryland, the Justice Department alleges.

Defense

Space Force aims to track enemy aircraft with satellites by 2030s

Research underway to shift tracking of air and ground targets to more survivable orbiting assets.

Cybersecurity

White House cyber czar launches new hiring sprint 

The federal government’s main occupational series for IT jobs saw 3,000 open positions in fiscal 2024.

Updated Cybersecurity

US says Russia conducted sustained disinformation campaign to sway 2024 election

The Justice Department unsealed an indictment accusing two Russian state media employees of contributing to the election influence efforts.

Artificial Intelligence

CIA looks to fast track AI adoption through cloud contract

A CIA official said the agency is working with the five recipients of its Commercial Cloud Enterprise contract to “get commercial [large language models] up into our high-side environments.”

People

Cori Zarek exits USDS

The deputy administrator of the U.S. Digital Service has left for a new job at Apolitical.

Cybersecurity

Under a quarter of rural hospitals are using White House’s free cyber resource program, official says

The commitments from industry leaders announced in June seek to help small healthcare centers boost their cybersecurity posture.

Emerging Tech

OMB’s call for manual network scans during PQC transitions is ‘undoable,’ industry officials say

The Office of Management and Budget’s preference for conducting a manual network scan over an automated analysis has drawn criticism from private sector entities ahead of migration efforts to post-quantum cryptography.

Cybersecurity

White House plan looks to secure a foundational piece of the global internet

The roadmap for improving the Border Gateway Protocol calls on the federal government to contract with firms that can provide available secure internet routing technologies.

People

Biden formally announces 2% average pay raise for feds in 2025

The president each August must declare an “economic emergency” to prevent large automatic increases to locality pay from taking effect, in accordance with the Federal Employees Pay Comparability Act.

Emerging Tech

FCC rule grants drone operators spectrum access for navigation

The agency said assigning spectrum access in the 5GHz band is an initial step toward integrating drones into the National Airspace System.

People

Trump calls federal workforce 'crooked,' vows to hold them 'accountable'

In an interview with a right-wing Youtuber, the former president seemingly alluded to reviving Schedule F and other Trump-era policies aimed at making it easier to fire federal employees.

Digital Government

Cost of VA’s Digital GI Bill has nearly doubled amid delays and contract challenges

The agency’s Office of Inspector General said in a new report that initial contract requirements for the Digital GI Bill platform “were unclear and included unrealistic expectations.”

Artificial Intelligence

OpenAI, Anthropic to collab with NIST on AI safety testing

The standards agency's AI Safety Institute obtained access to "major models" from the two AI leaders ahead of their public release for testing purposes.

Cybersecurity

US efforts to stop Chinese hackers haven’t been fully effective, FBI official says

Taking a more offensive approach against the hacking collective may risk escalation with China, a senior intelligence official said Wednesday.