Policy
Critics sound alarm over HHS plans to restructure evaluation office
A coalition of nonprofits, research institutions, child welfare advocates and more note that plans to push research out of the Administration for Children and Families and into the purview of political appointees jeopardize the credibility of that work.
Digital Government
New White House design team aims for ‘delightful’ websites — changing design ethos in the process
Trump’s chief design officer says that his work shouldn’t be controversial, but his team’s track record has raised questions about who their websites are for, who they leave out and whether the White House can garner trust based on sleek design alone.
Exclusive
Cybersecurity
Energy Department patched flaws enabling email impersonation in critical minerals system
The vulnerabilities could have let malicious users masquerade as agency officials, potentially misleading researchers, contractors and others.
People
Top NSC cyber official returns to academia
For the last year, JD Work was a high-ranking official working on cyber policy within the White House National Security Council.
Digital Government
VA doesn't know how many calls it's answering or how long veterans are waiting to get through
The department's failure to track call data is putting "veterans who may need timely and critical care at risk," the inspector general finds.
Policy
Tech bills of the week: AI training tax breaks; modernizing agriculture with emerging tech, and more
The most recent AI legislation focuses on impact across different sectors and preparing the U.S. workforce to use it.
Artificial Intelligence
Targeted AI adoption can drive change, current and former officials say
Agencies “don't need the fanciest AI model on the marketplace” to enhance their customer-facing operations, according to former VA Chief Experience Officer John Boerstler.
Acquisition
Contract reviews continue at OMB, official says
Deputy Director for Management Eric Ueland emphasized the need for CIOs to be empowered “at the beginning of conversations” for IT contracts.
People
Federal CIO tapped for dual-hatted role at GSA
Greg Barbaccia will serve as the acting Technology Transformation Services director and senior advisor to the administrator at GSA, while its previous lead, Thomas Shedd, will remain with the agency in another role.
Artificial Intelligence
Republican governor asserts states’ right to legislate AI
Utah Governor Spencer Cox acknowledged the logic to the Trump administration’s plan for U.S. AI dominance, but not at the expense of state laws ensuring safety.
Cybersecurity
Chinese telecom hackers likely holding stolen data ‘in perpetuity’ for later attempts, FBI official says
“I think it’s important to say we do not know exactly what the [People’s Republic of China] intends to do with a lot of this information,” said FBI cyber official Michael Machtinger.
Cybersecurity
US cyber responses will be ‘linked to adversary actions’ and involve industry coordination, official says
That dynamic will be outlined in a national cyber strategy, which will be released “soon,” said ONCD’s Alexandra Seymour.
Artificial Intelligence
Republican lawmakers ask GAO to review current AI regulatory landscape
Leaders in the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee have asked the Government Accountability Office to examine the regulatory landscape at both the state and federal level.
Artificial Intelligence
The Pentagon says it’s getting its AI providers on ‘the same baseline’
Military is still abiding by ethics principles, according to DOD research head.
Digital Government
Labor launches new open data portal
Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer said the new portal features “better integration with other federal data sources and enhanced artificial intelligence compatibility for finding, visualizing and using data.”
Cybersecurity
New Treasury initiative targets improved cyber risk management for AI tools
The department says it plans to release deliverables from a public-private working group in phases throughout the rest of February.
Acquisition
FAA launches competition to modernize aging IT portfolio
The Federal Aviation Administration is using a challenge-based acquisition strategy that will require vendors to demonstrate, not just describe, their approach.
People
DEF CON bans hackers, technologists named in Epstein documents
Vincenzo Iozzo, Joichi Ito and Pablos Holman are barred from future attendance after Justice Department files revealed their roles in efforts to secure Jeffrey Epstein’s access to DEF CON.
People
HHS IT leadership experiences additional shakeup
Six of the eight top officials in the department’s Office of the Chief Information Officer are now holding at least one role in an acting capacity.
Digital Government