People
Federal workers decry recent firings in Presidents’ Day protest
“All I ask is that [the White House] follow f****** federal employment laws,” said one Consumer Financial Protection Bureau employee.
Digital Government
168 employees fired at National Science Foundation
“Panch has been conveniently absent throughout this whole time,” said an internal email an NSF worker sent to fellow colleagues, referring to Sethuraman Panchanathan, NSF’s director.
People
Dozens of employees at U.S. DOGE Service dismissed
Personnel from Elon Musk's efficiency service were the latest to be dismissed.
Cybersecurity
Lawmaker looks to strengthen security of U.S. communications following UK’s Apple backdoor order
Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., released a discussion draft of a measure to reform the CLOUD Act after the UK ordered Apple to build a backdoor into encrypted iCloud backups.
Digital Government
GSA tech modernization office pauses government-wide cloud collaboration groups
The communities of practice are designed to help feds learn more about technology and cybersecurity topics involving the cloud computing space. At least 100 GSA employees have been let go in recent days.
Modernization
Employees helming the U.S. nuclear stockpile among those terminated
Probational employees at Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration were fired on Thursday as concerns over DOGE access to sensitive information mounts.
Acquisition
StateRAMP to rebrand later this year
The voluntary program will be rebranded as “GovRAMP” to better reflect that its offerings can be used by local governments, educational institutions and others, the organization’s executive director told Route Fifty.
Artificial Intelligence
How can agencies safely use new Chinese-made DeepSeek AI?
One of the most noteworthy things about DeepSeek is that it uses a reasoning model where users can watch as the AI thinks out loud.
Digital Government
Trump administration directs agencies to fire recent hires en masse
Thousands of employees were already let go as of Thursday, a number that is expected to skyrocket in the coming days.
Exclusive
People
OPM fires its own probationary-period staff
Employees’ physical and IT system access was deactivated at 3 p.m. ET on Thursday. On-site staff were also asked to quickly exit the Office of Personnel Management’s premises.
Cybersecurity
Lawmakers ask DNI to reassess UK cyber, intel ties over Apple backdoor mandate
The court order issued by the United Kingdom centers on the UK’s 2016 Investigatory Powers Act, which was reportedly invoked to demand Apple provide a backdoor into users’ encrypted iCloud backups.
Artificial Intelligence
GOP lawmakers seek industry input on crafting US-first AI regulatory regime
Republican lawmakers used a House hearing to seek input from industry representatives for how lawmakers can craft policies that enable manufacturers to successfully leverage AI.
Cybersecurity
FBI notified over 4,300 victims of ‘pig butchering’ crypto scams in past year
After victims are tricked into buying crypto, they are shown fake online accounts with fictitious returns while the stolen funds are moved offshore, an FBI official said.
Emerging Tech
National Labs have seen mixed impacts from Trump spending freeze
During a House hearing, four directors of different U.S. national laboratories offered insight into how federal funding interruptions have shaped their work.
Cybersecurity
Salt Typhoon hackers possibly targeted telecom research at US universities
Recorded Future’s latest findings shed light on how widespread the Salt Typhoon campaign has become since it was uncovered last year.
People
GSA to cut at least 100 employees, feds inside the agency say
Employees within the agency’s Technology Transformation Services received calls from supervisors Wednesday informing them of their impending dismissals.
People
CISA staff focused on disinformation and influence operations put on leave
DHS Secretary Kristi Noem has committed to rescoping the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency so that it pivots away from disinformation matters.
People
OPM reveals new details about its CIO
Greg Hogan joined the agency a day into the Trump administration, replacing a career official that had been named to the position a week prior.
People