Modernization
Cost overruns, delays plague VA’s new integrated financial management system
The rollout of VA’s modernized financial management and acquisition system has been affected by delays in the department’s new electronic health record system, since “multiple deployments” depend on the EHR’s launch at medical facilities.
People
White House cyber czar office adds new deputy
Harry Wingo, a former national security professor and Navy SEAL officer, will take the position next week, the Office of the National Cyber Director said.
Cybersecurity
Crowdstrike IT outage linked to update using new threat detection system
A routine update intended to enhance clients’ security capabilities clashed with a new cyberthreat classification framework rolled out in February, causing affected systems to crash.
Digital Government
The White House thinks better tech could speed up permitting
The White House’s Council on Environmental Quality says in a new, congressionally mandated report that better tech could help the permitting process, but it's unclear whether new efforts are in the offing.
Exclusive
Cybersecurity
House lawmaker demands answers from AT&T on recent data breach
Rep. Abigail Spanberger wants AT&T’s CEO to open up about the company’s incident response plans and a reported payment to hackers in exchange for deleting the stolen data.
Modernization
VA’s planned restart of EHR rollouts draws lawmaker concern
“I think we are far from ready to endorse further go-live activities,” Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, D-Fla., said about VA’s plan to resume deployments in fiscal year 2025.
Artificial Intelligence
Energy looks to balance AI electricity demands and clean energy goals
Leadership from the Department of Energy said that the demands of artificial intelligence systems of the U.S. power grid can help spur clean energy initiatives.
People
CISA executive director set to depart the agency
Brandon Wales, who temporarily led the agency after a Trump-era management shakeup, has overseen many of the recent CISA-led cyber reporting regulations, as well as coordination during major cyber incidents.
Defense
Pentagon’s new cyber rules are ‘stifling’ foreign suppliers, advisors say
The soon-to-be-mandatory cybersecurity certification—and a 2018 OSD reorganization—are slowing vital work, the Defense Innovation Board says.
People
Unpacking Kamala Harris' record on federal workforce issues
As vice president and a senator, Harris has fought discriminatory pay practices, helped create guidance for how the federal government uses artificial intelligence and championed public sector unions.
Policy
Biden looks to preserve tech, cyber legacy with veto threat
Experts see continuity in tech policy from the Biden administration to a possible Kamala Harris presidency, with possible divergence on some national security and antitrust issues.
Exclusive
Artificial Intelligence
Los Alamos charts a new path on AI research with Venado launch
Staff at the New Mexico laboratory took Nextgov/FCW inside their newest supercomputer installation and its potential to support artificial intelligence applications for both public and classified research.
Cybersecurity
How the CrowdStrike outage carved out new opportunities for hackers
Former U.S. officials and security practitioners are wondering how a defective CrowdStrike patch for Windows systems fell through the cracks and created more cascading security risks.
People
Who are your rising stars?
We're looking to spotlight early-career leaders across the government technology space. Nominations are due by August 14.
Cybersecurity
In reversal, AT&T says most FirstNet customers impacted in data breach disclosed last week
“We now believe the proportion of FirstNet numbers included in the data is similar to that of our broader customer base,” the company said in a statement.
Artificial Intelligence
Mitigating AI risks requires global cooperation, officials say
The U.S. is looking “to try and build international consensus around a set of norms” for countries’ uses of AI, a State Department official said on Thursday.
Artificial Intelligence
Data can be a double-edged sword in generative AI, agency experts say
Though there are myriad federal use cases for generative AI applications, usability hinges on clean, organized input data.
Updated
Cybersecurity
Biden briefed on CrowdStrike IT outage as multiple federal systems impacted
Social Security offices are closed for the day due to the incident. It will be “time-consuming” for all affected systems to undo the damage because the process is manual, one expert says.
Digital Government
OMB touts 'time tax' reductions for government services
Sam Berger, associate administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, spoke with Nextgov/FCW about progress made and what’s next.
Policy