Digital Government
Energy Department wants to use AI to speed up permitting
The hope is that helping feds dive into historical environmental documents creates efficiencies and better outcomes.
Cybersecurity
GSA awards contract for $524M CISA headquarters
The agency will leverage its largest Inflation Reduction Act-funded project to date to help construct a 630,000-square-foot building for the cybersecurity agency at the St. Elizabeths West Campus.
Digital Government
VA hopes new antifraud tools will help veterans identify, report common scams
Veterans lost $350 million in scams targeting former service members in 2023, according to a government report.
Defense
Wearable tech and data analytics pair with human coaches and athletes for the 2024 DOD Warrior Games
As impressive as the technology is, it works best when paired with knowledgeable human coaches.
Emerging Tech
DOD unveils new biodefense-focused supercomputer
The new system is part of a collaboration with the Department of Energy-sponsored Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.
Cybersecurity
CISA, FBI assert election infrastructure’s fortitude despite ransomware threat
Both organizations aim to instill confidence in U.S. voting infrastructure ahead of the 2024 elections.
Defense
DOD unveils proposed final rule for CMMC contracting
A phased rollout of the cybersecurity standard should begin in early 2025, with varying compliance levels and increased program office discretion.
Digital Government
SSA has a plan, but wants more funding to get it done
The 2024 agenda’s top priorities for the remainder of the year stem from over 5,000 recommendations from employees.
Policy
House lawmakers press Meta over illicit drug ads
In a letter to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, lawmakers said they were “continuously concerned that Meta is not up to the task” of keeping ads for illegal drugs off of its sites.
Defense
Two programs suggest the Pentagon is getting better at buying technology
The Maven and Collaborative Combat Aircraft efforts display real steps forward, a pair of reports say.
Policy
A pair of new bills aim to reshape the Secret Service
Rep. Ritchie Torres, D-N.Y., penned new legislation to shift the agency’s jurisdiction for investigating financial crimes and alter how it designates its protective perimeter in the wake of the Trump assassination attempt.
Cybersecurity
Compromised DNC credentials found on Telegram bot, cyber firm says
Security researchers with ZeroFox identified stolen login information from Democratic-aligned accounts ahead of the party’s presidential nominating convention, but noted that some records “were previously observed in private threat actor-operated repositories.”
People
Rising Stars nominations extended until August 30
Nominations for the 2024 Rising Stars program are being extended to help showcase some of the best up-and-coming talent in government.
Digital Government
Teleworking feds are spending 60% of their time working in person, OMB says
In a congressionally mandated report, the Office of Management and Budget rebuffed many common complaints by congressional Republicans about the popular workplace flexibility.
Emerging Tech
Officials urge a quick start migrating to post-quantum encryption
Biden administration officials on Tuesday emphasized the need for entities to start network migration efforts as encryption algorithms are now ready for implementation.
Modernization
IRS is flying blind without plans to modernize legacy tech, watchdog says
This isn’t the first time the IRS has been called out by oversight officials for a lack of detailed technology planning.
Cybersecurity
House lawmakers join effort to remove flagged Chinese tech from telecom networks
The companion proposal to a Senate bill would allocate an additional $3 billion to the Federal Communications Commission to help fund its ‘rip and replace’ reimbursement program.
Cybersecurity
Researchers race to document voting machine vulnerabilities ahead of November
Voting machines are key physical targets in election fraud schemes. At the DEF CON hacking conference, cybersecurity experts have been working to safeguard them.
Cybersecurity
DARPA edges closer to using AI to expose cyber vulnerabilities
Next year, seven teams will compete to polish off a best-case model that meshes AI and cybersecurity to detect and fix open-source vulnerabilities in critical infrastructure.
Emerging Tech