Cybersecurity
The Future Airman is a Hacker
Air Force recruiters will prize computer skills more highly, while the service will encourage airmen to experiment with their own solutions
Emerging Tech
NOAA Creates Workarounds for Malfunctioning Weather Satellite
The GOES-17 still isn’t working the way it’s meant to, but engineers believe they have a way to make it more functional than not.
Digital Government
Agencies want standard survey for acquisition feedback
Three agencies have begun the process of creating a universal feedback form for the Acquisition 360 effort that would allow public reviews of federal acquisitions.
Digital Government
Social media use is booming in Congress. That has implications for the rest of government
With practically every member of Congress now on at least one social media platform, it’s easier than ever to reach legislators and influence their decision-making.
Modernization
VA Wants a New Cloud for Its Mobile Apps
The effort comes as VA reworks its entire online presence to make services more accessible and user-friendly for some 9 million veterans.
Digital Government
Get Ready for a Massive Government Spending Spree
A combination of factors will see federal agencies trying to spend as much as 40 percent of their budgets in the final two months of the fiscal year.
Ideas
The U.S. Military Just Partially Banned Geolocatable Cellphones. That's a Start.
The consequences of internet-of-things insecurity on national security should now be clear.
People
The shadow rulers of the VA
The Department of Veterans Affairs is scrambling to modernize massive systems, reform its workforce and fill key leadership roles. According to ProPublica, a cadre of President Trump's Mar-a-Lago connections is secretly shaping those efforts and many others.
People
Agencies still lag in empowering their CIOs. What gives?
Despite legislation, other congressional pressures and a presidential executive order aimed at expanding the authorities of CIOs, most agencies still lack policies to make those requirements a reality.
Artificial Intelligence
What Your Boss Could Learn by Reading the Whole Company’s Emails
Employee emails contain valuable insights into company morale—and might even serve as an early-warning system for uncovering malfeasance.
Cybersecurity
FCC IG Says the Alleged Net Neutrality DDoS Attack Never Happened
An internal investigation found the agency’s commenting system was knocked offline by “system design issues” and “‘flash crowd’ activity,” not hackers.
Digital Government
Pending Executive Order to Move Entire Background Investigation Bureau to Pentagon
The president is preparing to sign an order to move the entire National Background Investigations Bureau—workload, people and all—under the Defense Department.
Cybersecurity
As the IoT grows, so do the risks
Agencies must rethink their security as both the logical and physical attack surfaces expand.
People
NBIB move to DOD looks increasingly likely
National Background Investigations Bureau Director Charles Phalen discusses the Trump administration's plan to move the organization under the Defense Department.
Digital Government
Wikipedia, the Last Bastion of Shared Reality
The culture wars are coming for the best utopian project of the early internet. Can it survive the informational anarchy that’s disrupted the rest of media?
Emerging Tech
America Is Not Ready for Exploding Drones
An apparent assassination attempt in Venezuela shows how technology is moving faster than governments can counter it.
Ideas
What Government Could Learn from Payment Companies About Identity Management
If someone finds or steals a government Personal Identity Verification card, it’s possible that they could access sensitive or secret information during a very limited window before its loss was reported or discovered.
Modernization
Oracle Protests Pentagon’s JEDI Cloud Contract
It's the first protest against the $10 billion cloud contract so far.
People
Dave Powner audits the state of federal IT
The GAO director of information technology issues is leaving government after 16 years. On his way out the door, Dave Powner details how far govtech has come in the past two decades and flags the most critical issues he sees facing federal IT leaders.
People