Emerging Tech
White House Selects Former Fed as NIST Leader
Laurie Locascio was tapped to be the Commerce Department’s next Undersecretary for Standards and Technology.
Ideas
Changing How App Stores Operate Could Have National Security Implications
As Congress considers how to increase competition for app stores run by Apple, Google and others, it also needs to consider potential cybersecurity threats.
Policy
State Data Privacy Bills Growing More Widespread
Ohio lawmakers have introduced legislation to establish “data rights” for citizens. It follows Colorado, which passed a similar law last week.
Digital Government
Senators Reintroduce Bill to Protect Federal Employees Returning to Workplaces
The House passed an earlier version last Congress.
Digital Government
GAO Issues Recommendations to White House Science and Tech Wing
This is the first time the Government Accountability Office has provided a priority recommendation letter to the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.
Cybersecurity
Agencies Unveil Plans to Fight Ransomware—Including Paying for Tips
The State Department’s Rewards for Justice program is offering a reward of up to $10 million for information about attackers targeting U.S. critical infrastructure.
Artificial Intelligence
Billions in AI Investments and a New Deterrence Strategy Coming, SecDef Says
The Defense Secretary committed $1.5 billion over five years to the Pentagon’s artificial intelligence hub.
Digital Government
Bipartisan Calls to Regulate Facial Recognition Tech Grow Louder
Lawmakers on both sides of the political aisle have concerns about increased use of biometric technology.
Ideas
63% of Workers Who File an EEOC Discrimination Complaint Lose Their Jobs
And about 40% of workers report experiencing employer retaliation.
Cybersecurity
CISA Orders Agencies to Patch Microsoft ‘PrintNightmare’ Vulnerability
The flaw—which Microsoft said affects all versions of Windows—could allow an adversary to execute code on their victim’s system remotely.
Cybersecurity
Cybersecurity Funding Faces Political Clash During Appropriations Markup
Republican lawmakers continue to withhold support for the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency until their immigration concerns are addressed.
Policy
Biden Backs DIY Fixes in ‘Right to Repair’ Dispute
The pandemic underscored the need for independent and individual repairs of laptops, tablets and phones, and other equipment.
Digital Government
Survey: Improving Customer Experience Prioritized by 3 in 4 Government IT Leaders
And more than 60% heavily value internal employee experience.
Digital Government
Report: DOD Budget Request Shows IT Increases, Shift to Information Warfare Focus
“The future character of warfare will be defined more by information than by hardware,” according to an analysis by Govini.
Ideas
Raising the Contractor Minimum Wage: It’s Not as Simple as it Looks
The current circumstances create a bizarre combination of a wage safety net and wage suppression.
Cybersecurity
Official Suggests Consequences Coming to Russia for Ransomware
A senior administration official said the U.S. has made specific requests through official channels regarding cyber criminals.
Policy
Biden Executive Order on Competition Includes ‘Big Tech’
The executive order includes 72 programs and actions for the administration to take, four of which focus on increasing competition within the technology sector.
Ideas
The U.S. Desperately Needs a Civilian Cybersecurity Corps
Here is how we maximize its scale and potential.
Modernization
More Underestimated Infrastructure Costs Could Raise VA EHR Price Tag $2.5B
The latest inspector general report shows more underreported infrastructure costs for the electronic health record program, prompting lawmakers to call a hearing for later this month.
Digital Government