Emerging Tech

White House Updates National Strategic Computing Initiative

The document refocuses objectives from the country’s 2016 computing plan.

Emerging Tech

Lawmakers Propose Bill Limiting Government's Use of Facial Recognition

The legislation would require law enforcement agencies to obtain a warrant before conducting facial recognition surveillance.

Modernization

Officials: Shared Services Implementation Begins But Journey Will Be Long

Three of the four initial focus areas are ready to move beyond the standards-setting phase to implementation, with GSA’s payroll program leading the way.

Digital Government

Contractors: Begin Shutdown Prep Now

Lessons learned from the 2018 shutdown suggest government contractors should prepare all they can for a potential 2019 shutdown.

Cybersecurity

Senator Urges Cybersecurity Review of Mobile Voting App

West Virginia and local governments in Colorado, Utah and Oregon have all piloted mobile voting applications developed by Voatz.

Digital Government

Congress Expects to Pass Another Stopgap Spending Bill to Keep Agencies Open Through Dec. 20

Lawmakers hope to pass full-year appropriations before the new deadline and avoid another holiday season shutdown.

Emerging Tech

Lawmakers Want to Ban Unauthorized Drones from Flying Over Stadium Concerts

The FAA currently only issues temporary flight restrictions during sporting events, but a bipartisan group of senators wants to protect stadium skies during all types of events.

Artificial Intelligence

Report: Government Needs Investment, Cooperation on AI

A report commissioned by industry and government AI leaders highlights national security challenges around artificial intelligence.

Digital Government

Defense Secretary Says to Expect ‘Trimming, Reducing, Some Eliminations’ in 2021 Budget

Esper touts "good progress" in high-level review intended to cut fat and find funds for projects to counter China and Russia.

Cybersecurity

Election Commission Needs More Authority In Face of 2020 Threats, Report Finds

“The federal government regulates colored pencils . . . more strictly than it does America’s election infrastructure,” the nonpartisan Brennan Center notes.

Modernization

Can CBP Stand Up an Electronic Health Records System in 90 Days?

Lawmakers eager to see Customs and Border Protection digitize its health care system are pushing a bill that would give the agency three months to go from paper to electronic records.

Cybersecurity

House Committee to Hold Hearing on the Online Exploitation of Veterans

A veteran, a scientist and representatives from Facebook and Twitter are all set to testify.

Policy

Federal Lawmakers Push '.Gov' Web Addresses For Local Governments

A new U.S. Senate bill comes amid concerns that online criminals can “spoof” the public with fake government websites.

Cybersecurity

DISA Official: ‘No One Knows’ How Cyber Standards Will Impact Contractor Pool

Many small businesses might find themselves excluded from the Pentagon’s most sensitive tech projects under the new Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification.

Cybersecurity

A Plan to Engage Hackers in Election Security

The Information Technology-Information Sharing and Analysis Center wants to create a coordinated vulnerability disclosure program that could alert vendors about security flaws in their voting systems.

Ideas

The Zero-Day War? How Cyber is Reshaping the Future of the Most Combustible Conflicts

Recent history has shown that states often use their offensive cyber arsenals to achieve surprisingly de-escalatory effects.

Ideas

Twitter Is Banning Political Ads – But the Real Battle for Democracy Is with Facebook and Google

Twitter’s political ad ban will have little effect on elections around the globe.