Emerging Tech
TSA uses ‘minimum’ data to fine-tune its facial recognition, but some experts still worry
The Transportation Security Administration is planning to expand its facial recognition scanners to more than 400 airports, an agency official said.
Emerging Tech
Next digital identity testing at DHS to focus on ‘liveness’ detection
The department’s Science and Technology Directorate is taking applications from vendors that want to participate in testing technologies that claim to determine whether a submitted image is legitimate or a hacker’s spoof.
Emerging Tech
Government needs to regulate facial recognition tech, says National Academies
A facial recognition risk management framework, new legislation and more are among the recommendations in a new report requested by the FBI and DHS.
Artificial Intelligence
Agencies eye synthetic data to help train and test AI
The Department of Homeland Security and Chief Data Officers Council put out calls recently for products and insight on synthetic data generation.
Artificial Intelligence
DHS aims to lead in defense against ‘adversarial’ AI
The agency’s secretary noted artificial intelligence has proven useful for DHS operations in many ways, but also cautioned that the technology can be used for more nefarious purposes.
People
DHS aims to cut another 10M hours of paperwork
Within the newly formalized DHS Customer Experience Office, “our biggest challenge is that the demand far outstrips the supply,” said its leader, Dana Chisnell.
People
House punts effort to impeach Biden cabinet secretary
Some Republicans joined Democrats to postpone the exceedingly rare effort.
Artificial Intelligence
What are agencies doing with AI? A bipartisan Senate duo wants to know.
Sens. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, sent letters to three federal agencies probing into their use of artificial intelligence systems.
Cybersecurity
ICE’s ‘outdated and overly permissive’ device policy left the agency vulnerable, watchdog warns
A spring audit of agency mobile devices found several banned and outdated applications installed on personnel and contractor smartphones.
Emerging Tech
US would be ‘effectively defenseless’ without counter-drone authority extension, FBI director says
The Department of Homeland Security and Department of Justice’s authority to mitigate threats from unmanned aircraft systems is set to expire on Nov. 18.
Artificial Intelligence
DHS to release AI guidance for critical infrastructure
The agency hopes to serve as a “vanguard” in critical infrastructure’s safe and ethical use of AI, according to one official.
Artificial Intelligence
DHS looks to AI to help solve child abuse cases
An interagency collaboration within the Department of Homeland Security is tapping machine learning capabilities to halt international child abuse cases.
Modernization
DHS issues new IT plan to tackle workforce, AI and CX challenges
The department is planning to establish a DHS IT Academy with training and upskilling for its workforce.
Digital Government
DHS biometrics management dinged by watchdogs
“Hundreds of millions of individuals' personally identifiable information” is impacted by the privacy weaknesses, according to the Government Accountability Office.
Artificial Intelligence
Agency leaders see data analytics and customer service uses for AI
Tech officials told lawmakers they are focused on a socio-technical approach to AI use cases in the government, saying it is not “one size fits all.”
Acquisition
DHS should assess the benefits of a risk management sharing tool, GAO says
A new report found that the department’s guidance for risk management practices in acquisition programs isn’t specific enough for all programs and could be helped by information-sharing tools.
Cybersecurity
New bill aims to address private sector cyber risks to FEMA operations
A proposed amendment to the Homeland Security Act would task FEMA and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency to work with private entities to ensure digital risks to agency operations are mitigated.
Cybersecurity
DHS cyber review board to examine China-linked cyberattacks of Microsoft
The Cyber Safety Review Board will assess how a hacking group reportedly linked to China leveraged a vulnerability in Microsoft Exchange Online to access government emails.
Acquisition
DHS extends timeline on enterprise cloud strategy
The department’s much-anticipated ECLIPS contract won’t debut in fiscal 2023, as officials plan for another industry event this fall.
Cybersecurity