Artificial Intelligence
Trump redoubles pro-AI stance amid calls to slow development
Industry leaders put out a public call to “pace the frontier” of artificial intelligence development over the weekend, reinvigorating the debate over how to best compose effective regulations.
Artificial Intelligence
Lawmakers clash on safety testing language for in-development AI legislation, people familiar say
High-ranking members of the Senate Commerce Committee stand at odds with each other over how to best address “catastrophic risk” posed by artificial intelligence.
Artificial Intelligence
Hawley launches committee investigation into OpenAI’s breach of Hugging Face
Following reports of two autonomous attacks conducted by OpenAI’s agents, Sen. Josh Hawley sent a letter to OpenAI CEO Sam Altman for answers.
Acquisition
GSA unveils new, token-based OneGov discount with OpenAI
OpenAI’s move from offering a flat fee to a usage-based approach comes as agreements with other AI companies like Anthropic and Gemini are set to expire at the end of the month.
Acquisition
GSA and CMS continue Medicaid tech vendor collaboration, but its impact is likely limited, experts say
The partnership is part of the broader CMS effort to help states comply with Medicaid work requirements enacted by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
Cybersecurity
New FBI cyber strategy seeks faster action against hackers, larger industry role
The bureau wants more frequent disruption operations and quicker warnings to victims as the Justice Department works through rules for expanded private sector participation in hacking cybercrime groups.
Artificial Intelligence
Microsoft brings AI vulnerability-hunting tool to government cloud
Select agencies and partners can preview MDASH, which uses teams of AI agents to find software flaws and test whether attackers could exploit them.
Artificial Intelligence
July’s breakout at OpenAI was far more complex than initially realized
Hundreds of AI agents collaborated to escape their containers, disguising their actions and even sacrificing themselves.
Modernization
House panel subpoenas Oracle heads over VA health record overhaul’s ballooning costs
The House Veterans’ Affairs Committee voted 19-0 to subpoena Oracle Chairman and Co-founder Larry Ellison and Oracle CEO Mike Sicilia after VA announced plans to boost its contract with the tech giant by $17 billion.
Acquisition
Microsoft Fabric integration platform launches for select federal customers
The platform is now available on a preview basis for Government Community Cloud High environments and is designed to support the needs of agentic AI tools.
Acquisition
CMS taps Mathematica, Deloitte to improve effectiveness of its healthcare models
An agency spokesperson said the four-year Learning Insights for Action project “will enable CMS to efficiently target resources across models with varying periods of performance and support cross-model learning.”
Artificial Intelligence
Judge rules Anthropic supply chain risk designation was ‘illegal and baseless’
A Northern California judge found that the AI company’s products did not represent a meaningful threat to national security, making the Pentagon’s designation “unlawful retaliation.”
Artificial Intelligence
NSA wants access to ‘all’ AI models, top official says
The spy agency is taking a key role in the government’s new voluntary model-testing program, though its deputy director did not say which companies are participating.
Artificial Intelligence
Dem lawmaker hopes to add AI containment language to FRONTIER Act
Rep. Suhas Subramanyam, D-Va., is pushing for a September markup of the landmark AI legislation along with new language on model containment following the OpenAI-Hugging Face incident.
Cybersecurity
The Russian hurdle in Trump’s new offensive cyber program
The White House wants private companies to help take down cybercriminals overseas. But in Russia, the line between criminal hackers and the government is difficult to draw.
People
L3Harris promotes Mehta to CEO in abrupt leadership change
Chris Kubasik, L3Harris’ CEO since June 2021, has left the company following a code of conduct investigation.
Cybersecurity
As warfare becomes engineering, the era of the digital mercenary dawns
The White House revives “privateering for the digital age” by authorizing cyber firms to strike foreign targets.
People
Amazon Web Services’ Dave Levy departs for Google
The senior executive worked at AWS since 2017.
Acquisition
Cloudflare to seek DOD IL4 authorization after new FedRAMP, GovRAMP designations
The connectivity cloud giant recently achieved FedRAMP High certification and GovRAMP Moderate authorization.
Cybersecurity