Cybersecurity
Silicon Valley Lawmaker Proposes Cyber Training for Every Federal Employee
Rep. Ro Khanna plans to introduce a bill that would require feds to learn basic cyber hygiene, including how to securely navigate the internet of things.
Policy
Privacy Bill Could Put Dishonest Tech Execs Behind Bars
The Mind Your Own Business Act would expand FTC authorities and introduce comprehensive new protections for consumers’ personal data.
Emerging Tech
House Committee Votes to Increase Funding for Energy’s DARPA by $2.9B
The House Science, Space and Technology Committee moved a bill to reauthorize ARPA-E with additional funding, as well as new restrictions and oversight.
Digital Government
Federal Employees Lose a Powerful Advocate With Death of Democratic Rep. Elijah Cummings
The Oversight and Reform chairman was a “fierce advocate for the public interest,” one observer says.
Cybersecurity
Industry Wants More Legal Cover for Sharing Supply Chain Threats
Sharing potential threats are critical for ensuring companies avoid shady vendors, but under current laws, firms that do so could wind up in court.
Digital Government
Senate Bill Would Open Some Weather Agency Models to the Public
The bill would require the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to share more weather modeling data with third parties and review possible innovations.
Cybersecurity
Budgetary, Technical Hurdles Continue Hampering 2020 Election Security Prep
A Congressional field hearing in Illinois highlighted how far states and local jurisdictions have come since 2016, and how far they have to go.
Cybersecurity
Senate Intel Committee: Russia Is Already Trying to Influence the 2020 Election
In its report, the Republican-led committee pushes back against Trump’s efforts to point fingers elsewhere.
Artificial Intelligence
Lawmakers Press Social Media Giants to Confront Deepfake Threats
Sens. Marco Rubio and Mark Warner want Facebook, YouTube, TikTok and others to create industry standards for handling synthetic content.
Cybersecurity
Lawmakers Propose $1 Billion Purge of Chinese Telecom Equipment
The Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Act would help small and rural providers pay to replace equipment from Huawei, ZTE and other foreign vendors with safer alternatives.
Artificial Intelligence
Experts Urge Congress to Consider Implications of AI Bias and Human-Robot Interactions
It’s all part of the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology’s work to support the development of a national artificial intelligence strategy.
Cybersecurity
Senate’s Election Security Funding Bill Leaves a Key Agency Strapped for Cash
The Election Assistance Commission has struggled with insufficient staff and resources.
Cybersecurity
6 Cyber Bills You Might Have Missed
The bills aim to strengthen the Homeland Security Department’s cybersecurity efforts and help the energy sector improve its digital defenses.
Digital Government
Republican U.S. Rep. Will Hurd Says He’s Considering Running for President in 2024
Hurd also discussed a whistleblower's complaint about Donald Trump — and whether its contents support a Democratic push to impeach the president. “I think that’s a premature conversation to have," he said.
Artificial Intelligence
Bill to Combat Deepfakes Passes House Committee
The bipartisan legislation directs the National Science Foundation and National Institute of Standards and Technology to accelerate the detection of disruptive, manipulated media.
Emerging Tech
GAO Center to Educate Congress on the Big Picture of Future Tech
The Center for Strategic Foresight plans to give lawmakers a broad sense of what’s coming in the future.
Modernization
House Passes Seven-Week Stopgap Spending Bill in Hopes of Avoiding October Shutdown
The Senate must still pass the bill.
Digital Government
Lawmakers Intro Bill to Enhance Not-Yet-Revived Office of Technical Assessment
A group of House and Senate lawmakers want the office to be more responsive and transparent, assuming funding to reinstate it gets through the appropriations process.
Cybersecurity
Lawmakers Call on FCC to Reexamine Licenses for Two Chinese Telecom Firms
Sens. Chuck Schumer and Tom Cotton fear the state-owned companies present national security threats.
Ideas