State and Local

New York Just Set a ‘Dangerous Precedent’ on Algorithms, Experts Warn

NYC’s task force on algorithms was supposed to be a beacon of transparent government. It couldn’t even gain access to basic information.

  • By Kate Kaye , CityLab

Kansas Abandons Technology Trumpeted by Kris Kobach, Trump’s Onetime Voter Fraud Czar

The computer program, known as CrossCheck, matched various state voter rolls against each other to identify duplicate voters.

  • By Jessica Huseman, ProPublica

Survey: Ransomware Will Continue to Threaten Public Sector Organizations in 2020

About one-third of the state and federal IT officials who responded said they faced a ransomware attack in the last three years. 

  • By Frank Konkel

Local Election Officials Can Get Free Election Auditing Software from the Feds

The open-source software is already being piloted in at least six states and officials say it can help authenticate results in 2020.

  • By Andrea Noble

A State Agency Scraps Its Paper-Based Licensing System

In adopting a digital licensing system, officials at the Tennessee Alcoholic Beverage Commission say they moved away not just from stacks and stacks of paper, but also an old mindset.

  • By Andrea Noble

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.

  • By Andrea Noble

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.

  • By Bill Lucia

What Cities Can Learn From Atlanta’s Cyberattack

Atlanta’s chief information officer explains why it’s better to spend millions recovering city computer systems from a cyberattack than to pay ransom.

  • By Adam Sneed, CityLab

The Market for Voting Machines Is Broken. This Company Has Thrived in It.

Half the country votes on machines made by ES&S. Many experts and election officials say the manufacturer remains dominant because there’s little government regulation and almost no oversight.

  • By Jessica Huseman, ProPublica

After 30 Years, the Last State Finally Automated Its Child Support System

South Carolina struggled for decades to switch from manual process run by counties to a largely automated system run by the state.

  • By Emma Coleman

Ohio Establishes ‘Cyber Reserve’ to Combat Ransomware

The civilian unit of the National Guard will be on call to assist local governments that come under cyberattack.

  • By Andrea Noble

House Committee Advances Bill to Expand DHS Cyber Monitoring Program

As state and local governments face rising cyber threats, the legislation would give them free access to the tools provided under the Continuous Diagnostics and Mitigation program.

  • By Jack Corrigan

Texas Considering Whether to Hand Driver’s License, Citizenship Information to Census Bureau

The Texas Department of Public Safety received a request for the information earlier this month but has taken no action.

  • By Alexa Ura, The Texas Tribune

Use of Artificial Intelligence Poised to Grow in State Government, Survey Finds

Experimentation is key to the Utah chief information officer’s expanded use of artificial intelligence.

  • By Andrea Noble

Featured eBooks

Digital First
Cloud Smarter
Cybersecurity & the Road Ahead

Tech Giants Fight Digital Right-to-Repair Bills

Twenty states considered bills to allow independent repair shops and tinkerers to fix broken smartphones, laptops and other equipment.

  • By The Pew Charitable Trusts

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.

  • By Frank Konkel

Texas Chief Information Officer Shares Lessons Learned from Ransomware Attack

The 23 municipalities hit in a July ransomware attack put themselves at risk by failing “to follow good cyber hygiene,” the state’s CIO said.

  • By Andrea Noble

Protection from Ransomware Attacks Isn’t as Simple as Insurance

In the wake of high-profile ransomware attacks, local governments are looking to cyber insurance to mitigate risk. But not all policies are equal and merit close scrutiny, experts say.

  • By Andrea Noble

Local Law Enforcement Should Be Able to Protect Airports From Drones, Report Says

To address security risks, a task force recommends that Congress authorize local law enforcement to take down drones flown too close to airports.

  • By Andrea Noble

States Can Craft Own Net Neutrality Rules, Appeals Court Rules

A federal appeals court upheld much of the FCC’s rollback of net neutrality rules but found that the commission overstepped its authority when it blocked states from enacting their own internet regulations.

  • By Andrea Noble

The Problem With the State-Level Investigation of Google

The probe may do more for the attorneys general than for the public they’re supposed to protect.

  • By Mario Loyola, The Atlantic