Sens. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., and Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., introduced new legislation on July 30 that would require the State Department to investigate the potential benefits of establishing a cooperative U.S.-Israel Cybersecurity Center of Excellence. The bill, dubbed the U.S. -Israel Cybersecurity Center of Excellence Act, has garnered bipartisan support in the Senate, and Rep. David Cicilline, D-R.I., has already introduced a companion bill in the House. […]
Launched July 30, Data at the Point of Care is a new pilot program from the Centers of Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and the U.S. Digital Service that will assist healthcare providers in providing high quality care to Medicare beneficiaries by giving the providers easier access to a patient’s Medicare data for treatment. […]
In an effort to become a more modern and technologically advanced office, the U.S. Copyright Office is working on a pilot program for its digital recordation system, beginning in the spring of 2020. […]
During today’s Senate Banking, House, and Urban Affairs Committee hearing, legislators heard from experts from the private sector, government, and academia regarding regulations needed for blockchain technologies. […]
Microsoft announced July 29 that it acquired BlueTalon, a data privacy firm. […]
The Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA),the Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center (MS-ISAC), the National Governors Association (NGA), and the National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO) released new recommendations to help state, local, and tribal governments safeguard against ransomware, and urged governments to take “immediate action” to prevent attacks. […]
In its Mobile Threat Landscape Report, released today, cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike highlighted the “key types of mobile malware observed so far in 2019, along with their typical deployment mechanisms.” The report also identified both how and why some adversary groups and cybercriminals are targeting mobile devices for both intelligence and financial gains and takes a forward-looking approach to understand potential changes in the threat landscape. […]
The National Science Foundation (NSF) announced it will hold a workshop next month that will focus on artificial intelligence (AI) applications to improve wireless spectrum efficiencies. […]
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is proposing to create a pilot program within the Universal Service Fund (USF) that supports “connected care” for low-income Americans and veterans. […]
FITARA, FedRAMP, and 21st Century IDEA are all shaping Federal IT modernization efforts, explained Rich Beutel and Mike Hettinger at ServiceNow’s Knowledge 2019 Conference. […]
Rep. Jerry McNerney, D-Calif., co-chair of the House AI Caucus, said last week that artificial intelligence (AI) technologies have the potential to create “tremendous public good,” but also warned of risks the technology poses including job losses. […]
A principal author of Senate legislation that would pump $2.2 billion of Federal funding into development of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies over the next five years said last week that investment would help a host of industry sectors including healthcare, energy, and agriculture. […]
Government agencies are excited to implement artificial intelligence (AI) and automated technologies, but should remain aware of the risks and challenges of doing so, says a new report from the Partnership for Public Service and the IBM Center for the Business of Government. […]
The House Committee on Oversight and Reform approved the Federal Rotational Cyber Workforce Program Act of 2019 on July 25. […]
r00tz Asylum, a nonprofit dedicated to teaching kids ages 8-16 about white-hat hacking, announced July 24 that it would be allowing students to attempt to hack into simulated campaign finance portals at this year’s DEF CON, set for August 8-11 […]
The House Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress voted today to approve 10 recommendations related to modernizing and revitalizing House technology, including one proposal to recreate an offer to advise House members on tech issues. […]
The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) plans to open later this year an artificial intelligence (AI) policy “observatory,” following the OECD’s approval in May of an intergovernmental standard on AI agreed to by 36 member countries including the U.S. […]
The International Society of Automation has announced the first founding members of its recently created Global Security Alliance, which is will bring together industry stakeholders explore ways to prevent and respond to catastrophic threats to mission-critical operations. […]
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the Health Resources & Services Administration (HRSA), has awarded a $41.9 million contract for 49 Health Center Controlled Networks (HCCNs) to expand health information technology. […]
Leadership of the House Government Reform Subcommittee introduced legislation today that would codify into law the FedRAMP (Federal Risk Assessment and Management Program), and take a number of other actions aimed at making the program work more efficiently. […]
With modernization initiatives advancing across Federal government in areas like automation, data, and cybersecurity, moving to the cloud can be the jumping off point for all of those efforts, said Federal CIO Suzette Kent. […]
The Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP) today announced the launch of its Ideation Challenge that aims to inform the next iteration of the program’s processes and supporting functions. […]
The Department of Justice (DoJ), along with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), announced today that Facebook has agreed to pay a $5 billion fine regarding data privacy claims. The fine is the largest civil penalty ever imposed by the FTC. […]
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) is looking for proposals for IT Infrastructure Support Services on a contract that could run 7.5 years and total up to $487.5 million. […]
Gary Washington, CIO at the Department of Agriculture (USDA), spoke enthusiastically today about the agency’s ongoing approach to emerging technologies – including robotic process automation (RPA), artificial intelligence (AI), and blockchain – and said the technologies have the potential to become “a very large part of our future.” […]
Following the Federal government’s settlement with Equifax regarding its 2017 data breach, Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., pledged to renew his push towards passing data privacy legislation. In a statement on July 22, Wyden urged the passage of his Consumer Data Protection Act, which he initially introduced in November of 2018. […]
Advancements in encryption technology could be making us less safe, Attorney General William Barr said at the International Conference on Cybersecurity today. […]
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) did not fully assess and authorize all of its cloud systems and did not effectively communicate with the FedRAMP program management office, leaving its cloud security at risk, according to an inspector general report published July 17. […]
The Senate on July 8 unanimously approved the Defending the Integrity of Voting Systems Act, which was sponsored by Sens. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., and Lindsey Graham, R-S.C. […]
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is looking to expand its footprint in the cloud by creating direct connections to cloud service providers, according to a solicitation released July 15. Responses are due by July 29. […]