Federal Judge Rules Huawei Federal Ban Constitutional
A Federal judge ruled Feb. 18 that Congress has the authority to ban Federal agencies and contractors from doing business with Chinese communications equipment maker Huawei.
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Sens. Merkley, Booker Introduce Moratorium on Government use of Facial Recognition
Sens. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., and Cory Booker, D-N.J., introduced the Ethical Use of Facial Recognition Act on Feb. 12 which would institute a moratorium on all Federal use of facial recognition technology until Congress passes legislation outlining “specific uses for the data” collected.
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Voting app Voatz Under Security Scrutiny Following MIT Report
The voting app Voatz has come under increased scrutiny following a Feb. 13 report from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) researchers.
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Get Ready for the Passwordless Future
Most of us have a standard list of go-to passwords for various logins and websites – each fluctuating slightly with upper or lowercase letters, extra numbers, symbols and punctuation. Some of us keep them scribbled on a notepad, while others click “remember me” when logging onto sites, to speed up the process and relieve the stress of remembering them time and time again.
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NOAA Sets Strategy to Coordinate Agency-Wide AI Effort
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) on Feb. 18 released its Artificial Intelligence (AI) strategy that aims to coordinate efforts to use AI technologies across the agency.
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VA’s National AI Institute Facing Workforce, Partnership, and Scalability Challenges
At the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), the newly formed National Artificial Intelligence (AI) Institute (NAII) is facing trouble with its workforce retainment, external partnerships, and interagency scalability, Director Gil Alterovitz said Feb. 18.
milCloud® 2.0 Because the mission matters. Today.
As the Department of Defense continues to emphasize cloud adoption, milCloud® 2.0 offers agencies a way to accelerate cloud migration while continuing to evolve service offerings and capabilities.
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AFRL Solicits Papers on IC Info Sharing Tech
The Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) is asking for white papers by May 1 on information sharing technologies to be used within parts of the Intelligence Community.
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GSA Looking for Assistant FAS Commissioner Candidates
The General Services Administration (GSA) is looking for candidates for the open position of Assistant Commissioner for Assisted Acquisition Services (AAS) within the Federal Acquisition Service (FAS).
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New Survey Highlights milCloud® 2.0 Migration Progress and Opportunity for Acceleration
A MeriTalk survey of 175 milCloud® 2.0 mission partners shows that while 86 percent believe migrating to milCloud® 2.0 will have a positive impact on Department of Defense (DoD) missions, just 21 percent of them are in the process of migrating to the service – pointing to an opportunity for additional training and resources to accelerate migration.
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Commerce Exposed Sensitive Data to Foreign Nationals
A U.S. Department of Commerce Office of the Inspector General (OIG) report found that Commerce exposed sensitive data to unvetted foreign nationals through poor security program controls.
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CISA, FBI Identify North Korean Hacking Operation
The Department of Defense (DoD), Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) detailed a North Korean hacking operation that employs even pieces of malware.
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NMB Needs to Implement Recommendations for Information Security
The National Mediation Board (NMB) has not yet fully implemented several Government Accountability Office (GAO) recommendations including those involving information privacy and information security.
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Sen. Markey Slams DHS Cellphone Data Purchase
Senator Ed Markey, D-Mass., questioned the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) use of cellphone data for immigration enforcement in a Feb. 12 letter to the agency.
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CISA to act as Election Security Liaison Ahead of 2020
The Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) is promising state and local election officials that it will be vigilant, trustworthy, and transparency about 2020 election security in the agency’s #Protect2020 Strategic Plan.
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Senate’s Huawei ‘Rip and Replace’ Bill Carries $726M Price Tag
A Senate bill that would provide government funding for smaller communications service providers to remove equipment in their networks supplied by Huawei, ZTE and other China-based suppliers would cost $726 billion over ten years to implement, the Congressional Budget Office said on Feb. 11.
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MIT Researchers Raise Security, Privacy Concerns With Voatz App
While the 2020 election cycle has been officially underway for less than a month, there have already been significant technology concerns. While the most notable tech concern was the Feb. 3 Iowa Caucus, researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) raised additional concerns in a report published Feb. 13.
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Margaret Weichert to Leave OMB in March
Deputy Director for Management at the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Margaret Weichert will be leaving government in mid-March to return to the private sector, MeriTalk has learned.
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Alexander Gates Replacing Karen Evans as DoE Cyber Chief
Department of Energy (DoE) Secretary Dan Brouillette announced in a Feb. 13 memo that Karen Evans will leave her post as assistant secretary for Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and Emergency Response (CESER). She will be succeeded by Alexander Gates.
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Sen. Gillibrand Drafts Data Privacy Legislation
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., has drafted a bill that would create a U.S. Federal data strategy agency that would protect citizens' data and have the authority to enforce data practices across the U.S.
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GSA, Labor Department Launch AI CoE Project
The General Services Administration (GSA) and the Department of Labor (DOL) are partnering on a new artificial intelligence (AI) Centers of Excellence (CoE) initiative.