DOGE took credit for savings that never happened, watchdog finds
DOGE took credit for savings that never happened, watchdog finds
People
Senate confirms Adam Cassady to run State Department cyberspace bureau
The confirmation comes as the tech diplomacy shop he would traditionally lead in his new role has seen significant reorganizations in the last year.
Cybersecurity
New ‘Water Watch Center’ launched to help small utilities stop cyberattacks
The initiative comes as multiple states grapple with intrusions into their water systems that some officials suspect could be tied to Iran.
Policy
Tech Bills of the Week: Deterring AI distillation; Taxing AI developers; and more
This week’s bills addressed how to fortify the U.S. AI ecosystem through penalizing adversaries for model distillation, taxing large developers for AI-driven layoffs, and more.
Sponsor Content
Here for the journey: How Elsevier helps funders build research impact stories
Learn how to turn research impact into compelling stories backed by evidence, insights, and measurable real-world outcomes.
Defense
As AI models break free, White House works with firms on secret safety measures
Lawmakers blast administration's "ad-hoc" AI strategy; tech giants pitch ideas to keep federal contracts flowing.
Cybersecurity
CISA cautions against rigid rules for future of cyber vulnerability program
A top agency official said formal backing from Congress could strengthen the global vulnerability-tracking system but warned against measures that may limit its ability to adapt to ever-changing hacking threats.
Exclusive
Cybersecurity
CISA still finds water system controls exposed online amid multistate hacks
The agency is working with the FBI to help victims but is not attributing the cyber intrusions to any group, acting director Nick Andersen told Nextgov/FCW.
Acquisition
Palantir calls on GSA to withdraw draft AI acquisition rule
The stance is more aggressive than that of many groups representing contractors, who told GSA to revise, rather than withdraw, the proposed large language model acquisition rule.
Cybersecurity
AI advances are pushing governments to treat cyberattacks as routine, Western officials say
The remarks underscore a grim outlook for cyberdefenders showing that AI systems are able to exploit vulnerabilities faster than governments can patch them.
People
Watchdog puts new numbers on the size of DOGE, but many details remain unknown as agencies refuse to turn over information
In a new report, the Government Accountability Office said it was unable to verify if all Department of Government Efficiency employees completed mandatory activities intended to avoid conflicts of interest.
Sponsor Content
Strategic IT / Government Agency Alignment
Discover how strategic AI and cloud investments help government CIOs accelerate modernization and maximize mission impact.
Artificial Intelligence
OpenAI agents rebuilt internal message board in lead-up to Hugging Face breach
Models in separate experiments used the channel to exchange exploits as they repeatedly compromised OpenAI systems.
Cybersecurity
Hugging Face AI breach is ‘most consequential hack’ since Morris Worm, former NSA cyber chief says
AI may let hackers exploit newly disclosed software flaws so quickly that organizations should weigh whether to immediately patch internet-connected devices, even at the risk of causing outages, Rob Joyce said.
Acquisition
Contractor alleges Army inappropriately used AI to make $450M contract award
An industry lawyer anticipates more bid protests will likely allege that agencies misused AI in the procurement process but that could be hard to prove if agencies don’t report their use of AI as “high-impact.”
Artificial Intelligence
Top cyber official wants US open-source AI adopted worldwide
National Cyber Director Sean Cairncross’s remarks come as the White House has excluded open-weight models from voluntary security testing and as new hacking incidents underscored risks posed by autonomous AI.
Latest Digital Edition Show All
Featured eBooks
Artificial Intelligence
OpenAI's advanced models have gone live for government use
OpenAI’s latest GPT-5.6 models were made available for government work via the FedRAMP-authorized ChatGPT Enterprise offering, weeks after one of the advanced models was involved in executing an autonomous digital attack.
Ideas
3 security questions agencies should answer before Gold Eagle lands
COMMENTARY | The agencies that build that capability will define what good looks like for the next decade.
Cybersecurity
Chinese telecom firms kept footholds in US networks despite federal crackdowns, House probe finds
China Mobile, China Telecom and China Unicom retained equipment, data center space and network ties after FCC restrictions, including a China Mobile-linked network that appeared in routes to Salt Typhoon servers.
People
OPM tells agencies to put tech recruiting at the center of staffing plans
The guidance from the government’s HR agency also set a governmentwide goal that at least 33% of external hires be early-career workers.
People
National Institutes of Health names Maureen Falvella as permanent CIO
She served as acting CIO for roughly 10 months before moving into the role officially.
Digital Government
GSA’s digital roadmap looks to enhance agencies’ services, CIO says
Efforts to speed up adoption of new capabilities have “disrupted the longstanding practice of how technology is driven into this government,” GSA CIO Dave Shive told Nextgov/FCW.
