FCW Insider: Aug. 11
The latest news and analysis from FCW's reporters and editors.
DOD agrees to spectrum sharing deal
An expert panel convened by the Defense Department has offered 100 megahertz of mid-band spectrum to share with commercial networks looking to build up U.S. 5G capacity.
Lawmakers push for border tech assessment
Legislation would have the Department of Homeland Security assess its border security technologies and consider new ones.
Scammers spoof SBA to get disaster loan dollars
The campaign was still active in early August, the latest evidence that the economic assistance tied to COVID-19 remains an attractive target for cyber criminals.
Comment: commercial tech and COVID response
Governments today must resist the temptation to simply "modernize" outdated or obsolete IT systems or, worse yet, develop custom government off the shelf solutions that rely on open source projects that provide 'zero cost' software, but also bring no guarantees of support.
Quick Hits
*** The Department of Commerce will work with the European Commission on options for an "enhanced" Privacy Shield. The framework relied on by thousands of companies to legally transfer personal data from Europe to America was ruled invalid by the Court of Justice of the European Union in July over concerns that it did not adequately protect personal data from U.S. government surveillance.
The U.S. and EU "recognize the vital importance of data protection and the significance of cross-border data transfers to our citizens and economies" and the enhanced framework will "strengthen data protection and promote greater prosperity" for U.S. and EU citizens, Secretary Wilbur Ross and European Commissioner for Justice Didier Reynders said in a joint statement.
*** For 31 years, FCW's Federal 100 Awards have celebrated outstanding individual achievements in the federal IT community. Due to the ongoing public health concerns, we are instead producing a series of Fed 100 Winner Showcase virtual events, to recognize all the winners and to dig more deeply into select winners' stories and accomplishments. Please join us on September 10th as we celebrate the several leaders and innovators in the AI and Automation category. Learn more about their work and the broader trends they are seeing across government.