Cybersecurity

Census’ Cybersecurity Plan is Full of Holes, Watchdog Says

The 2020 Census will be a prime target for digital adversaries, but the plans for fighting those threats are incomplete and outdated, the Government Accountability Office found.

Digital Government

Commerce Asks for Feedback On Unreleased Data Strategy Action Plan

An agency leading development of the Federal Data Strategy wants input on the draft action plan, though it won’t be released until later this week, at the earliest.

Digital Government

It’s Not Just the Citizenship Question—the Digital Divide Could Hurt the Count of Latinos in the Census

Fear of government, a question about citizenship, and uncertain internet connections have created the perfect storm for an undercount of the Latino population, a new report argues.

Emerging Tech

Senators Urge FCC Not to Use 24GHz Spectrum for 5G

Experts across government are concerned it will disrupt the future of weather forecasting.

Emerging Tech

NIST Is Staging An Armed Robbery To Improve Video Surveillance

Before researchers can test the latest video analytics, they need a variety of footage from different angles, conditions and recording quality.

Digital Government

6 Citizen-Focused Steps Census is Taking to Improve the 2020 Count

Officials hope improving the customer experience for citizens will boost the participation rate for the Census Bureau’s biggest undertaking.

Cybersecurity

GAO Flags New Cybersecurity Issues for Upcoming Census

The bureau needs to fix vulnerabilities faster, upon hundreds of other security issues the congressional watchdog previously identified.

Digital Government

NIST Expands Hiring Authorities for Top-Level Tech Talent

The standards-setting agency is making it easier for hiring managers to onboard IT managers, engineers and scientists through new direct hiring authorities.

Emerging Tech

Scientists Predict Weak Sun Activity During Next Solar Cycle

Low solar activity should mean relatively calm space weather for the next 11 years.

Cybersecurity

Financial Regulators Want To Know If Their Cyber Assessment Tool Is Worth It

Four federal agencies are asking the industry they regulate whether a cybersecurity assessment is worth the work of collecting and submitting the necessary data.

Digital Government

NOAA Celebrates Weather Satellite Removal From GAO’s High Risk List

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration successfully navigated a major challenge to one of its weather satellite systems that could have derailed U.S. weather forecasting.

Ideas

How to Boost Federal Email Security

National Institute of Standards and Technology issued new guidance to protect agency email.

Digital Government

Census’ Big Data Innovation Program Infects HHS with Promising Results

Officials at Health and Human Services took an idea from their colleagues at Census to use big data and public-private collaboration to design systems that can save lives.

Policy

Trump Administration Releases Rural Broadband Strategy

Officials estimate that 24 million people in the United States can't get broadband internet service. Eighty percent of those people live in rural areas.

Digital Government

Next-Gen Weather Satellite Operational Over Western U.S.

GOES-17 is operational and monitoring weather in the Pacific and western United States.

Digital Government

Census is Preparing to Fight Social Media Misinformation Campaigns

Bad actors could use 2016 election interference tactics to suppress response rates in the 2020 count, said Deputy Director Ron Jarmin.

Digital Government

A Key in Census Outreach: Finding Trusted People to Pitch Participation

“We are making some progress, as you well know, but certainly not progress enough,” said Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh.