Defense

High-quality government software starts with efficacy, not efficiency

How will the government deliver high-quality, secure software that creates measurable outcomes? Not simply through efficiency.

DOD announces completion of pilot to identify medical AI vulnerabilities

The Pentagon’s red teaming effort identified more than 800 “potential vulnerabilities and biases” in the use of large language models for clinical note summarization and for a medical advisory chatbot.

Congress approves 2025 NDAA with important cyber provisions

Left out was language that would have helped clarify the scope and reach of a controversial surveillance power that was renewed in April.

Dems push ‘right to repair’ mandate after proposal was stripped from NDAA

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Rep. Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, D-Wash., want servicemembers to be able to repair hardware without needing to depend on contractors to make fixes.

FY2025 NDAA angles to enhance DOD’s AI and quantum sciences capabilities

The FY2025 National Defense Authorization Act again stipulates more AI and quantum information sciences programming for a variety of U.S. military operations.

Senators call for investigation of DOD’s comms following Chinese telecom breach

“DOD’s failure to secure its unclassified voice, video and text communications with end-to-end encryption technology has left it needlessly vulnerable to foreign espionage,” Sens. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., and Ron Wyden, D-Ore., wrote to the Pentagon’s inspector general.

NIST sets up new task force on AI and national security

The Testing Risks of AI for National Security Taskforce will bring federal expertise to test artificial intelligence models in critical use cases.

DOD issues private 5G deployment guide for military bases 

The Department of Defense said it anticipates most military installations will use commercial 5G solutions but that “under certain circumstances, commercial networks may not fulfill an installation's requirements.”

Trump taps Fox host Pete Hegseth to be defense secretary

The combat veteran and “anti-woke” crusader lacks senior military or national-security experience.

Pentagon puts a dent in cyber workforce vacancies

Nearly a quarter of the Defense Department’s cyber jobs went unfilled last year.

Fed, intel and military groups warn data broker practices may threaten national security

The groups wrote a letter concerning a CFPB rule, which is still in development, that would require certain data brokers to follow the Fair Credit Reporting Act.

Breaking News

US charges 6 for conspiring to defraud agencies through IT contracting schemes

The charges are the first in an ongoing Department of Justice investigation into “IT manufacturers, distributors and resellers” that sell to the government.

DOD plans $1.4B sole source extension for Leidos on health care record

MHS Genesis needs about three years to move to the cloud before a sustainment contract for the Defense Department's massive health record system can be put out for bid, officials said.

Google announces AI offering for classified environments

A “large percentage” of U.S. military and intelligence agencies briefed on the upcoming Gemini version expressed interest in the tool, a Google executive said.

DOD unveils new biodefense-focused supercomputer 

The new system is part of a collaboration with the Department of Energy-sponsored Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.

Two programs suggest the Pentagon is getting better at buying technology

The Maven and Collaborative Combat Aircraft efforts display real steps forward, a pair of reports say.

Microsoft, Palantir partner to expand AI offerings to defense and intelligence agencies

The new suite of offerings will be available on Microsoft’s Azure Government and Azure Government Secret and Top Secret clouds.