Defense
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.
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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.
Senate confirms first-ever Pentagon cyber policy chief
The new position would help the DOD increase its public-facing cyber outreach efforts.
Human performance tech with AI assists athletes in the 2024 DOD warrior games
This was the first time that wearable technology and artificial intelligence also took the field to assist some of the competitors.
DOD’s generative AI task force will help set guardrails for broader use
The head of the Pentagon’s Task Force Lima said recommendations from the project will help officials develop the infrastructure needed to adopt AI technologies.
Several DOD IT programs still don’t have a cyber strategy, watchdog finds
Cyber strategy requirements in the Defense Department’s IT business unit date back to at least 2014. A government watchdog thinks it's time for an update.
China is seeking ways to disrupt daily American life should a conflict erupt, Pentagon’s IT leader says
The DISA director also wants more transparency from the IT companies it hires.
DOD CIO resigns to take university post
John Sherman will become dean of the Bush School of Government and Public Service at Texas A&M.
