Emerging Tech

Navy Taps Undersea Consortium to Work on 15 Advanced Tech Problems

Members of the Undersea Technology Innovation Consortium will get a chance to work on prototypes for everything from underwater drones to advanced weapons systems.

Artificial Intelligence

Army Wants to Study How Humans Team With AI—And Vice Versa

A new contract will focus on the teaming aspect of artificial intelligence in warfare by analyzing how humans and machines think when working together.

Modernization

VA and DOD Now Default to Sharing Patient Data with Private-Sector Providers

The joint electronic health records management office launched an information exchange program to make it easier to share patient data with thousands of “community partners.”

Digital Government

Deputy Defense CIO to Retire; Intelligence Community CIO to Step In

Essye Miller, who served temporarily as acting Defense CIO, plans to retire after 35 years supporting military technology.

Emerging Tech

Energy Department Considers New Partnership to Bring Star Power to Earth

The federal government wants to put money directly in industry’s hands to bring the concept of fusion reactors from sci-fi to reality.

Digital Government

Spike in Federal COVID-19 Spending Flattens as Total Nears $3B

A separate analysis shows some IT modernization efforts booming while others are put on hold during the pandemic.

Digital Government

Congress Hears Options—And Concerns—for Using Smartphone Data to Fight COVID-19

Other countries have been using various forms of location and proximity tracing to slow the spread of the disease, with widely varying levels of privacy protections.

Digital Government

GSA Creates Buying Guide for COVID-19 Screenings at Federal Buildings

As the government’s buyer and landlord, the General Services Administration created a central contract vehicle for screening services to prevent infected people from entering federal buildings.

Cybersecurity

CISA Offers Ways to Lessen Lag for Teleworkers Without Sacrificing Security

The temporary guidance outlines options and best practices for agencies to follow during the coronavirus pandemic.

Modernization

VA Delays Major IT Programs to Focus on COVID-19

The initial rollout of the new electronic health records system will be pushed out—again—as well as pilots for the new scheduling system. A third, integral effort remains on track.

Podcasts

Critical Update: How CISA Defines ‘Trust’ in the Trusted Internet Connection Policy

Nextgov offers a deep dive into TIC 3 and the purported conflict between CISA’s trust zones and zero-trust security.

Modernization

Mid-Pandemic, CDC Looks to Upgrade Its Biosurveillance Database

The system collects data from hospitals, local public health departments, pharmacies and more to give researchers and officials a view of how diseases spread across the country.

Emerging Tech

Agencies Have Spent At Least $2.6B on COVID-19 Supplies and Services

That number only reflects properly tagged procurements—real dollars spent in response to the coronavirus outbreak are significantly higher.

Modernization

COVID Response Delays Awards for GSA’s E-Commerce Platform Pilots

The online purchasing platforms were meant to be awarded and rolled out before the end of the year. But getting agencies equipped with teleworking tech has taken priority.

Digital Government

How Census Is Building a Citizenship Database Covering Everyone Living in the U.S.

By March 2021, the bureau plans to release anonymized statistics while keeping the raw data on individuals' citizenship status confidential.

Emerging Tech

FCC Issues Waiver For Telecom Supporting Zoom and WebEx Traffic

Without the waiver, Inteliquent would be subject to “significant cost increases” that would prevent the companies from offering free teleconference services.

Emerging Tech

ICE Wants to Connect Its Facial Recognition System With a Pennsylvania County’s Gang Intel App

Immigration and Customs Enforcement wants to develop an offshoot of Lehigh County’s Gang Intelligence App over the next year.