This Week in Government Tech Media – March 13, 2026 

By Brad Bass /

Here’s a change of pace from previous weeks: One of the big trends this week in the government tech media was a focus on healthcare technology in government – not to mention a widely-reported cyber attack on a medical device company that many reporters tied to the U.S. military action in Iran. And of course, the government’s dispute with Anthropic continued.

Healthcare Tech in the Spotlight

Perhaps due to the occurrence of the annual HIMSS Conference this week in Las Vegas, we saw an uptick in government tech media stories on technology applications at healthcare-focused government agencies. Here’s a sampling of some of those:

  • Edward Graham reported from HIMSS for Nextgov/FCW on the use of robots at Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) medical facilities as well as an article on the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) rollout of biometrics-based identity verification login options for Medicare.gov. 
  • CMS is applying new technologies, including AI, to go after waste, fraud and abuse, according to an analysis by Jason Miller for Federal News Network.
  • In other VA healthcare-related news, Grace Dille of MeriTalk covered the department’s announcement this week that it fully deployed its External Provider Scheduling system across all VA medical facilities, a move it said will help speed up scheduling for veterans receiving community care.
  • In the Defense health world, the Defense Health Agency launched a new Data and Innovation Strategy to improve warfighter readiness by strengthening how the agency manages information across military health operations, according to coverage by Elodie Collins in ExecutiveGov.
  • Kaitlyn Levinson of state and local government-focused publication Route Fifty noted a new report that says public health leaders view data interoperability as a top concern as they grapple with tightening budgets, changes in reimbursements rates, evolving policy mandates and persistent workforce shortages.
  • Also from the state government perspective, Colin Wood of StateScoop reported on a directive by the governor of Texas ordering health agencies to address Chinese cyber risks in patient monitoring devices.

Cyber Strike on Stryker

Journalists who cover the government tech space reported on the cyber attack this week against medical device manufacturer Stryker. Although not a direct attack on the government, many reporters viewed the incident as an escalation of the conflict with Iran:

  • Covering the news for Nextgov/FCW, David DiMolfetta quoted a Stryker statement that the company was “actively working to restore systems and operations [and] has business continuity measures in place.” In a separate piece, DiMolfetta also wrote that the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency has launched an investigation into the hack.
  • Experts were having trouble assessing the effects of the attack, even if the attack on the medical device maker looks like a qualified success for the attackers, according to an article in CyberScoop by Tim Starks and Drew Lawrence.
  • Mathew Schwartz reported in GovInfoSecurity that the attackers appeared to be a “faketivist” group linked to Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence, specializing in deniable operations.
  • In Government Technology, Rae DeShong noted that the attack spurred discussion among state, local, tribal and territory government leaders about what effects the war in Iran could have on their cybersecurity operations.

More on the Anthropic Dispute

The ongoing battle between the Pentagon and AI company Anthropic doesn’t seem to have quieted down. Here’s some of the latest coverage:

  • Anthropic sued the Trump administration over its decision to label the firm a “supply chain risk,” arguing the designation – and the resulting ban on its technology – was unlawful, according to coverage by Lisbeth Perez in MeriTalk.
  • Washington Technology Editor Nick Wakeman wrote this week that Microsoft filed a brief in support of Anthropic challenging the Pentagon’s determination that the company is a supply chain risk to national security. 
  • Wakeman and his colleague Ross Wilkers also interviewed Alexandra Kelley of Nextgov/FCW on the “WT 360” podcast for an update on the initial progress of the Pentagon’s Anthropic phase-out and an early look at the government’s AI landscape without it. In an article Kelley wrote this week, she noted that the dispute has pushed lawmakers to update the fiscal year 2026 National Defense Authorization Act to address how AI systems are used in military operations.
  • Jennifer Hlad of Defense One covered a speech in which a leader of the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command stated that the organization has accelerated its efforts “to be more [AI] model-neutral in our workforce” as a result of the dispute.
  • According to an article by Sydney Freedberg in Breaking Defense, Anthropic is claiming that the “supply chain risk” designation imposed much milder penalties on the company than the Pentagon originally threatened.
  • Madison Alder noted in FedScoop that Athropic’s $50 billion commitment for data-center construction projects in New York and Texas still made it on a list of investments the White House said it helped secure, despite the ongoing feud.

Upcoming Industry Events

After what seemed like a relative dry spell, the number of upcoming industry events now looks significantly longer compared to the past few weeks. Take a look at what’s in store:

If you would like your event included in this list, please fill out this form.

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