This Week in Government Tech Media – September 14, 2026

By Brad Bass /

We saw lots of cybersecurity news over the past week in the government tech media – and not only because of the groundswell of coverage emanating from the Billington Cybersecurity Summit in Washington, D.C. Beyond that, multiple stories highlighted the importance of sharing data across organizational boundaries. Check out our weekly roundup below for details and links to those articles:

Congress Moves on AI

Apparently stirred by fresh concerns about the dangers posed by runaway AI implementations, Congress last week pushed forward on AI oversight across multiple fronts. See below for details on how the government tech media covered those activities as well as other news from the Hill:

  • Lisbeth Perez reported in MeriTalk that Sen. Josh Hawley opened an investigation into OpenAI over the July 2026 security incident in which AI agents breached systems operated by Hugging Face.
  • In Nextgov/FCW, Alexandra Kelley also covered the news on Hawley’s probe, noting that the senator is focusing the investigation on how OpenAI’s AI agents succeeded in escaping their containment environment during training, along with the risk posed by similar new AI tools.
  • Matt Kapko wrote in CyberScoop that Hawley is seeking detailed internal communications, exhaustive technical information and reasoning behind OpenAI leaders’ decisionmaking and activities surrounding the hack by Oct. 1.
  • For its part, OpenAI called on Congress for mandatory, capability-based regulation on AI that evolves as the technology does, in the latest case of an AI company saying the technology can be dangerous and needs oversight, according to an article in GovInfoSecurity by Emilia David.
  • Concerns expressed on the Hill did not stop the General Services Administration from announcing a new OneGov contract with OpenAI to supply AI intelligence to all government employees, kicking in after the current $1 per-agency deal ends at the end of the month, according to an article by K. Sophie Will in FedScoop.
  • Elsewhere in the Senate, members of the Senate Commerce Committee are clashing over language in a regulatory bill on how to best address “catastrophic risk” posed by AI, according to coverage by Kelley in Nextgov/FCW.
  • On the House side, leading Democrats met to discuss the possibility of establishing a select committee focused on AI, should the party retake the House in the coming midterms, according to yet another piece by Kelley.
  • Edward Graham joined his colleague Kelley in reporting on House legislation to address government management of data center construction amid AI-motivated demands for increased compute capacity as well as a separate package to address use of AI to assist K-12 schools.
  • In Defense legislation-related news, the Pentagon asked Congress to shift $600 million in FY26 funds to “immediately” build and equip a top secret, high-performance AI compute center, Valerie Insinna and Carley Welch reported in Breaking Defense.

Sharing Requests

Data sharing was a popular phrase in the government tech media last week, with a slew of articles on a new executive order for sharing veteran health data between the Pentagon and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and remarks by a leading FBI cyber official at the Billington Cybersecurity Summit about the need for more cyber data sharing. Here’s a roundup of those articles:

  • Christian Robles of Nextgov/FCW reported that the White House issued an executive order to give veterans quicker access to benefits and services by enhancing data sharing between the Pentagon and the VA, requiring a review of relevant information technology contracts and deploying new digital tools to process claims. 
  • The order also calls on the agencies to create and deploy new digital tools, using AI and other emerging technologies to streamline access to veterans’ benefits, according to coverage by Grace Dille in MeriTalk.
  • Henry Kenyon of GovCIO Media noted that the order would establish ongoing sharing of Official Military Personnel Files and Service Treatment Records, beginning when an individual enters military service and continuing as long as the individual requires VA benefits.
  • In other news related to data sharing (or lack thereof), Tim Starks of CyberScoop wrote that Brett Leatherman, assistant director of the FBI’s cyber division, said at the Billington CyberSecurity Summit that the private sector still isn’t sharing enough cyber information with the FBI in part because organizations are operating on false assumptions about what the bureau will do with what it collects.
  • MeriTalk’s Perez also covered Leatherman’s remarks at the Summit, noting FBI plans to pursue urgent, automated sharing of cyber threat intelligence with critical infrastructure owners and trusted private-sector partners. 
  • Shaun Waterman of GovInfoSecurity quoted Leatherman’s remarks that the FBI will share data with any organization positioned to help combat cyber threats: “Let’s give it to Cyber Command. Let’s give it to the Brits. Let’s give it to the Japanese. Whoever is well positioned to conduct an action that either imposes cost on the actor or provides support to victims.”
  • Those plans are part of a new FBI strategy designed to serve as a roadmap for its Cyber Division to defend the American people and the U.S. critical infrastructure in cyberspace, Matt Seldon noted in Homeland Security Today.
  • Justin Doubleday of Federal News Network quoted Leatherman’s comments to reporters at the Summit that the FBI recognizes “that cybercrime and nation-state hacking right now is continuing to increase in complexity, sophistication, tempo, and for us, it’s important that we prioritize how we approach this.”

Upcoming Industry Events

Once again, we present this week’s list of industry events worth your consideration for this week:

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I hope you found this roundup helpful. As always, I encourage you to subscribe to this weekly roundup on LinkedIn or via the form below and/or to share this with your colleagues. See you next week!