In today’s edition of “This Week in Government Tech Media,” we look at the trending coverage in the following areas:
- Civilian agency cybersecurity
- Defense AI at TechNet Augusta
Civilian Agency Cybersecurity
There was lots of activity this week around cybersecurity at civilian agencies including Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
In a broadly covered story, the FAA proposed new cybersecurity standards for future airplanes and related aviation equipment. Edward Graham of Nextgov/FCW wrote that the standards are intended to maintain flight safety while reducing the cost and time for certifications. Weslan Hansen also had the story for MeriTalk, and Jonathan Grieg reported for The Record. Also, Christian Vasquez published the story in CyberScoop, and Billy Mitchell of FedScoop discussed the proposal on The Daily Scoop podcast.
Elsewhere in civilian cyber news, Matt Bracken at FedScoop had the news on a somewhat critical Inspector General report which found that the IRS is moving in the right direction with regard to cybersecurity but still has work to do. Justin Doubleday of Federal News Network wrote about steps the IRS is taking to improve its cyber stance in response to the report.
And in news from HHS, MeriTalk’s Hansen informed readers about the department’s efforts to strengthen cybersecurity protection within the healthcare sector.
Spotlight on Defense AI
It appears that a lot of the chatter this week at AFCEA’s TechNet Augusta conference centered on AI. Carley Welch at Breaking Defense was there and shared news about the Army’s 500-day AI plan for testing the technology for use by soldiers as well as defending against adversaries’ use of AI. Cate Burgan from MeriTalk reported from the conference on comments by Brig. Gen. John Cogbill, deputy commanding general for the U.S. Army’s XVIII Airborne Corps, detailing the command’s effort to become “the Army’s first AI-enabled corps.” Burgan also reported from TechNet on Army CIO Leo Garciga’s plans to deploy a “wide swath of things” in the generative AI space and the Army’s exploration of large language models as a service. (As a TechNet side note, Welch reported in Breaking Defense on a criminal investigation related to a “foul smell” that permeated the conference venue – which, of course, is not to say that the conference stunk!)
Coming Up on Fed Gov Today
This weekend on Fed Gov Today, join host Francis Rose as he speaks with guests Dave Hinchman, director of IT and cybersecurity at the Government Accountability Office; Lakshmi Raman, director of AI at the CIA; and Tom Guarente, vice president of external and government affairs at Armis. Watch on Sunday, August 25 at 10:30 a.m. on ABC7 in the Washington, D.C. area and YouTube.