In today’s edition of “This Week in Government Tech Media,” we look at trending coverage in the following areas:
Identity Protection
Among the usual cybersecurity-related news reported in the government tech media last week, we saw a small surge of articles focused on identity protection. Daniel C. Vock of Route 50 reported on the Transportation Security Administration’s slight rollback of the Real ID program – a program to secure U.S. driver’s licenses dating back to a recommendation from the 9/11 Commission. In Nextgov/FCW, Natalie Alms wrote about a call from MITRE for a more holistic approach to digital identities from the next administration. Caroline Nihill of FedScoop had a piece on the General Services Administration’s plans for a passwordless environment for internal agency processes.
On the Defense side, Jason Miller of Federal News Network published an update on the Marine Corps’ adoption of the Naval Identity Service, a key component of the Corps’ zero trust architecture.
Threats from China
Not surprisingly, government tech media outlets are keeping an eye on U.S. government concerns about ongoing threats emanating from China. Nextgov/FCW’s David DiMolfetta covered a recent report from two congressional panels that found numerous U.S. seaports contain technology originating from Chinese manufacturers that could enable espionage and sabotage. A related piece from DiMolfetta reported on a new bill that would bar the Department of Transportation from using taxpayer dollars to procure equipment that contains light sensing and ranging technologies made by China and other foreign adversaries – which the bill said could open back doors into sensitive government systems.
MeriTalk’s Cate Burgan looked at the AI side of the China threat with a report on statements from Se. Joe Manchin (D – W. Va.) expressing concern about U.S. capabilities to keep up with China in the area of artificial intelligence due to high energy demands.
IRS Modernization
The IRS made headlines in government tech media this week as Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen recently toured the agency’s Austin, Texas facility where the agency hopes to modernize to allow all taxpayers to interact with the agency digitally, if they choose. Nextgov/FCW’s Alms noted that digitization tools are helping the Austin processing center cope with millions of filings that still come into the center as paper documents. Jory Heckman from Federal News Network also reported on the Austin center, pointing out that the “paper-flooded” facility once faced closure but is now the model for IRS modernization plans.
On a less positive note, Alms also published the news that the IRS won’t switch away from its legacy, 1960s-era system for individual tax account administration — called the Individual Master File — until after the coming tax season.
That’s all for now. I’ll be back next week with more updates on what’s trending in the world of government technology.