Business

Lawmaker warns of administration’s ‘fetishization’ of Silicon Valley startups

Rep. James Walkinshaw, D-Va., discussed his plans to scrutinize Trump-era contracting practices, revive federal IT oversight, and push for AI policy.

Science & Tech

Pentagon launches ‘War Force’ initiative to onboard tech talent

The new recruitment effort operates under the Office of Personnel Management's larger Tech Force program. 

Policy

Pentagon's quantum strategy ‘a first step’ in preparing for the future, CIO says

Released on Tuesday along with two executive orders, the document sets deadlines for post-quantum cryptography adoption.

Threats

Data brokers are helping enemies target US troops. The Pentagon must step up, lawmakers say

Commercial location data has been used to "target or surveil U.S. personnel in theater,” CENTCOM says.

Threats

China has ‘deliberate, industrial-scale campaigns’ to steal US AI models, White House says

Administration officials said they would be working with the private sector to counter foreign-led distillation campaigns.

Policy

Trump's new cyber strategy calls for tougher responses to threats

Released Friday afternoon, the new strategy is notably shorter than those issued by Biden and the first Trump administration.

Policy

DHS adds office to fly, counter drones

The new office intends to spend $115 million to ward off drones from the World Cup and U.S. 250th-birthday events.

Exclusive Policy

Why were CISA staff reassigned to border security, immigration? Lawmakers want answers

Rep. James Walkinshaw, D-Va., argues DHS violated the Antideficiency Act when it transferred staff to agencies focused on border security and deportation work.

Threats

DOGE risks Americans’ data by operating outside federal law, Democrats say

A report released by the Senate Homeland Committee's ranking member says lax security practices cause “serious cybersecurity vulnerabilities, privacy violations, and risk of corruption.”

Policy

‘Whole-of-nation’ effort needed to deter nation-state hackers, new White House cyber director says

The U.S. “must send a message this behavior is unacceptable” and will come at a cost, Sean Cairncross said.

Policy

UK ‘agreed to drop’ demand that Apple install an encryption backdoor, DNI says

Tulsi Gabbard said Britain's reversal would "ensure Americans' private data remains private." But plenty of questions remain around US policy as well.

Science & Tech

‘All hands on deck' moment in the US-China AI race: Pentagon's former digital chief

Cloud providers, infrastructure builders, and federal agencies—“all of these pieces need to work together in a coherent ecosystem,” Radha Plumb said.

Policy

DOD cuts $580M in programs, contracts, and grants

The largest cut goes to an HR software program that's consumed more than seven times its budget.

Policy

CISA should abandon disinformation fight, Trump’s DHS pick says

Kristi Noem wants to "refocus" the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency on critical infrastructure.

Science & Tech

800-plus 'potential vulnerabilities and biases' may afflict AI-infused medical services

A DOD red team looked at the proposed use of large language models to summarize clinical notes and drive an advisory chatbot.

Science & Tech

Military bases can use private 5G networks, Pentagon says 

The Department of Defense said it anticipates most military installations will use commercial 5G solutions but that “under certain circumstances, commercial networks may not fulfill an installation's requirements.”

Threats

Iran hacked Trump campaign, US agencies conclude

U.S. intelligence community leaders said they have “observed increasingly aggressive Iranian activity during this election cycle.”

Policy

DARPA hires Twitter whistleblower as CIO

Peiter “Mudge” Zatko will return to the agency after a decade spent working for several leading tech firms.

Defense Systems

Air Force aims to replace its insecure VIP flight scheduling system

The service wants a cloud-based app that can handle double the Pentagon's existing fleet of 66 VIP aircraft.