Science & Tech

VA's Patchwork System Eats Most of its $4B Tech Budget. Congress Wants That to Stop.

The agency’s CIO says there’s no clear plan for replacing custom-built systems, two of which are more than 50 years old.

Science & Tech

How the Navy’s Warship Shop Uses Data to Do More with Less

A Navy program office turned to an analytics and visualization tool to help optimize complex tasks.

Science & Tech

The CIA’s Classified Cloud Is Reducing Tasks from Months to Minutes

Launched in April, the intelligence community's 10-year, $600 million Amazon-built infrastructure project is already producing results.

Business

How to Get the Market to Make Secure IoT Devices

New rules for government purchases might be the fastest way to make sure new internet-connected devices don’t join botnets.

Ideas

The Pentagon's Mapmakers Want to Offer Customers an Amazon-Like Experience

A National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency directorate is seeking better ways to custom-tailor geospatial information products.

Science & Tech

The CIA Says It Can Predict Social Unrest as Early as 3 to 5 Days Out

The reason: a dramatic improvement in analytics, cloud computing and ‘deep learning.’

Science & Tech

The US Military Will ‘Be Left Behind’ If It Doesn’t Embrace Open-Source Software, Report Says

Amid a rising China and Russia, the Pentagon’s slow pace on the software front could cost it tactically for years to come.

Science & Tech

If There’s Malware In Your Toaster, the US Military Wants to Find It

The idea is to protect household appliances connected to the internet by remotely monitoring subtle changes in thermal signals transmitted under normal conditions.

Science & Tech

The Pentagon’s Massive IT Consolidation Plan Is In Trouble

Defense officials can’t project the program's cost because of its complexity, and because officials can’t even agree what is or isn’t included.

Science & Tech

US Navy Wants to Train Its Own 'Ethical' Hackers

The service wants to certify sailors to think more like a cyber adversary to better defend its networks across the globe.

Science & Tech

The Future of Intelligence Sharing Is Coming Together in the Syrian War

Fifteen years after 9/11, America's intelligence community finally has a rapid, modern sharing system.

Science & Tech

US Spies Want a Laser Gun That Can Detect Bombs from 100 Feet Away

If the device can be produced and later miniaturized, it may end up resembling a gun or grocery-store scanner.

Science & Tech

Old Laws Are Keeping the US Navy from New IT Gear

The service’s deputy chief information officer says outdated regulations 'make it a struggle' for the military to stay on the cutting edge.

Science & Tech

The Big Budget Crunch Awaiting America's Spies

The U.S. intelligence community overall budget may rise in the months ahead, but spending on information technology will not, a new report says.

Science & Tech

With Lockheed Deal, Leidos Is Now the Government's Largest IT Provider

The merger creates an IT business with a $10 billion portfolio and contract holdings across every facet of federal government.

Business

The Pentagon Wants Its Next Global Communication Systems to be Agile and Open

The Defense Information Systems Agency is looking to eventually turn off its old system currently maintained primarily by Northrop Grumman.

Science & Tech

US Intel Community Taps Encryption-Busting Tech Firm for Digital Spying

The venture capital arm of the CIA is buying in to a Canadian company that says it can access certain encrypted technologies.

Science & Tech

The Pentagon's Massive IT Overhaul Is 'Redefining' Intelligence Collection

It isn’t uncommon for U.S. intelligence analysts to ping several hundred or more databases separately to collect information. That may soon change.

Science & Tech

Just 1 Out of Every 7 Emails The Pentagon Gets Is Legit

Of 700 million emails sent to DOD accounts monthly, about 98 million are actually “good emails,” an official says.