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The Treasury Department and an industry-led nonprofit on Wednesday released secure cloud adoption guidance for financial institutions, the culmination of a year-long effort that the agency’s deputy secretary called “critically important to our work on cybersecurity.” The suite of resources released by Treasury and the Financial Services Sector Coordinating Council as part of the public-private Cloud Executive Steering Group is intended to address gaps called out in the department’s February 2023 report on the industry’s use of cloud services. https://lnkd.in/eViKtaGK

Cellebrite, the Israeli firm that made software reportedly used by the FBI to break into the phone of the man who shot former President Donald Trump at a Pennsylvania rally, has picked up a growing amount of work with U.S. agencies over the past decade, federal contract records show. According to Washington Post reporting, the FBI used Cellebrite software to break into the device of Thomas Matthew Crooks at the bureau’s lab in Quantico, Va., following an initial stop at the nearby Pittsburgh office. https://lnkd.in/eeuWpm-y

Back in January of last year, contractors working with the Federal Aviation Administration accidentally deleted files while trying to update a database, inadvertently disrupting the Notice to Air Missions system that the agency uses to communicate important flight information to pilots. The outage forced the FAA to issue a nationwide ground stop and pause thousands of flights — one of the largest disruptions to air traffic since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. But the agency has now confirmed that there’s a backup system in place and that systems involved in sending NOTAMs have been updated. https://lnkd.in/e-gsE4vk

The Department of Veterans Affairs is transitioning online users to Login.gov or ID.me sign-ins to access benefits and health care service accounts, a move that is expected to impact three million veterans and other beneficiaries. In a press release announcing the change, the VA said that after January 2025, veterans and beneficiaries will not be able to use usernames or passwords for My HealtheVet — a digital service that stores information about health records, communications, appointments and prescriptions for veterans’ use. Those who have not transitioned will be able to access data, resume using services online and manage benefits once they have created a new account — a process the VA estimates will take about 10 minutes. https://lnkd.in/epjyTcNe

Advisers to the president on science and technology are urging agencies to “ambitiously expand” the use of the government’s early-career Pathways Program to address a shortage of federal STEM talent. In a virtual meeting of the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology last week, committee members voted to send the White House a letter containing a series of recommendations aimed at growing the federal pool of workers skilled in science, technology, engineering and math. https://lnkd.in/e__etf9g

The White House this week announced almost $100 million in commitments from government, academia and civil society to support government access to a diverse pool of emerging tech talent. The Office of Science and Technology Policy said in its Tuesday announcement that the National Science Foundation, U.S. Digital Response, a handful of universities and other institutions have pledged funding support for furthering artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies’ talent. https://lnkd.in/e-bu74M4

Administrator Samantha Power, who just unveiled the agency’s democracy, human rights and governance policy, has now met with leaders at both OpenAI and Anthropic this summer. https://lnkd.in/ewXWZ9nz

Several federal agencies have been impacted by the Microsoft outage linked to the software firm CrowdStrike, while others are still assessing issues connected to the IT failure that has caused massive problems for businesses worldwide. The Department of Homeland Security and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency said in a post on X that they “are working with CrowdStrike, Microsoft and our federal, state, local and critical infrastructure partners to fully assess and address system outages,” while a White House official told a pool reporter that President Joe Biden has been briefed on the matter and his team is in touch with CrowdStrike and “impacted entities.” https://lnkd.in/eJpDwene

The Small Business Administration is moving forward with planned upgrades to its online certification portal, rejecting a call from two Republican committee leaders to delay the modernization project. An SBA spokesperson said in a statement Friday that the agency “does not intend to pause a project that has been budgeted and planned for launch this year,” referring to technology upgrades for how users apply for and manage their federal contracting certifications. https://lnkd.in/e_8qHkXU