Tech
Agencies withheld records needed to verify DOGE data safeguards, GAO says
A review of six agencies could not establish the full extent of DOGE’s system access or whether security rules were followed. Two agencies challenged the watchdog’s authority to investigate.
Updated
OpenAI agents accessed Census, SEC data and tried to hack Education website
The disclosure follows warnings from former officials in August that government systems could face unintended intrusions by autonomous AI agents.
SSA’s lead had set a goal of 200M online accounts this year — experts say that might prove challenging
The Trump administration recently achieved 105 million online accounts, and lawyers are increasingly encouraging clients to make them as more services go digital.
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ShinyHunters claims FBI data theft, demands bureau retract cyber warning
The hacking group says it obtained sensitive employee and applicant records. The full scope of the claimed breach remains unclear.
Login.gov is now accepting mobile driver’s licenses
The feature builds on the federal government’s effort to mandate that agencies use the digital identity verification platform.
Trump wants an ‘AI Force.’ What would that actually look like?
The president compared the proposed unit to Space Force, but offered few details about its mission, authority or place in the federal government.
Space Force braces for stalled progress amid lack of full funding
Fiscal 2027 program starts are already on hold until December.
Inside Commerce efforts to break data siloes and improve integrity
An agency official also encouraged public comment on a proposed overhaul of the census that would eliminate race questions and change who is counted as living in the U.S.
AI ‘is changing the game’ in fraud threats and prevention efforts, SSA OIG official says
Chief Strategy Officer for the SSA Office of the Inspector General Chad Bungard said “the government is looking towards AI to fight fraud, and the criminals are looking towards AI to commit fraud.”
TSA uses AI agent to respond to 100,000 traveler conversations per month
The technology has resolved 96% of traveler inquiries without human escalation, according to Salesforce.
VA watchdog uses AI to help compile healthcare facility audits
The Office of Inspector General has been using Copilot Chat “to review inspection data such as interview transcripts, documents, questionnaire responses, and physical observations.”
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‘Digital employees’ are coming to the Defense Logistics Agency
Nearly 200 agentic-AI bots are already running autonomously as the combat support agency pushes ahead with AI-powered tools, CIO says.
25 years after 9/11, spy agencies face old lessons and new threats
Former intelligence officials describe a nation better equipped to disrupt terrorist plots, but still wrestling with the costs of its response and how to prevent the next crisis under escalating technology threats.
On 9/11’s 25th anniversary, modernizing government starts with remembering our past
COMMENTARY | Federal agencies still struggle to share information across organizational boundaries. The lessons of the post-9/11 reforms could help agency leaders build the data infrastructure needed for modern government and AI.
Trump signs veterans benefits order calling for improved data sharing
The order instructs the departments of Veterans Affairs and Defense to conduct a broad review of information technology-related contracts to ensure greater interoperability.
NSA looks to AI to help analysts sift through vast data troves
The tools can speed up work that takes days or weeks, the agency’s cybersecurity chief said.
The National Science Foundation is building out the government’s AI research infrastructure
A new center will help the agency expand access to the computing power and other resources researchers need to develop artificial intelligence.
National Archives says agencies’ AI use does not automatically create federal records
New guidance from the National Archives and Records Administration outlines when agencies should preserve AI-related materials as federal records and notes there is no “one size fits all” approach to doing so.
OPM memo pushes agencies to speed up hiring with AI
The federal human resources agency is exploring new AI tools for USA JOBS, USA Staffing and other USA hiring tools as agencies use AI in their hiring processes, according to the memo.
NSA wants access to ‘all’ AI models, top official says
The spy agency is taking a key role in the government’s new voluntary model-testing program, though its deputy director did not say which companies are participating.
