DBT Creates Specialist Hub for Microsoft Tools
The UK Department for Business and Trade (DBT) has launched a Microsoft Learning Hub on its SharePoint site to promote built‑in accessibility tools in Microsoft 365. The hub aggregates resources for Windows and Mac users, highlighting features such as Sign Language Mode in Teams and contrast settings in OneNote. With 5.5 million disabled employees in the UK and a notable employment gap, the initiative aims to raise awareness and embed inclusive digital practices across the department. DBT plans to expand the hub with guides for Teams and Copilot 365.
How San Jose Got Buses to Run Faster
San Jose rolled out LYT.speed, an AI‑driven traffic signal prioritization system, after a 2023 pilot halved red‑light wait times on two bus routes. The citywide deployment has cut bus travel times by roughly 20%, using existing bus transponders to predict...
Exclusive! Visibility That Pays: Unlocking the Full Value of Cloud Investment
Leaders at the OpenGov Breakfast in Singapore warned that cloud migration alone fails to deliver value without end‑to‑end observability. They emphasized that real‑time visibility across infrastructure, data pipelines, and workflows enables proactive, insight‑driven decisions, reduces risk, and fuels trustworthy AI...
Policy Innovation for Public Good & the 2026 International OpenFisca Conference
The OpenFisca Association is hosting the Policy Innovation for Public Good event in Canberra on March 30, 2026, followed by the 2026 International OpenFisca Conference. The gathering aims to rethink policymaking through cross‑disciplinary collaboration, focusing on adaptive, humane, and scalable...
Navy CTO: Innovation Adoption Kit Breaks the ‘Valley of Death’
The Navy’s Innovation Adoption Kit (IAK) is a new framework that fast‑tracks emerging technologies by using measurable metrics and structured pilot programs. Launched in October, the kit provides a standardized vendor template and a clear path from pilot to production,...
HMRC Making Tax Digital: Government to Monitor Impact on Childminders as Ministers Acknowledge ‘Strength of Feeling’
The UK government is extending the Making Tax Digital (MTD) programme to home‑based childminders, eliminating the flat‑rate wear‑and‑tear allowance and requiring itemised expense claims. Ministers have pledged to monitor the impact, noting that only childminders earning over £50,000 will be...
A PIN to Protect Your Tax Return
The IRS offers a six‑digit Identity Protection PIN (IP PIN) to safeguard taxpayers from filing fraud using their SSN or ITIN. Anyone with a valid tax identifier can enroll, and parents may obtain PINs for dependents. The quickest method is through...
DoD Replaces Paper-Based Access Requests with Automated ICAM Workflow
The Department of Defense is phasing out the decades‑old DD Form 2875, replacing it with an automated Identity, Credential and Access Management (ICAM) workflow. The new system will provision, authorize, and revoke user access within hours, generate immutable audit logs,...
MDS and DFRS Cooperate to Drive Vision Zero
Germany’s Mobility Data Space (MDS) and the pan‑European Data for Road Safety (DFRS) consortium have signed an agreement to exchange safety‑related traffic data from connected vehicles across the EU. The partnership enables near‑real‑time sharing of sensor‑derived incident information, supporting the...
‘Uncanny Valley’: Pentagon Vs. ‘Woke’ Anthropic, Agentic Vs. Mimetic, and Trump Vs. State of the Union
The latest *Uncanny Valley* episode spotlights a growing clash between AI startup Anthropic and the Pentagon over a $200 million defense contract that includes strict prohibitions on domestic surveillance and autonomous weapons. The hosts also dissect the rise of “agentic” versus...
Vietnam: Building a Regulated Digital Asset Market: Vietnam
Vietnam is set to launch its first pilot crypto‑asset exchange before 28 February 2026, following the government’s five‑year pilot programme and new licensing rules issued in January 2026. The Ministry of Finance’s detailed procedures codify market entry criteria, capital thresholds, and supervisory safeguards,...
India: Cybersecurity Guidelines to Safeguard Space Systems
India has issued comprehensive cybersecurity guidelines for space systems, jointly crafted by the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT‑In) and the Space and IT Association‑India (SIA‑India). The advisory framework targets satellite operators, ground‑station managers, manufacturers and emerging private space firms,...
Malaysia Leads ASEAN in Cross-Border Cloud Governance
Malaysia, through the Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation, has secured ASEAN endorsement for a Regional Framework on Cross‑Border Cloud Computing. The framework, unveiled at the 6th ASEAN Digital Ministers’ Meeting, introduces shared governance principles and "Trusted Data Corridors" to ensure secure...
The Philippines: Building a Responsible AI Workforce
The Department of Science and Technology in Central Visayas (DOST‑7) launched a four‑day AI training for about 30 government employees, covering prompt engineering, generative AI tools, and core ethical principles. The program emphasized responsible use, data privacy, and the “co‑intelligence”...
Nordic Council Tender Pursues Cross-Border Digital ID Verification with Baltics
The Nordic Council of Ministers has launched a 1.6 million Danish‑krone tender to study cross‑border digital identity verification across Nordic and Baltic nations, including the Faroe Islands, Greenland and Åland. The analysis will identify legal, technical and organisational obstacles to automated...
Idemia PS Deal Brings Growing Number of US mDLs to Trinsic’s Digital Identity Network
Trinsic has integrated Idemia Public Security’s mobile driver’s license (mDL) solution into its Digital Identity Acceptance Network, adding support for mDLs issued in New York, Arkansas, Iowa, West Virginia and Kentucky. Idemia, the leading U.S. provider of state‑backed mDLs, also serves three...
Project Compass Is Europol’s New Playbook for Taking on The Com
Project Compass, a Europol‑led operation backed by 28 nations including the Five Eyes, began in January 2025 to dismantle the transnational youth‑focused cybercrime network known as The Com. Since its launch the initiative has secured 30 arrests, fully or partially...
Empowering Public Service: Frontline Readiness for a New Era of Modernization
Federal social service agencies are gearing up for a digital‑first transformation, driven by an administration agenda that emphasizes efficiency, accountability, and stronger security. The inaugural Equifax Social Services Outlook Index shows 100% of frontline workers expect workplace efficiency to improve...
Milwaukee Cop’s Misuse of Flock ALPR Undercuts Case for Facial Recognition Use
Milwaukee Police Department (MPD) halted its facial‑recognition program while drafting usage policies after a scandal involving an officer who allegedly accessed the city’s Flock automated license‑plate recognition (ALPR) system over 120 times to track a personal acquaintance and 55 times...
Emergency Warning System Blowout
Australia’s new national emergency warning system, AusAlert, has seen its projected cost explode from an initial $10 million to an estimated $132 million. Emergency Management Minister Kristy McBain framed the increase as an investment in community safety rather than a blowout. The system...
Wyden Blocks Rudd Confirmation to Lead Cyber Command, NSA
Senator Ron Wyden announced he will block the Senate’s confirmation of Lt. Gen. Joshua Rudd as head of U.S. Cyber Command and the National Security Agency. Wyden argues Rudd lacks any digital‑warfare or signals‑intelligence background and gave vague answers on...
Language Accessibility Grows as a Priority for Public Safety Officials
Santa Clara County’s Sheriff’s Office has launched a year‑long pilot of Pocketalk’s translation platform, giving deputies on‑demand access to real‑time audio and text translation in English and 92 other languages. The tool runs on mobile devices similar to iPhones and...
Senate Moves One Step Closer to Passing Health Care Cyber Reforms
The Senate Health, Education and Labor Committee approved the bipartisan Health Care Cybersecurity and Resiliency Act by a 22‑1 vote, with only Sen. Rand Paul dissenting. The legislation obliges the Department of Health and Human Services to craft a cybersecurity...
FedRamp 20x Opens the Door to Fast Access to Secure Services
FedRAMP 20x redesigns the federal cloud‑security authorization process by eliminating the agency sponsor requirement and introducing a cloud‑native path that can deliver approvals in weeks instead of years. Automation replaces narrative controls with machine‑readable evidence, targeting over 80% validation through continuous‑monitoring...
Wake County Schools Weigh 'Whistleblower' Exception to Phone Policy
North Carolina law requires students to keep phones off during instructional time, but Wake County Schools are debating a "whistleblower" exemption that would let students record incidents such as bullying. The proposal aims to balance the need for safety documentation...
How States Can Best Prepare for the Approaching DOJ Accessibility Deadline
In this episode, NACIO policy analyst Kalia Young‑Gibson outlines how states can prepare for the DOJ’s upcoming accessibility compliance deadline on April 24, 2026. She highlights the recent accessibility officer summit, a forthcoming NACIO guide that maps policy through different...
Mike Pezzullo Reflects on Action Following Major ANU Data Breach
Former public servant Mike Pezzullo addressed the Universities Australia Solutions Summit, reflecting on the 2019 cyber‑attack that compromised nearly 20 years of Australian National University (ANU) student and staff records. The breach, attributed to Chinese state‑linked threat actors, exposed bank...
Muni Industry's Adoption of AI Prompts Regulatory, Other Questions
The University of Chicago’s Center for Municipal Finance released new data showing AI tools are rapidly entering the municipal bond market, giving well‑capitalized banks, advisors and law firms a distinct edge. Regulators, led by the MSRB, are scrutinizing whether AI...
Low-Code by Design: A Practical Way to Modernize Identity Governance
Low‑Code by Design reframes identity governance automation by building reusable, metadata‑driven integration modules instead of bespoke scripts. The approach captures application attributes such as account models and correlation rules, allowing a single tested component to be configured for many systems....
Idemia Public Security, Elenium Team up to Unify Identity Across Airport Experience
Idemia Public Security and self‑service automation firm Elenium have signed an MoU to combine Elenium’s platform with Idemia’s biometric and baggage‑identification tools, creating a seamless, contactless passenger journey from curb to gate. Melbourne Airport’s CEO is pushing for additional Idemia...
Huawei Takes Part in EU Research Programs Despite Commission Crackdown
Huawei is participating in 16 Horizon Europe research projects despite being labeled a high‑risk supplier by the European Commission. Fifteen of the contracts were signed before the 2023 ban, while a sixth‑year project was deemed outside the restriction scope. The...
$3M FanDuel Fraud Case Shows Why Online Gambling Needs Biometric IDV, Liveness
Federal prosecutors charged two Connecticut men with a $3 million fraud scheme that exploited knowledge‑based authentication on FanDuel, DraftKings and BetMGM. The perpetrators harvested personal data from roughly 3,000 victims using services such as TruthFinder and BeenVerified to open fraudulent gambling...
Lessons Learned From Hurricane Helene: How Appalachian Power Safely Scaled Mutual Aid
Hurricane Helene devastated Appalachian Power’s mountainous service area, causing widespread circuit failures and road washouts. The utility relied heavily on pre‑established mutual‑aid agreements to bring in external crews and equipment. By implementing rigorous safety protocols, real‑time communication tools, and staged...
New York Counties to Roll Out AI Assessment Tool
New York State’s Association of Counties and Computer Aid, Inc. are launching a public AI assessment dashboard that lets the 57 counties and five NYC boroughs rate generative AI tools on a standardized 10‑point framework. The platform will display cost,...
Two More States Are About to Jump Ship Onto Their Own ACA Marketplaces
Oregon and Oklahoma are set to launch their own state‑based ACA exchanges, bringing the total to 23 states (including DC) that will operate independent marketplaces by 2028. This shift will push state‑run exchanges past the 50 percent population mark, a milestone...
The NIST OSCAL Framework for State and Local Governments
NIST’s Open Security Controls Assessment Language (OSCAL) gives state and local governments a machine‑readable alternative to spreadsheets, Word files, and PDFs for security‑control documentation. By encoding controls, implementations, and assessment results in JSON, XML or YAML, agencies can automate validation,...
E-Verify Requirements Draw Business Pushback in some Republican States
Republican‑led states are scaling back broad E‑Verify requirements after intense lobbying from business groups that warn mandatory verification could cripple industries reliant on immigrant labor. Idaho, for example, has shifted from a universal mandate to a limited bill targeting large...
Mo. University Receives $4.6M Grant to Launch Mobile Blood Transfusion Program
University of Missouri School of Medicine received a $4.6 million federal grant to launch a mobile pre‑hospital blood transfusion program in Columbia. The initiative aims to equip EMS crews with training and portable blood supplies, targeting rapid intervention for trauma victims,...
Greek Court Sentences Predator Spyware Gang
A Greek court sentenced four individuals, including two Israelis, to prison for operating the illegal Predator spyware that targeted politicians, journalists and business executives. The defendants—linked to the Israeli firm Intellexa—were convicted of breaching telephone confidentiality and illegal data access....
OpenAI Wants to Get the Government Hooked on ChatGPT
OpenAI is rapidly embedding its generative AI tools across the U.S. federal landscape, with 37 agencies and roughly 80,000 employees now using ChatGPT. The company is offering the technology at deep discounts and has secured a fast‑track pathway to deploy...
Why Europe Can’t Defend What It Can’t Connect
Europe faces its most contested security decade since the Cold War, with the digital backbone—networks, data infrastructures and connectivity—now the primary frontline. Recent blackouts in Portugal and Spain illustrate how digital failures become national security events, while adversaries target subsea...
Reimagining Parliament Through Foresight
The article explains how parliamentary foresight is being institutionalized worldwide to help legislatures think beyond election cycles. It highlights EU's ESPAS, Finland’s Committee for the Future, Estonia’s Foresight Centre, and Chile’s Senate Committee on Future Challenges as leading examples. The...
One Stamp Every 40 Months
Poll the Vote, founded by Heather Nelson, offers a standalone civic‑engagement platform that lets constituents create free accounts and interact directly with candidates and elected officials. Unlike typical tools that piggyback on social media, it houses both campaign and governing...
Capita Wins £700m Civil Service Payroll Contract
Capita has been named the preferred bidder for a £700 million civil service payroll contract covering more than 250,000 staff across DWP, MoJ, Home Office and DEFRA. The deal is part of the government’s “Synergy” programme, which aims to replace 286...
‘Best Design’ New Liechtenstein Passport Embeds High-Security Features
Liechtenstein introduced a new passport this month that earned the “Best New Passport 2026” award for its advanced security architecture. The redesign features a polycarbonate data page, laser‑personalised data, an extra portrait and a birthplace field, markedly improving durability and...
The Citizen-Led Platform Trying to Make Nigeria’s Vote Collation Transparent
Nigeria’s Independent National Electoral Commission launched the IReV portal in 2020 to provide real‑time result viewing, but the 2023 presidential election saw delayed uploads and only 94.68% of polling‑unit results posted after two months. In response, citizen‑led platform E Don Kast was...
Guidance: Using Digital Identities with the Money Laundering Regulations
HM Treasury and the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology have issued new guidance on using digital identities for Money Laundering Regulations (MLR) compliance. It specifies that only digital verification services listed on the GOV.UK Register and certified under the...
Treasury Calls in Private Sector to Help Departments Scale up AI Use
HM Treasury has launched an external advisory panel that includes IBM, Faculty AI and the Tony Blair Institute to accelerate artificial‑intelligence adoption across UK government departments. The group will evaluate pilot projects, share best‑practice lessons and advise on scaling AI‑driven...
India Launches RailTech Policy to Make Railway Claims Digital
India’s Railways unveiled two digital reforms under its “52 Reforms in 52 Weeks” agenda: the RailTech Policy to systemise innovation and the e‑RCT platform to digitise the Railway Claims Tribunal. The RailTech framework creates a single‑stage portal, offers up to...
FHWA Launches Eighth Round of Every Day Counts Infrastructure Innovations
The Federal Highway Administration has opened the eighth round of its Every Day Counts (EDC) programme, unveiling six new innovations to speed project delivery and enhance road safety. The selected solutions, already adopted by more than 15 states, span nighttime...