NationGraph Raises $18M to Expand AI Public Sector Platform
NationGraph announced an $18 million Series A round, led by Menlo Ventures, to scale its AI‑native platform that helps companies navigate the fragmented U.S. government procurement market. The solution aggregates data from roughly 110,000 state, local and education agencies across four million public‑facing websites, delivering predictive buying signals, automated public‑record requests and contact intelligence. Early adopters are already using the tool, signaling strong demand for AI‑driven insight in public‑sector sales. The capital will fund additional engineers, go‑to‑market staff, expanded data ingestion and a smoother customer experience.
HireClearedTalent.com Launches Federal Hiring Marketplace Connecting Security-Cleared Talent to the Right Federal Roles
HireClearedTalent.com launched a dedicated marketplace that links federal contractors, subcontractors and small businesses with more than one million pre‑vetted security‑cleared professionals. The platform combines AI‑driven role matching with a network of over 100 live recruiters experienced in DoD, DHS, DOE...
BoE's Stablecoin Cap Triggers Industry Backlash
The Bank of England’s plan to cap stablecoin holdings is sparking an industry revolt BTW. £5,000 and £20,000 for individuals BTW. £1 million to £10 million for businesses. https://t.co/taO9by7gd2
Trade Doesn't Flow on Roads − It Flows on Data
Africa’s trade potential hinges on overhauling its digital infrastructure, not just fixing ports or roads. Current IoT systems rely on permanent roaming SIMs and single‑core networks that crumble at borders, inflating costs and risk. Surveys show operators are shifting to...
MHCLG Publishes New Local Government Reorganisation Digital and Cyber Playbook
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) has released a Local Government Reorganisation Digital and Cyber Playbook to help councils navigate digital, data and cybersecurity challenges during structural changes. Developed with input from local and central government, sector...
Singapore Tourism Board Renews Digital Payments Partnership with Ant International
The Singapore Tourism Board (STB) has renewed its multi‑year strategic partnership with Ant International, extending the Alipay+ unified wallet gateway across the island. The expanded deal adds joint marketing campaigns for key source markets and introduces new digital tools such...
Podcast: Be Ready, Take Stock, and Keep Talking
The UKA Live Podcast explores how councils should prepare for local government reorganisation and vesting day, emphasizing the need to map the technology estate and address day‑one requirements. Guests Kate Hurr and Dave Lee discuss the complexities of splitting counties,...
Google Cloud to Develop AI Planning Decisions Tool
The UK Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has awarded Google Cloud a £6.9 million contract to build an AI‑powered planning decisions tool. The system will initially focus on householder developments, which account for 69 % of applications, with a target...
MHRA Says AI Innovation and Regulation Must Work Together
The UK Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is urging that AI innovation in healthcare be paired with robust regulation to safeguard patient safety and equity. Richard Stubbs, CEO of Health Innovation Yorkshire and Humber, highlighted the need for...
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Security for Smart Devices – Time to Step Forward because There's Nowhere to Hide
From 4 March 2026 the Australian government will enforce minimum security standards for all smart devices sold in the market, shifting compliance from voluntary guidance to mandatory requirement. The IoT Alliance Australia (IoTAA) is spearheading a voluntary Security Labelling Scheme, slated to...
Reveal: What FedRAMP Authorized Should Mean in eDiscovery
FedRAMP, the federal cloud security authorization program, is becoming a critical benchmark for eDiscovery solutions as U.S. courts anticipate over 400,000 lawsuits this year. Legal teams must verify that their cloud‑based discovery tools meet FedRAMP standards to prevent security breaches,...
Why Almost Every Australian Will Get the Same Text Message
Australia will conduct a nationwide test of the AusAlert emergency warning system on July 27, ahead of its full launch in October. The $132 million network can send geo‑targeted alerts within 160 metres, enabling precise evacuation instructions for bushfires, floods, storms and...
City of London Hunts for Partner to Help Transform While ‘Honouring 1,000 Years of History’
The City of London Corporation has issued a £2.4 million preliminary market engagement to secure a strategic partner that will advise on its long‑term transformation. The programme aims to make the Square Mile authority “digitally enabled by design”, financially sustainable and...
Singapore’s Approach to Building a Resilient Digital Future
Singapore is bolstering its cybersecurity ecosystem through a multi‑pronged strategy that includes large‑scale cyber‑drills, senior leadership training, and youth programmes to grow a skilled talent pipeline. The Cyber Security Agency and the Ministry of Digital Development coordinate rapid response to...
Vietnam: AI and Data Economy Key to 2026 Development Goals
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh urged a decisive breakthrough in Vietnam’s digital economy, positioning data and artificial intelligence as core growth pillars for the 2026 development agenda. He highlighted chronic delays in database integration, insufficient digital infrastructure, and a shortage...
Hong Kong: 2026–27 Budget Accelerates AI and Innovation Leadership
Hong Kong’s 2026‑27 Budget places artificial intelligence at the core of its economic strategy, pledging multibillion‑dollar subsidies for AI research and a new Committee on AI and Industry Development Strategy. The plan expands computing capacity with a large‑scale data centre...
The Philippines: Enabling Direct Digital Payouts for TESDA Scholars
Landbank and the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) have signed a memorandum of agreement to digitise scholarship payouts for more than 335,000 scholars across the Philippines. The partnership uses Landbank’s ATM Payroll Facility to credit allowances directly into...
Australia: Embedding Digital Health in Tertiary Healthcare Degrees
Australia has launched the Digital Health Train the Trainer Toolkit, a national resource designed to help tertiary educators embed digital health competencies into health‑related degree programmes. Developed by the Australian Digital Health Agency with the Australian Council of Senior Academic...
Senate Commerce to Mark Up NASA, NOAA Bills March 4
Senate Commerce will mark up the NASA authorization bill and the NOAA Weather Research and Forecasting Innovation Act on March 4, 10:00 am ET. (The latter was introduced today by Cruz & Cantwell: https://t.co/SOlKIgluOl)
Eye-Movement Deception Detection Studied as Part of Pentagon’s Vetting Modernization
The Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency (DCSA) has been quietly advancing ocular‑motor deception detection research, initially using Converus' EyeDetect platform. By 2022 the technology moved from lab tests to operational trials at the Defense Intelligence Agency and later to field...
FTC Says It Won’t Enforce COPPA Against Proper Use of Age Verification Tools
The Federal Trade Commission issued a policy statement saying it will not pursue enforcement actions against websites that use age‑verification tools, provided they follow strict safeguards. The exemption applies only when age data is used solely for verification, is not...
The Diminished State of Defense IT Acquisition and How to Fix It
The Department of Defense’s IT acquisition continues to miss cost, schedule and performance goals, with GAO reporting over 80% failure rates for large federal IT projects. Over‑engineered requirements, legacy‑focused acquisition processes, an under‑trained workforce, and contractor conflicts of interest keep...
Set and Enforce Clear Lines for Police Biometrics, UK Commissioner Tells Policymakers
UK Biometrics and Surveillance Camera Commissioner William Webster has submitted a 16‑page response to the Home Office’s consultation on a new legal framework for police use of facial recognition and other biometric technologies. He urges lawmakers to define “serious harm,”...
Air Force Research Lab Seeks More National Approach for Innovation
The Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) issued a sources‑sought notice inviting industry, investors, and academia to help design a national research network that speeds dual‑use technology development for the Air Force and Space Force. The request for information (RFI) expands...
Feds Extend a Telehealth Rule that Could Help Save More People From Opioid Overdoses
The DEA and HHS have extended the pandemic‑era telehealth rule that lets providers prescribe buprenorphine for opioid use disorder without an in‑person visit, now allowing up to six months of remote treatment. Effective Jan. 1, the rule also eliminates record‑keeping requirements...
Using LLMs to Enhance Democracy
The paper by Seth Lazar and Lorenzo Manuali evaluates whether large language models (LLMs) can improve democratic deliberation. It examines LLM‑driven summarization, opinion aggregation, and preference prediction, finding mixed outcomes. While AI tools can make political texts more accessible, they...
The Day Europe’s Data Stops Flowing
Europe’s digital economy is increasingly dependent on a complex data infrastructure that remains vulnerable to prolonged outages. The authors model how a systemic failure could evolve from brief inconveniences to widespread power loss, overwhelmed emergency services, and financial disruption within...
Center for Regulatory Ingenuity
The FAS Center for Regulatory Ingenuity (CRI) is launching a transpartisan effort to modernize stagnant government institutions, beginning with climate policy. It creates high‑trust brainstorming environments and a "network of networks" to help policymakers update outdated laws for the clean‑technology...
MEPs Ask Where EU Billions for Africa Came From
MEPs have pressed the European Commission to clarify how the Global Gateway initiative raised its claimed €306 billion in financing. They highlight a stark gap between the €150 billion projected for Africa and the under €10 billion actually earmarked as EU guarantees. The...
Canada’s AI Minister Blames OpenAI for ‘Failure’ After Mass Shooting
Canada’s AI minister warned OpenAI after the company did not report a ChatGPT user who later carried out a mass shooting in British Columbia. The government said it will regulate AI chatbots unless firms demonstrate robust safeguards. Ministers met with...
US IT Budget Wasted on Maintenance, Not Innovation
The US spends $100B annually on IT, and nearly 80% of that goes to maintenance instead of building new things. @cognition is ushering in an era of software abundance to the public sector 🇺🇸
FBI Conducts Market Research Into NIR Iris Biometric Cameras
The FBI’s Criminal Justice Information Services division has issued a Request for Information seeking near‑infrared iris cameras that can capture both eyes in a single enrollment. The RFI covers fixed devices for booking stations and mobile units for field use,...
Five Stages to Secure Military Operational Technology Using Zero Trust and Risk Operations Centers
The Pentagon released an OT‑specific zero‑trust roadmap, the “fan chart,” outlining 84 baseline and 21 advanced activities to protect military operational technology. The guidance emphasizes asset visibility, risk‑operations centers, network segmentation, passive monitoring, and AI‑driven automation. Agencies are urged to...
Solar Company to Install Microgrid at Roanoke High Schools
Roanoke City Public Schools will install a solar‑powered microgrid with battery storage at Patrick Henry and William Fleming high schools, funded by a $450,000 state grant and $2.1 million from Secure Solar Futures. The $2.55 million project, the first public‑school solar microgrid...
Cal OES to Seek NG911 Bids Soon, Wants LA-Area PSAPs Done in 2028
California’s Office of Emergency Services will issue a statewide NG911 request for proposals within months, aiming to upgrade all Los Angeles‑area public‑safety answering points (PSAPs) before the 2028 Olympics and complete migration of roughly 450 PSAPs by mid‑2030. The new approach...
PXL Vision Integrates Deepfake Detection Technique From Research with Idiap
PXL Vision, Idiap Research Institute and Innosuisse have released a deepfake detector integrated into the PXL Ident platform. The tool, developed under the ROSALIND project, targets face‑swapping, reenactment and fully synthetic identities in ID documents. A companion Idiap paper benchmarks...
Aid Workers Face Expulsion From Gaza. They Hope EU Privacy Laws Can Save Them.
Humanitarian NGOs operating in Gaza face an imminent deadline to hand over detailed staff and donor data to Israeli authorities or lose access to the territories. The December‑issued registration rules, set to take effect as early as Sunday, affect about...
DHS Wants More than Biometrics in US-EU Data Sharing Agreement
The United States and the European Union are negotiating the Enhanced Border Security Partnership (EBSP), which would grant visa‑free travel to EU citizens in exchange for access to European biometric databases. The latest draft does not explicitly prohibit the use...
NASA Seeks IBM Partner to Manage Agency's Software Portfolio
NASA has issued a request for information (RFI) to find an IBM Platinum Partner that will manage its extensive software portfolio. The agency intends to establish a five‑year blanket purchase agreement covering licenses, subscription support, expert lab services, and remote...
UnsolicitedBooker Targets Telecoms in Central Asia with New Backdoors
The China‑aligned threat group UnsolicitedBooker has begun targeting telecommunications providers in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. The campaign employs two custom backdoors, LuciDoor and MarsSnake, delivered through phishing emails that embed malicious Office macros and loaders such as LuciLoad. These implants can...
MEPs Rally Behind Ex-Commissioner Breton After US Sanctions
EU members of the European Parliament rallied behind former commissioner Thierry Breton after the United States imposed visa restrictions on him for his role in shaping the Digital Services Act. Breton, who oversaw the DSA and other digital regulations, used...
Georgia Tech Researchers Highlight Vulnerabilities in Threat Intelligence Sharing
Georgia Tech researchers have uncovered critical weaknesses in the global threat‑intelligence supply chain, highlighting how inconsistent data quality and limited sharing impede rapid response. Their study, presented at the NDSS Symposium, found that while 67% of vendors sandbox suspicious binaries,...
The First-in-the-Nation TikTik Ban that Wasn’t
A Montana federal judge dismissed the state’s TikTok ban on Feb. 20, 2026 after the law’s trigger clause was satisfied by ByteDance selling a majority stake to non‑Chinese investors. The sale, completed on Jan. 23, 2026, left ByteDance with a...
PowerSchool, Chicago Public Schools to Settle Student Data Privacy Lawsuit for $17 Million
PowerSchool and Chicago Public Schools have agreed to a $17.25 million settlement to resolve a class‑action lawsuit accusing the ed‑tech firm of covertly recording student communications. The fund will be divided among more than 10 million potential class members and obligates PowerSchool...
New UAC-0050 Social Engineering Campaign Discovered
Russia‑linked threat group UAC‑0550, also known as DaVinci Group, launched a sophisticated social‑engineering campaign against a European financial institution that supports Ukraine. The attackers sent legal‑themed phishing emails from a counterfeit Ukrainian judicial domain, directing victims to download a ZIP...
Colo. FD Launches Community Paramedic Program to Curb Repeat 911 Calls
The Grand Junction Fire Department has launched a Community Paramedic Program aimed at curbing repeat 911 calls by providing in‑home follow‑up for high‑utilization patients with chronic illnesses. Designated paramedics will visit residents within 24‑48 hours of an emergency call to...
A Remedy for Medicine Procurement: How Brazil Is Improving Decision-Making in a $75 Billion Market Using Open Data and AI
Brazil spends roughly US$75 billion annually on medicines through its universal health system, but fragmented procurement across 5,000 municipalities creates price volatility and opaque documentation. A coalition of government agencies and civil‑society groups launched the Medicamentos Transparentes platform, which consolidates purchase...
Is Claude Out of the War Business? W/ Amos Toh
In this brief episode, host explores the controversial use of Anthropic's Claude AI model in the alleged Venezuelan invasion, discussing legal and ethical concerns around its deployment in military operations. Guest Amos Toh, a researcher at the Brennan Center, explains...
USPS Tests Picture Proof of Delivery Capability
The U.S. Postal Service is field‑testing a new camera feature on its Mobile Delivery Device app that captures photos of delivered packages. The pilot runs in Phoenix, New York City, Dallas and Fargo, but images are not yet available to customers....
Eyeball Recognition, Surveillance Towers Part of $40 Million Immigration Awards for Local Florida Police
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and his cabinet approved more than $40 million in state immigration grants for local law‑enforcement agencies. The funding will finance biometric iris scanners, AI‑enabled body cameras, license‑plate readers, surveillance towers and other detention‑related equipment. Six counties submitted...