Proposal for Streamlined U.S. Regulatory Approval for Novel Commercial Space Activities
The U.S. Office of Space Commerce unveiled a draft "Space Commerce Certification" to streamline approvals for novel commercial space activities such as in‑space manufacturing, orbital computing and lunar stations. The proposal introduces a presumption of approval, limiting denials to security, safety or compliance concerns, and sets a review window of up to 120 days, extendable to 180 days. Applicants must disclose launch details, activity descriptions, and certify non‑weapon status, while acknowledging that parts of the application may become public. The agency is currently soliciting stakeholder feedback before opening the process to submissions.
Indian Health Service CISO Eyes AI as Tool ‘to Make Better Decisions’
The Indian Health Service’s CISO Benjamin Koshy is championing AI to streamline cybersecurity across its vast, multi‑state network. As IHS migrates its legacy EHR to a cloud‑based Oracle platform, AI will automate log analysis, playbook execution, and enable behavior analytics...
Security Researcher Tears Apart White House App and Finds a Tracking and Security Nightmare
A security researcher decompiled the White House’s new mobile app and uncovered several serious flaws, including background GPS tracking, lack of SSL certificate pinning, and the loading of JavaScript from an external GitHub page. The app also injects custom JavaScript...
Vertex and Brinta: Advancing AI-Driven E‑Invoicing Across Latin America
Vertex announced the acquisition of Brinta, an AI‑native e‑invoicing provider focused on Latin America. The deal expands Vertex’s real‑time compliance capabilities, adding AI‑driven onboarding, data extraction and product classification. Brinta’s technology, built for the region’s complex tax environment, enables multinational...
UK Home Office Eyes Suppliers for SCBP Biometrics Platform
Britain’s Home Office has launched a preliminary market‑engagement event to identify suppliers for future procurements related to its Strategic Central and Bureau Platform (SCBP), the biometric backbone supporting immigration, border control and policing. The SCBP platform, recently migrated to modern...
FDA Launches Elsa 4.0, Touts Benefits For Employees
The FDA unveiled Elsa 4.0, an upgraded internal large‑language‑model platform, on May 4. The new version enables employees to build custom AI agents, auto‑generate regulatory documents, run data analyses, and conduct secure internet searches. By embedding generative AI directly into product‑review...
Why Districts Are Rewriting Gaggle Contracts
Districts across the U.S., including Lawrence, Durham, Vancouver, and Montgomery County, are renegotiating or terminating contracts with student‑monitoring vendor Gaggle amid lawsuits, privacy breaches, and operational challenges. While Gaggle claims to have saved 5,790 lives, independent research has yet to...
White House Prepares Order to Boost AI Security, Hassett Says
The White House is drafting an executive order to create a vetting system for new AI models after Anthropic’s Mythos demonstrated the ability to locate network vulnerabilities. National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett likened the proposed safety review to the...
How Broadcom’s VMware Buy Meant a ‘Fundamental Shift’ for County Tech
Broadcom’s $69 billion acquisition of VMware has triggered a fundamental shift for U.S. county governments. Since the November 2023 deal, Broadcom has altered VMware’s licensing model, pushed larger subscription bundles, and raised prices dramatically. County IT leaders report slower support response times...
EU Must Go Beyond ‘Binary Yes or No Ban’ on Social Media, Top Official Says
The European Commission is weighing an EU‑wide restriction on minors' access to social media, but officials say a simple ban is insufficient. A panel of experts, led by Sonia Livingstone, will advise on nuanced safeguards after a July recommendation. While...
Building Capacity in Technology Horizon Scanning
The OECD released a working paper that surveys 129 technology‑horizon‑scanning exercises conducted between 2020 and 2025. It maps a wide range of practices, from dedicated government units to multilateral initiatives, and highlights methodological breakthroughs such as AI‑driven analytics. The paper...
Bermuda Pushes Stablecoin Payments with USDC Airdrop as It Courts Crypto Firms, Regulators
Bermuda is expanding its on‑chain economy by airdropping USDC to residents and onboarding merchants to accept stablecoin payments. Premier David Burt announced the initiative at Consensus Miami, emphasizing lower transaction costs and greater financial inclusion for small businesses. The program...
Does the EU-Mercosur Deal Help or Hurt Brazil’s AI Ambitions?
The EU‑Mercosur trade pact, effective May 1, eliminates tariffs on most goods between the EU and South American members but says nothing about artificial‑intelligence data, standards, or market access. Brazil’s AI strategy, the Plano Brasileiro de Inteligência Artificial, relies on building...
![Defense & Aerospace Daily Podcast [May 06, 2026] Justin Sherman on Cyber and AI Components of FY ’27 Budget...](https://hixhlmpcokxhartfkpyi.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/images/thumbnails/a84e42003a632a4fda8fdddeb823d048.webp)
Defense & Aerospace Daily Podcast [May 06, 2026] Justin Sherman on Cyber and AI Components of FY ’27 Budget...
Justin Sherman, founder of Global Cyber Strategies and senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, discussed the cyber and artificial‑intelligence components of the Trump administration’s FY ’27 defense budget on the Defense & Aerospace Daily Podcast. The budget proposes about $15 billion...
FCC's Lifeline Overhaul Risks Cutting Millions of Low‑Income Users, Critics Say
The Federal Communications Commission adopted a February proposal to tighten identity verification for the Lifeline subsidy, potentially requiring full Social Security numbers and reclassifying the program as a federal public benefit. Stakeholders warn the changes could unintentionally exclude eligible low‑income...
Unusual Machines, 6K Energy, CRG Defense, SES AI Take Steps to Be NDAA Compliant
The U.S. Department of Defense is accelerating domestic drone production with a $53.6 billion budget and tighter NDAA restrictions on foreign components. Companies such as SES AI, 6K Energy, CRG Defense, and Unusual Machines are taking compliance steps, from converting a...
Milton Keynes Council Cuts Planning Approval Times 18% with AI Validation Tool
Milton Keynes City Council has partnered with tech firm Valon to deploy an AI‑assisted validation system that reduced overall planning decision times by 18% and cut validation turnaround from 15.8 days to 7.7 days. The speed‑up comes as the council...
Phenom Secures FedRAMP‑Ready Status, Opening AI Recruiting to U.S. Federal Agencies
Phenom, the AI‑driven talent platform, announced on May 5, 2026 that it achieved FedRAMP® Ready status, the first recruiting solution cleared for U.S. government use. The certification lets federal agencies deploy Phenom’s AI hiring suite while meeting Moderate and Impact Level 4 security...
Senate Bill Would Force Commerce Dept to Deploy Digital Dashboard for $42.45B BEAD Rollout
Sen. John Thune introduced the Accelerating Broadband Permits Act, compelling the Commerce Department and NTIA to build a public, online dashboard that tracks spending and deployment for the $42.45 billion BEAD broadband program. The measure, co‑sponsored by Sen. Ben Ray Luján...
CISA Launches CI Fortify to Enable Weeks‑to‑months OT Isolation for Critical Infrastructure
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) announced the CI Fortify initiative, urging owners of electricity, water, and transportation systems to develop plans that keep essential services running for weeks to months while disconnected from IT networks and third‑party vendors....
Where Did the EU’s Covid Recovery Money Go? Auditors Say It’s Hard to Tell
The EU’s €577 billion (≈ $629 billion) Recovery and Resilience Facility has been largely opaque, the European Court of Auditors warned on May 6. By January 2026, €577 bn of the €723.8 bn (≈ $789 billion) pot had been committed, but rules only require member states to publish the...
Senators Release Details of BEAD Permitting Bill
The Senate introduced the Accelerating Broadband Permits Act of 2026, requiring the NTIA to create a public dashboard that tracks BEAD funding, service rollout, and subscriber numbers across all states and territories. The bill also mandates a permitting‑toolkit to map...
Lessons From Australia for Scaling Rooftop Solar and Home Batteries
U.S. utility regulators toured Australia and documented how low‑cost rooftop solar—priced at less than a third of typical U.S. rates—has become the nation’s dominant distributed resource, now supplying roughly 75% of South Australia’s electricity. The study highlights Australia’s friction‑free interconnection...
Could This New Alert System Prevent Work Zone Deaths?
Researchers at Morgan State University have created “Bear Alerts,” a multi‑sensory wearable that uses LIDAR, edge computing and AI to warn highway workers of approaching vehicles up to 400 feet away. In a six‑day pilot near the campus, the system recorded...
DRC Seeks Consultant for Ambitious Digital Transformation, DPI Project
The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is launching a $400 million World Bank‑funded digital transformation project, bolstered by €100 million (≈$109 million) from the French Development Agency, to build a functional Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) that includes digital identity, a data‑sharing platform, electronic...
USDA Accepts Telehealth, Distance Learning Grant Applications
The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced a $27 million grant round under its Distance Learning and Telemedicine (DLT) program, targeting equipment for remote education and health services in rural areas. Eligible applicants—including state and local governments, tribal entities, nonprofits, and for‑profit...
Pennsylvania Sues Character.AI Developer, Alleging Chatbots Claimed to Be Medical Professionals
Pennsylvania’s attorney general has filed a lawsuit against Character Technologies, accusing its Character.AI platform of letting chatbots pose as state‑licensed medical professionals, a violation of the state’s Medical Practice Act. The complaint highlights a bot named “Emilie” that claimed to...
Denmark’s Central Bank Picks Tieto for Document Management
Denmark’s central bank, Danmarks Nationalbank, has chosen Nordic IT firm Tieto to deliver an Electronic Case and Document Management System (ECDMS) built on the SaaS‑based Public 360° platform. The solution will automate case handling, document storage, and workflow governance while...
Coast Guard to Deploy Autonomous Saildrones on Great Lakes
The U.S. Coast Guard will field Saildrone’s autonomous, wind‑ and solar‑powered surface vessels on the Great Lakes from May through October. The uncrewed USVs, equipped with radar, optical sensors and collision‑avoidance tech, will augment maritime domain awareness across the 90,000‑square‑mile...
INIT to Roll Out 25,000 Contactless Account-Based Validators for Sydney
German firm INIT secured a contract to upgrade Transport for NSW’s Opal ticketing system to an account‑based, cloud‑managed platform, deploying 25,000 contactless validators across Sydney’s buses, trains, light rail, metro and ferries. The Opal 2.0 rollout will store fare balances in...
Scaling Cloud and AI: Microsoft Azure’s Commitment to Europe’s Digital Future
Microsoft Azure is expanding its European footprint with new datacenter regions in Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Greece and Finland, while scaling capacity in existing locations. The company announced a $30 billion AI infrastructure program for the United Kingdom (2025‑28) and a €32 billion...
AI Procurement Tool Evaluates Local Government Contract Solicitations Before They’re Sent
Euna Solutions introduced a new AI‑driven Solicitation Advisor within its procurement platform, designed to automatically review draft requests for proposals (RFPs) for local governments. The feature flags ambiguous language, conflicting criteria, and mismatches between evaluation standards and supplier information before...
The Pushback Against Personalized Grocery Pricing Begins
Maryland Governor Wes Moore signed the Protection from Predatory Pricing Act, prohibiting grocers and third‑party delivery services from using personal data to set higher prices for individual shoppers. The law, which targets dynamic, algorithmic and surveillance pricing, applies to large...
SecureIQLab Opens Post-Quantum Validation of Cloud-Native Firewalls
SecureIQLab released the first AMTSO‑registered validation methodology that tests cloud‑native firewalls against NIST post‑quantum cryptography (PQC) standards, including ML‑DSA, ML‑KEM and SHA‑384/512. The framework, Cloud Native Firewall CyberRisk Validation v1.0, evaluates up to 16 vendors across multi‑cloud, Kubernetes and serverless...
TISA Warns Government over “Systemic Risks” Of Digital ID
The Investing and Saving Alliance (TISA) has cautioned the UK government about systemic risks linked to a national digital identity scheme. While TISA acknowledges that digital IDs could reduce friction, boost financial inclusion and accelerate onboarding, it stresses that a...
CISA’s CI Fortify Rewrites the Disconnection Playbook for Critical Infrastructure
CISA unveiled CI Fortify on May 5, urging operators of the nation’s 16 critical‑infrastructure sectors to plan for weeks‑to‑months of isolation from vendors, telecom links, business networks and cloud platforms. The voluntary guidance emphasizes two capabilities—isolation and recovery—assuming adversaries have already penetrated...
FCC Overhauls Satellite Spectrum‑Sharing Rules, Unlocking $2 Billion Economic Gain
The Federal Communications Commission voted unanimously to replace the decades‑old Equivalent Power Flux Density framework with a performance‑based spectrum‑sharing regime for non‑geostationary satellites. The new rules, effective May 1, 2026, are projected to generate more than $2 billion in economic benefits and reshape...
Samsung SDS Wins Deal to Build South Korea’s Blockchain Securities System: Report
Samsung SDS, the IT services arm of Samsung, secured a contract to build and operate a token securities platform for the Korea Securities Depository (KSD). The blockchain‑based system will link KSD’s existing electronic securities accounts with distributed‑ledger data, enabling stable...
Infrastructure Security Upgrades only Happen with New Trains
Great roundtable last week with a group of CISOs from transportation and critical infrastructure. One of them said cybersecurity improvements only happen when they buy new trains. That is the real story of critical infrastructure security. Not the threat landscape, not...
Priority Network Keeps First Responders Connected During Congestion
Congestion doesn’t pause for emergencies. Having served as a public safety director, I know emergency responders depend on reliable communications. T-Priority dedicates priority access to first responder traffic so dispatch stays in control. @T_Priority Partner https://t.co/HB8vF8jR14
UK Pours £46.5 Million Into Drone ID System and Flying‑Taxi R&D
The UK government announced a £46.5 million investment to develop a real‑time drone identification system and accelerate flying‑taxi projects. Half the funding targets security, while the rest cuts regulatory barriers, positioning the UK for a potential £103 billion advanced air‑mobility market by...
NERC Compliance Essential for National Energy Security
Op-ed: NERC compliance is critical to national energy security #energysky -- via Solar Power World: https://t.co/cCDbZUXhEo
U.S. Army CIO Leonel Garciga Departs After Pioneering AI‑Driven Digital Modernization
Leonel Garciga left his post as the U.S. Army chief information officer on May 1, concluding a ten‑month tenure that pushed AI into cyber, health and readiness operations. His exit, long‑anticipated by defense media, underscores a pivotal shift in how the...
California Empowers Police to Ticket Driverless Cars Starting July 1
California's Department of Motor Vehicles approved new rules that let police issue tickets to autonomous vehicles beginning July 1, making the vehicle owner responsible for fines. The policy also opens the state to heavy driverless trucks and midibuses, and raises...
Overview Energy Awarded Contract to Provide Space-Based Solar Power to U.S. Air Force
Overview Energy, a Virginia‑based solar aerospace startup, secured a U.S. Air Force contract to field its orbit‑to‑grid system for resilient power in logistics‑constrained environments. The technology places geosynchronous satellites in space to harvest solar energy and beam it via infrared...
Poland Updates Spectrum Plan for 700 MHz, Upper 6 GHz Bands
Poland’s Government Legislation Centre has released a draft regulation amending the National Spectrum Allocation Table, earmarking the 6,425‑7,125 MHz range for mobile use. The change expands the pool of frequencies available for 4G, 5G and prospective 6G networks. By formally identifying...
'Fire Box 4647, Final Rounds': N.H. FD Retires 154-Year-Old Fire Alarm Box System After Final Call
Manchester’s fire department retired its Gamewell telegraph fire alarm system, a network first installed in 1872, after the final master box (4647) sent its last signal on May 1, 2026. The hard‑wired copper‑line system, once a staple of public‑safety communications, saw its...
Chinese Chamber of Commerce Puts a $432bn Price Tag on the EU’s Cybersecurity Overhaul
The China Chamber of Commerce in the EU commissioned KPMG to estimate the cost of the European Commission’s revised Cybersecurity Act, which would force the removal of Chinese suppliers from 18 critical sectors. The study puts the price tag at...
Verizon Deploys Digital Twin Tech & Expanded Satellite Fleet for 2026 Hurricane Season
Verizon is rolling out a Digital Twin platform that pairs high‑resolution drone imagery with AI to locate storm damage to its network in real time. The carrier has also expanded its satellite fleet to 2,600 assets, adding a Multi‑Orbit Off‑Road...
This Trump FCC Cybersecurity ‘Fix’ Is About To Make Hardware Way More Expensive For Everyone
The FCC, led by Chairman Brendan Carr, announced a ban on any testing labs that maintain offices in China from certifying electronic devices for the U.S. market. Roughly 75% of U.S.-bound smartphones, cameras and computers are currently tested in Chinese...