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GovCIO Media & Research announced that nominations are now open for the 2026 Federal IT Efficiency Flywheel Awards, to be presented at the Federal IT Efficiency Summit on May 20 in Reston, Virginia. The awards honor federal employees whose recent programs drive innovation across government, with categories including Rising Star, Digital Transformer, Innovation Champion, Change Driver, and Workforce Enabler. Nominations must be submitted by March 20, finalists will be revealed on April 3, and winners will be recognized at the summit. The initiative highlights the sector’s focus on accelerating digital transformation within the public sphere.
Qualcomm has filed a request with the FCC to secure dedicated spectrum for its 5G sidelink technology, aiming to support mission‑critical communications for first responders. The company plans to leverage device‑to‑device links that operate independently of traditional cellular infrastructure, enabling...
The Owensboro Fire Department (OFD) launched a TikTok channel to spread fire‑safety messages and boost recruitment. Within a week the account amassed 1,400 followers, with its debut video garnering over 15,000 views and subsequent clips reaching thousands. The department pairs...
The European Commission announced that after the EU Entry/Exit System (EES) rollout completes on 10 April 2026, member states may partially suspend the system for up to 90 days, with a possible 60‑day extension to cover the summer travel peak. This flexibility...
Thales, in partnership with the Georgia Department of Driver Services (DDS), has deployed 30 inclusive enrolment kiosks across 23 high‑volume customer service centers. The kiosks enable citizens to renew licenses, obtain driving‑history reports, and change addresses without staff assistance. By...
The Gary Sinise Foundation awarded a $40,000 grant to West Hazleton, Pa., fire department, enabling replacement of its 1994‑era extrication tools with lighter, higher‑capacity equipment. The new gear can lift overturned vehicles, railcars and stabilize structures, dramatically improving rescue operations. Department...
The UK Department for Education (DfE) is issuing a £1.8 million contract to develop AI‑powered tutoring tools aimed at disadvantaged pupils. The procurement, expected to be awarded by May, will run for nearly three years with a possible one‑year extension. Up...
In early 2026 Iranian protests triggered a sweeping internet shutdown, but smuggled Starlink terminals let activists maintain contact with the outside world. The satellite service enabled images and messages to bypass state jamming, turning a near‑total blackout into a contested...
South Africa’s Department of Home Affairs will close all visa desks abroad, routing every application through its Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) platform. The rollout, slated for completion by 2029, will extend from tourist visas to study, work and other categories,...
Russian cyber actors targeting Ukraine’s energy grid have shifted from causing immediate outages to gathering intelligence that guides missile strikes. By mapping facilities, tracking repair crews, and monitoring recovery rates, they provide real‑time data that improves strike accuracy. The number...
The United States faces a pivotal shift in unmanned aircraft system (UAS) policy, urging a move from a counter‑UAS‑first narrative to an integration‑first strategy. Lawful drone operations must become visible through Remote ID, Unmanned Traffic Management (UTM) and public education,...
Romanian officials say recent ransomware attacks on the country’s water agency, oil pipeline operator and coal‑based power producer were part of a coordinated Russian hybrid operation. Groups such as Qilin and Gentlemen, which speak Russian, claimed responsibility, linking the attacks...
Rohde & Schwarz has introduced the QPS Walk2000, a millimeter‑wave walk‑through scanner that uses AI and machine learning to detect both metallic and non‑metallic threats in real time. The system allows passengers and staff to walk through at a normal pace...
Amazon Web Services has placed 20 unemployed IT graduates in Gauteng home affairs offices through the Youth Employment Services (YES) programme. The graduates will receive foundational AWS cloud training, certification, mentorship and compensation through December, directly supporting the department's digital...
Attackers are actively exploiting two critical Ivanti Endpoint Manager Mobile (EPMM) zero‑days (CVE‑2026‑1281 and CVE‑2026‑1340) that allow unauthenticated remote code execution. More than 4,400 EPMM instances are exposed on the public internet, giving threat actors full control of enterprise mobile...
African banks and mobile network operators are poised to accelerate stablecoin adoption, turning the continent’s burgeoning mobile‑money ecosystem into a mainstream digital payments layer. Ripple’s Reece Merrick highlighted that once banks and telcos embed stablecoins in custody, payments and treasury...
The U.S. Forest Service has stopped issuing wildland firefighter pants treated with PFAS after ProPublica exposed the agency’s long‑standing use of the chemicals. Supplier TenCate had been applying PFAS‑based finishes to Kevlar‑blend fabrics to repel gasoline and water, despite internal...
Municipal fleets face tighter budgets as city revenues dip and confidence in meeting future fiscal needs wanes, prompting officials to scrutinize new technology spend. New research from Wakefield for Samsara shows dash cams delivering rapid ROI, with 96% of agencies...
South Africa's Department of Basic Education and police have launched a five‑year Safe Schools Protocol, prompting schools to adopt smart card platforms for daily access control. Modern NFC‑enabled cards combine identity verification, time‑based rules, biometrics, and cashless payment functions, creating...
The Indian government has approved ₹2,432 crore to fund the Amended BharatNet programme in Andhra Pradesh. The scheme, managed by the newly formed Andhra Pradesh BharatNet Infrastructure Limited (APBIL), will upgrade 13,426 gram panchayats to a ring‑topology optical fiber network and...
The South African Revenue Service (SARS) has issued three high‑profile ICT tenders aimed at overhauling its procurement ecosystem. One tender seeks an integrated strategic sourcing and e‑procurement platform that merges its current fragmented systems, integrates with existing ERP modules, and...
Cape Town has launched a refreshed online collaboration platform that lets residents, workers and visitors submit ideas, join public consultations and comment on city projects. The digital hub supports English, Afrikaans and isiXhosa, expanding access across the metropolis. Users can...
Pulselight has become an authorised partner on the £10 bn Fortrus Digital Enablement Framework, giving NHS trusts a fast, compliant route to acquire its advanced data‑analytics platform. The framework, created by the Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, streamlines procurement...
The Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) has issued a reminder that all telecom licence holders must verify expiry dates and file renewal applications between 12 and six months before a licence lapses. The directive covers both Individual Electronic...
South Africa rose to 60th place out of 125 nations in Opensignal’s Global Network Excellence Index, up from 64th earlier in 2025. The index, released in February 2026, evaluates mobile performance on time spent on 4G/5G, Excellent Consistent Quality (ECQ)...
The UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has launched a five‑year End User Services contract with Atos that will supply laptops, phones and tablets to its 30,000 staff, with 90 % of the 72,000 devices sourced as refurbished...
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) Digital is accepting applications for its University Leavers Engineering Programme, a two‑year placement that blends hands‑on software and infrastructure engineering with leadership training and a master’s qualification. Launched in April 2025, the scheme operates...
The Los Angeles Police Department reported a 101 percent homicide clearance rate for 2025, far surpassing the roughly 58 percent national average. The figure reflects 156 of 230 murders solved that year and the clearance of 78 older cases, boosted...
Snowflake is hosting "Data for Breakfast Canberra" on 17 March 2026, aimed at Australian Public Service (APS) data and AI professionals. The event will feature a Snowflake keynote on secure, AI‑ready data collaboration, public‑sector case studies, and deep‑dive sessions on agents and...
Washington D.C.’s Ronald Reagan National Airport has replaced its paper Flight Progress Strips with a digital ground‑control system supplied by Leidos. The upgrade is part of the FAA’s $12.5 billion National Airspace System modernization program and brings the United States in...
The Queensland Building and Construction Commission (QBCC) has reorganised its digital and information division under a newly appointed chief operating officer, Amanda Pafumi, replacing the former CDIO role with a general manager, digital and information. This shift integrates technology functions into...
Sri Lanka has launched CROPIX DPI, a national digital platform that consolidates fragmented agricultural data into a single, mobile‑accessible system. The platform integrates the crop registry, yield forecasts and climate analytics, enabling automated data exchange among farmers, officials and policymakers....
The Chelmsford Fire Department’s free "Get Alarmed Chelmsford" program installed smoke and carbon‑monoxide detectors in the mobile‑home‑dense Chelmsford Commons neighborhood, achieving a 25% enrollment rate in its first month. On Feb. 8, a detector installed through the initiative woke a family...
The FCC unanimously approved a report and order that expands the 900 MHz band from 6 MHz to a full 10 MHz for private‑wireless broadband use. The new rules let utilities, enterprises and critical‑infrastructure operators acquire the entire 5 × 5 MHz swath (896‑901/935‑940 MHz) while preserving...
California is drafting Assembly Bill 1159 to tighten student data privacy after tech companies have exploited loopholes in the state’s 2014 education privacy law. The bill would expand the definition of education‑technology products, restrict AI use of student data, and...
Ocean Township police in New Jersey deployed an all‑weather DJI M30T drone equipped with a thermal camera to locate a 13‑year‑old runaway. Using Life360 data from the teen’s mother, officers narrowed the search and found the boy in a dense...
The Hong Kong Polytechnic University secured HK$18.6 million from the Smart Traffic Fund to launch three AI‑driven transport projects. One develops an end‑to‑end intelligent driving system for logistics using multi‑modal sensor fusion and a 360° bird’s‑eye view framework. A second creates...
Land Bank of the Philippines (LANDBANK) launched its Cash‑Lite Campus Programme at the State University of Northern Negros, bringing digital banking to more than 2,000 students and campus partners. The initiative offers no‑deposit PISO Plus accounts, QR‑enabled person‑to‑merchant payments, and...
The Office of Management and Budget has withdrawn the mandatory software bill of materials (SBOM) requirement, replacing it with a risk‑based menu of options for federal agencies. This shift moves compliance from a prescriptive checklist to agency‑driven risk assessment, granting...
Norfolk International Airport unveiled a new two‑story, 26,000‑square‑foot Federal Inspection Services (FIS) building, designed to streamline customs and baggage handling. The $31 million project, funded partly by $13.5 million in federal aid, features floor‑to‑ceiling windows, an open floorplan, and a dedicated Global...
HID’s 2026 State of Security and Identity Report, based on a survey of over 1,500 security and IT leaders, shows digital identity management is a top priority for 73% of respondents. Three‑quarters of organizations have already deployed or are evaluating...
At HIMSS26, CDC Acting Chief Enterprise Architect Ryan M. Harrison will unveil the agency’s Technical Reference Architecture (TRA), a unified framework that codifies IT standards across CDC. The presentation targets both IT leaders and developers, illustrating how the TRA integrates...
Maryland’s Department of Human Services has rolled out Binti’s kinship‑search software to help caseworkers locate family members for children in foster care. Since its September launch, the tool has powered more than 4,500 searches and identified over 4,300 potential kin...
The State Department has cleared the last protest against its $10 billion Evolve IT services vehicle and announced the final round of 48 contract awards across five functional categories. Evolve consolidates eleven existing contracts into a single multiple‑award vehicle with a...
Microsoft released a report on media integrity and authentication (MIA), detailing techniques such as C2PA provenance, imperceptible watermarking, and soft‑hash fingerprinting to verify digital content origins. The study concludes that no single method can stop deepfakes, urging a layered approach...
School districts are experimenting with generative and agentic AI to bolster cybersecurity, but results are mixed. While vendor‑built AI features provide more reliable insights than generic models, many districts still rely on traditional tools due to staffing and budget constraints....
A cloud‑based identity verification database tied to IDMerit was found exposed without password protection or encryption, leaking roughly one billion personal records across at least 26 countries. The trove, estimated at one terabyte, contained names, dates of birth, addresses, phone...
The FBI’s AI inventory more than doubled from 19 cases in 2024 to 50 in 2025, with nine high‑impact tools embedded in law‑enforcement workflows such as facial recognition and data triage. The rapid expansion outpaces the DOJ’s transparency requirements under...
Waymo announced that its sixth‑generation Waymo Driver is now operating fully autonomously on U.S. public roads, deployed in the new Ojai robotaxi built on Geely’s Zeekr Mix. The fleet, which previously relied on Jaguar I‑Pace conversions, will soon include Hyundai Ioniq 5...
Moroccan regtech startup Charikaty secured MAD 1.5 million ($150,000) on the TV show “Qui Veut Investir Dans Mon Projet?” Season 3. The investment was led by Ilan Benhaim, co‑founder of Veepee and Endeavor Morocco chair, and Karim Amor, president of MeM by CGEM....
