GSA’s New Proposed “American AI” Clause for Schedule Contracts: What Contractors Need to Know
On March 6, 2026 the GSA issued a proposed GSAR clause—552.239‑7001—mandating the exclusive use of "American AI" in all Schedule contract performance. The clause requires contractors to disclose every AI system, enable human oversight, report incidents within 72 hours, and provide extensive documentation aligned with the NIST AI Risk Management Framework. It also grants the government ownership of any custom AI development, bars the use of government data for training, and imposes de‑commissioning liabilities for violations of unbiased AI principles. Comments are accepted only until March 20, 2026, giving contractors a narrow window to influence the final language.
Dr. Oz: CMS Getting a Technological Reboot
CMS Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz announced a comprehensive modernization of the agency’s billing platform to keep pace with the evolving digital health ecosystem. The initiative focuses on integrating advanced technologies, including artificial intelligence, to streamline claim processing and enhance fraud...
Cisco and UTS Partner to Create Innovation Central Sydney Hub
Cisco and the University of Technology Sydney have opened Innovation Central Sydney (ICS), a dedicated hub within NSW’s Tech Central that forms a core pillar of the National Industry Innovation Network (NIIN). The facility is designed to fast‑track the adoption...
More Police Are Adopting 'Grappler' Tech To End Car Chases Before They Begin
Police departments across the United States are rapidly adopting the Grappler Police Bumper, a net‑based device that immobilizes fleeing vehicles by wrapping around their rear tires. First prototyped in 2016, the system is now used by roughly 40‑50 agencies, with...
UK Fraud Strategy Considers Business Digital Identity and IDV
The UK Home Office released the Fraud Strategy 2026‑2029, committing £250 million to combat fraud and cyber‑crime, with a focus on digital identity and biometric verification. The plan introduces a £30 million Online Crime Centre, tighter KYC for company directors, and a...
Turks and Caicos President Unveils Major Digital Transformation Agenda
Prime Minister Charles Washington Misick announced a $6 million, three‑year digital transformation agenda for the Turks and Caicos Islands. The plan includes a national Digital ID system slated for rollout this year, AI‑driven 24/7 threat detection, and a sovereign government network...
DOD Is Finally Leaning Into CMMC 2.0 Requirements for CUI
The Department of Defense has accelerated enforcement of CMMC 2.0 for contracts handling Controlled Unclassified Information, a shift driven by recent White House contracting reforms. Since January, more DoD solicitations explicitly require specific CMMC levels, prompting contractors to prove their data‑security...
Electronic Registration and Listing Compliance Program
The FDA’s Electronic Registration and Listing Compliance Program (eDRLS) safeguards the accuracy of drug registration and listing data that underpin inspections, electronic prescribing, and reimbursement systems. While automated validation rules catch many errors, the program also employs manual surveillance to...
Conn. Lawmakers Propose Easing Electric School Bus Deadlines
Connecticut lawmakers have introduced a bill that eases the state’s zero‑emission school‑bus deadlines, moving the 100% target to 90% by July 1 2040 and keeping an all‑alternative‑fuel requirement for July 1 2035. Distressed municipalities would need only 50% zero‑emission buses by 2035, reaching full...
Leidos Secures $454.9m Contract to Modernise USAF Cloud One Platform
Leidos has secured a $454.9 million contract to modernize the U.S. Air Force’s Cloud One platform, a core hub for mission‑critical cloud services. The effort will integrate Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud and Oracle Cloud Infrastructure to boost security,...
CBP Moves to Modernize Fingerprinting at National Scale
U.S. Customs and Border Protection is issuing a single‑source blanket purchase agreement to contract a nationwide electronic fingerprinting service for all employees, contractors and applicants. The contract, targeted at under $9 million, will require the vendor to operate collection sites, provide...
Experts Warn of Coming ‘Reprioritization’ for Cyber Funding
The $1 billion State and Local Cybersecurity Grant Program has been fully spent within four years, and Congress has yet to allocate additional funding despite reauthorization votes. CISA officials warned that states must now reprioritize their cyber budgets and seek alternative...
AuthID and Section 2 Tie Biometric Authentication to Financial Crime Intelligence Workflows
authID has partnered with Section 2 to embed biometric verification and its Mandate AI governance framework into Section 2’s TENet and TRACC financial crime intelligence platforms. The integration creates an auditable chain of custody, linking every AML or threat‑finance output to a...
Docs Expose CBP’s Use Of Ad Data To Track People’s Movements
Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has been buying location data from the online advertising ecosystem, allowing the agency to track individuals' movements with minute‑level precision. The practice leverages advertising identifiers (AdIDs) that link devices to real‑time bidding markets, bypassing the...
OCR Director Defends HIPAA Updates: "The Cost of Doing Nothing Is Very High"
OCR director Paula Stannard told HIMSS attendees that the HHS Office for Civil Rights is still reviewing 4,700 public comments on the Biden‑era HIPAA Security Rule proposal, which would impose stricter controls and longer implementation timelines. She warned that the...
Mantra Softech Taps $14M Investment to Accelerate Development
Mantra Softech, an Indian deep‑tech firm, secured $14 million in an initial funding round led by India SME Fund II and Motilal Oswal Principal Investments. The capital will fund AI‑enabled digital identity solutions, next‑generation biometrics, liveness detection, and a Centre of...
HHS Launches New Cyber Assessment Tool to Secure Health Systems
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has added a cybersecurity assessment module to its Risk Identification and Site Criticality (RISC) toolkit, responding to more than 2,200 cyber incidents reported in 2025. The free, online tool guides hospitals, health...
Federal AI Series: Training and the Workforce
Chad Tetreault, Zscaler’s Public Sector CTO for AI Strategy and Governance, outlined how federal agencies can modernize their AI workforce training. He argued that conventional classroom models lag behind AI’s rapid evolution, recommending "prompt‑athons" to democratize skill acquisition. Hands‑on, mission‑driven...
South Dakota Lawmakers Reject Mandatory E-Verify Checks of Worker Citizenship, Immigration Status
South Dakota Senate voted down House Bill 1209, which would have mandated employers with more than 25 staff to verify new hires through the federal E‑Verify system within ten days. The measure, originally passed by the House, faced amendments and...
Bahamas Boosts Efforts to Combat Travel and ID Document Fraud Amid Rising Regional Cases
Bahamas Prime Minister Philip Davis announced new measures to curb travel and identity document fraud after a series of deceptive passport cases. Authorities placed a dedicated officer in passport offices to strengthen application screening and verification. Law‑enforcement agencies are urging...
This Pocket Device Lets Police Identify Drones in Seconds
Zing Drone Solutions unveiled the Z‑SCAN MINI, a handheld Remote ID receiver, at the DroneResponders National Public Safety UAS Conference. The pocket‑sized device scans both Wi‑Fi and Bluetooth Remote ID broadcasts, letting officers instantly identify nearby drones. By revealing compliant...
The AI Shift That Actually Matters: From Efficiency to Impact
Federal AI pilots have moved beyond experimentation, and agencies are now asked to deliver tangible citizen outcomes rather than mere speed gains. The article argues that the most successful programs start with mission problems, not technology, and align data, stakeholders,...
0% False Negative for Dermalog in NIST FRIF Identification Flats Evaluation
Dermalog announced that its fingerprint biometric algorithms achieved a zero false‑negative identification rate (FNIR) in the NIST FRIF Technology Evaluation Class B, while maintaining a false‑positive identification rate (FPIR) of ≤0.001. The company is one of only two participants to reach...
Officials Worry Salt Typhoon Apathy Is Killing Momentum for Tougher Telecom Security Rules
Two years after Chinese‑state linked group Salt Typhoon breached at least ten U.S. telecoms, officials say the public remains largely indifferent. The hack gave attackers access to call‑detail records for millions of Americans, yet most citizens cannot see a direct impact...
FDA to Unify Agency’s ‘Fragmented’ Safety Surveillance System
The FDA launched the Adverse Event Monitoring System (AEMS), a unified dashboard that merges seven previously fragmented safety databases into a single platform. Four databases are already live, with the remaining three slated for integration by May, covering drugs, vaccines,...
FDA to Unify Agency’s ‘Fragmented’ Safety Surveillance System
The FDA has launched the Adverse Event Monitoring System (AEMS), a unified platform that merges seven previously fragmented safety‑surveillance databases. Four of those databases are live today, with the remaining three slated for integration by May 2026. The agency processes...
Campaigners Claim NHS Palantir System Could Be Accessed by Police and Immigration
Campaigners, including Medact and Amnesty International, warn that the NHS's £330 million Palantir Federated Data Platform (FDP) could allow police and immigration officials to access confidential patient records. Palantir denies any legal ability to share data with government departments, stating the...
The Prior Auth Panic: WEDI Survey Reveals Providers Are Stalling as the CMS API Deadline Looms
The CMS Advancing Interoperability and Improving Prior Authorization Final Rule requires all health‑care entities to deploy specific prior‑auth APIs by January 1, 2027. A February 2026 WEDI survey shows payers have largely caught up, with only 10% still idle, down from 43% a...
CISA Issues Emergency Directive Over Exploited Cisco SD-WAN Flaws
The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) issued Emergency Directive 26‑03, warning that attackers are exploiting a critical authentication‑bypass flaw (CVE‑2026‑20127) in Cisco Catalyst SD‑WAN devices used across federal networks. The vulnerability carries a CVSS score of 10, potentially granting...
UK Government to Prioritize Data Center Grid Access, Cut Down on Speculative Applications
The UK government will introduce a new system to prioritize data‑centre connections to the National Grid after a 460% surge in speculative applications created queues with waits of up to 15 years. The scheme will give AI data centres, AI...
South Korea Plans to Use AI for Crypto Tax Enforcement
South Korea’s National Tax Service (NTS) is bidding for an AI‑backed platform to monitor cryptocurrency transactions ahead of a 22 % tax on digital‑asset gains slated for January 2027. The project, valued at roughly 3 billion won ($2 million), will use machine‑learning to flag...
Trinidad and Tobago Introduces Digital Arrival and Departure Cards to Modernise Border Processing
Trinidad and Tobago will launch a digital Arrival/Departure Card platform on 17 March 2026, with a three‑day preview period starting 14 March. The online system replaces paper forms, requiring travelers to upload a passport bio‑data page and receive a QR‑coded receipt for immigration...
‘Major’ SmartCape Upgrades in the Works
Cape Town’s SmartCape programme is set for a major technology refresh, with a R15 million budget earmarked for modernising computer hardware and public Wi‑Fi across the city’s libraries. The upgrades will roll out over the next two financial years, adding token‑less,...
CCS Adds Three More Months to £7.7bn Technology Services 3
The Crown Commercial Service has granted a final three‑month extension to four lots of its Technology Services 3 (TS3) framework, moving the end date to 14 June 2025, and has increased the framework’s estimated value from £4 billion to £6.4 billion (£7.7 billion VAT‑inclusive). TS3,...
Student Loans Company Names Experienced Finance Sector Exec Kath Moore as New Digital Chief
Student Loans Company (SLC) has appointed Kath Moore, a veteran finance‑sector technologist, as its executive director and chief digital and data officer. Moore arrives from Alba, a Scottish SME‑focused start‑up bank, after senior stints at HSBC, Barclays, Prudential and Halifax....
Karnataka Constitutes Committee on Responsible AI to Develop Comprehensive Framework
Karnataka’s government has set up a Responsible AI Committee, chaired by Infosys co‑founder Kris Gopalakrishnan and co‑chaired by Secretary N Manjula, to draft a comprehensive policy framework for ethical AI use in public services. The panel, comprising industry, academic, legal...
Cities Look to Boost Stadium WiFi as Fan Demand Surges
Cities hosting major sporting and entertainment events are under pressure to upgrade stadium Wi‑Fi as fan demand for real‑time sharing surges. Conventional antenna arrays often cause interference and require dozens of units to handle thousands of simultaneous connections. MatSing’s Wi‑Fi 6E...
Amid Crowded Skies, FAA Kills Rule Aimed at Regulating Space Junk
The FAA withdrew a 2023 proposal that would have forced commercial launch providers to remove upper‑stage rocket debris within 25 years, after industry pushback over cost and authority concerns. The rule aimed to curb a growing orbital junk problem that...
North West London and North Central London ICBs Look to Procure £3.8m End-to-End Digital Solution
North West London and North Central London Integrated Care Boards have launched a preliminary market engagement to procure an end‑to‑end digital solution for complex care commissioning, with a budget of up to £3.8 million. The platform will replace outdated systems, improve...
India Introduces Bug Bounty Program to Target Gaps in Aadhaar Ecosystem
India’s Unique Identification Authority (UIDAI) launched a formal bug bounty program to harden the Aadhaar ecosystem. A panel of 20 vetted security researchers will probe the official website, myAadhaar portal, and the Secure QR Code app for vulnerabilities. Rewards are...
‘Invasive’ AI-Led Mass Surveillance in Africa Violating Freedoms, Warn Experts
Experts warn that AI‑powered mass‑surveillance systems, largely supplied by Chinese firms, have cost African governments about $2 billion across 11 countries. Nigeria alone has spent $470 million on 10,000 smart cameras, while Egypt, Algeria and Uganda have each installed thousands of units....
New National Timing Centre to Protect Critical Services
The UK government is allocating £180 million to build a National Timing Centre (NTC) that will safeguard critical services such as mobile networks, banking and emergency response from GNSS disruptions. Led by the National Physical Laboratory, the NTC will employ atomic...
Catalyst Announces Integration with FirstNet Fusion From AT&T
Interoperability provider Catalyst Communications announced that its Catalyst Dispatch platform will be integrated into AT&T’s FirstNet Fusion MCX ecosystem, the next‑generation public‑safety broadband solution. The integration delivers native 3GPP‑compliant dispatch with built‑in LMR interworking, allowing dispatchers to operate across legacy...
Free E-Bike Lock-and-Charge Hubs Roll Out on Hawke’s Bay Trails
Hawke’s Bay Regional Council, alongside Napier and Hastings councils, has launched free Locky Dock lock‑and‑charge stations on key trail locations. Backed by MBIE’s Ministry of Tourism funding and delivered with Big Street Bikers, the hubs let riders secure and charge...
To Make AI Safe, Put Women and Girls at the Heart of the Technology
In February, Hong Kong’s Office of the Privacy Commissioner co‑signed a statement with 60 overseas organisations condemning the surge of deepfake misuse targeting women. The piece notes that 90% of non‑consensual deep‑fake pornography depicts women and that nudification AI apps...
Swarco Announces €24m Contract with Austrian Motorway Operator Asfinag
Swarco secured a €24 million long‑term contract with Austrian motorway operator Asfinag to upgrade the country’s variable message signage. Over the next ten years the company will install and service up to 2,100 LED displays, with the first units rolling out...
Motorola Solutions Connects Vic Search and Rescue Dog Orgs to Radio Network
Motorola Solutions donated APX 8000 portable two‑way radios to Australian Search and Rescue K9 and Search and Rescue Dogs Australia, linking them to Victoria's state radio network. The equipment enables the volunteer dog teams to communicate securely with police, ambulance and fire...
India: Smart Early Warning Systems Strengthen Disaster Preparedness
India is deploying smart district‑level early warning systems for floods and cyclones, delivering four daily, seven‑day forecasts from the India Meteorological Department. The Central Water Commission’s C‑Flood platform now provides two‑day village‑level inundation forecasts, while the Flood Watch India app...
Human Rights, Dignity and Control: Designing AI to the Standard of Regulation
The Australian Tax Office’s second commissioner, Jeremy Hirschhorn, highlighted how AI is being used to flag potential compliance issues in real time, giving taxpayers the chance to self‑audit before a human decision is made. He framed this as a responsible...
Met Office ‘Supercomputing as a Service’ One Year Old
The Met Office marked one year of its Microsoft‑powered "supercomputing as a service" platform, delivering roughly 1.8 million cores and 60 petaflops of compute in Azure. The cloud‑based system achieved 100 % uptime for critical workloads and 99.77 % availability for the supercomputing tier....