Government

Clients of SolarWinds, which experienced a high-profile data breach last year, are being targeted in a probe by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, according to a Reuters report. "The impact of these large-scale breaches clearly has the potential to destabilize stock prices and the broader ...

The U.S. government is moving at a brisk pace to launch information technology projects authorized by the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan. Federal information technology providers are looking for the chance to participate in contracts flowing from the $1 billion allocated by the plan to the gover...

As the value of cryptocurrencies continue to soar, new investors are eager to get in on the action, and scammers are more than willing to accommodate them. According to the Federal Trade Commission, claims of losses from cryptocurrency fraud skyrocketed from October 2020 to March 2021. The median lo...

A recent study by Kaspersky revealed that nearly one quarter of PCs still run Microsoft Windows 7, which stopped receiving mainstream support in January 2020. Using an end-of-life operating system that no longer receives security updates is akin to driving a car with a brake light on, suggested Oli...

This year's revised federal tax code plus new Covid-19 initiatives provide additional incentives for startup companies, as well as small and medium-sized businesses. If you received a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan, you may qualify to have that indebtedness forgiven; and other tax incentives...

Major information technology providers opposed to the broadening of class action litigation related to consumer protections have taken their case to the U.S. Supreme Court. The companies are hoping the court will strike down a lower court ruling which makes it easier for consumers to file class acti...

GOVERNMENT IT REPORT

AI Contract Spending Set to Grow in Federal Market

The United States government is trying to get smarter about getting smart. Throughout the federal government, and especially in defense and national security, artificial intelligence is getting an increased amount of attention, including the adoption of hefty AI budgets. That should lead to increasi...

Cyberattacks are increasing in frequency, ramping up the data privacy threats they pose to government agencies and businesses alike. Governments both domestic and foreign need to step up efforts to pass legislation that bolsters technological defenses this year, warn privacy groups. Stiffer privacy ...

GOVERNMENT IT REPORT

New Administration Seeks $10B Boost for Federal IT Programs

The incoming presidential administration has proposed an extraordinary increase in support of federal investments in high technology. As part of the administration's plan to deal with the economic impact of COVID-19, the proposal includes $10 billion for various federal information technology progra...

GOVERNMENT IT REPORT

FTC’s Zoom Deal Signals Commitment to Security Enforcement

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission is making good on a resolution to strengthen its enforcement of security deficiencies occurring in e-commerce transactions. The agency's recent action involving allegations of improper activities by teleconferencing provider Zoom Video Communications is a notable ex...

The Federal Trade Commission seeks to obtain information on how many users certain social media companies have, how active the users are, what the companies know about them, how they got that information, and what steps the companies take to continue to engage users. The FTC also is gathering inform...

Americans seem to have little interest in using contact-tracing applications used to identify people who have come into contact with a person infected with COVID-19. Adoption rates in areas using an app based on technology introduced by Google and Apple six months ago are higher, but even in the mos...

Libra, the digital currency announced by Facebook last year, is getting a new name. Libra will now be Diem. The new name will reenforce the currency project's independence, according to a statement released by the Libra Association, which is also changing its name. From now on it will be the Diem As...

The rapid expansion in the use of cloud technologies to support remote working during the COVID-19 pandemic has underscored that the U.S. government's increasingly high rate of cloud adoption will likely be sustained for the next several years. In fact, 2020 was a "historic year" for federal cloud ...

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