It may seem ironic, but government agencies at all levels wrestle with the difficulty of compliance with regulatory requirements even as they issue regulations for others (sometimes including themselves) to meet. For example, just as the healthcare industry follows HIPAA, so too do Veterans Administration hospitals – along with all federal, state, local, tribal and territorial health organizations. Then there are government-only policies...

The state of New York is emphasizing improving its IT resilience. The state’s 2022-23 strategic plan focuses on moving off legacy systems, implementing an enterprise architecture, and improving service delivery to its residents, to name a few. In addition, the state has its first cybersecurity strategy, and created a Joint Security Operations Center. As the largest city in the United States, New York City has its own technology roadmap,...

Administering elections falls on the shoulders of state and territorial governments. It is not surprising, then, that there are so many different approaches, technologies, and processes in place to handle election infrastructure. The problems that befall election infrastructure are many, varied, and often well publicized. In Maricopa County, Ariz., ballots were too lightly printed to be read by scanners during the 2022 midterms. Multnomah Coun...

No matter how quickly technology has changed over the past few decades, nothing matches the speed with which AI has begun to transform how agencies operate. In response to the changing landscape, in October 2023, the Biden administration released two frameworks, the Executive Order on the Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Development and Use of Artificial Intelligence and the Office of Science and Technology Policy’s Blueprint for an AI Bill...

Successful federal modernization requires an artful blend of people, process, and technology—with a relentless focus on enabling business transformation. A “digital playbook” can provide a comprehensive guide to the process, describing both overarching strategy and tactical approaches. Using a templatized technology strategy can boost mission outcomes while humanizing data-driven modernization and leveraging artificial intell...

Critical infrastructure services in North America face accelerating threats from both nation-states and other sophisticated threat actors. Governments globally are grappling with how to best balance incentives, support, and direct oversight. Meanwhile, critical infrastructure owners and operators face significant challenges with technology, staff resources, and expertise to better manage cyber resilience. For instance, the healthcare industry...

When Executive Order 14028, “Improving the Nation’s Cybersecurity,” was issued in May 2021, it included directives for agencies to establish several incident response and logging procedures, including sharing information on incident detection and response, by August 2023. In August of that year, the Office of Management and Budget issued Memorandum 21-31 setting specific requirements for agencies to meet, for which the Cybers...

Florida is the third-largest state in the U.S. by population, and it continues to grow rapidly – from 2010 to 2020, its population grew by 14.5%. That kind of growth rate might be the envy of other states, but it also means increased pressure on the state government to deliver internet-based, user-friendly services for everything from child support services to renewing business licenses. Bringing digital transformation to the Sunshine St...

It has become clear over the past several years that maintaining U.S. election integrity is not just a single agency’s responsibility. Conducting fair and accurate elections is the responsibility of each state and territory. Meanwhile, nation-states, partisans, and scammers can interfere with voter information, try to cast doubt on election outcomes, and spread disinformation across social media, to name just a few. The Office of the Dir...

With a growing number of dams approaching their design service life, dam safety engineers are looking for ways to mitigate the risks related to public safety, aging infrastructure and rising maintenance costs. Modernizing dam monitoring and maintenance practices with digital advancements, including the latest automated condition monitoring solutions, drone-captured reality modeling and digital twins, are giving public sector dam operators tool...