The City of Atlanta announced the formation of the Chief Information Officer Advisory Board on April 17. The new board will “work with the City of Atlanta Information Management team to advance the technology strategy of the city,” according to the city.
While every state and local IT leader hopes they never fall victim to a cyberattack, in today’s security landscape an attack seems like an inevitability.
The Center for Long-Term Cybersecurity at the University of California-Berkeley released a report on April 15 discussing the importance of improving cybersecurity awareness in underserved populations, which face “higher-than-average risks of being victims of cyberattacks.”
Florida Institute of Technology’s Office of Research and NASA will host Space Technology Day on the school’s Melbourne, Fla., campus May 23. The event is free and aims to bring students, professors, engineers, business leaders, and technologists together to discuss NASA’s current and future space projects, which include the agency’s plans to explore the moon and Mars. NASA Acting Space Technology Mission Directorate Administrator Jim Reuter and Associate Administrator Steve Jurczyk will give keynotes, and other NASA personnel will give technical presentations. The event will also offer information on NASA research grant programs and small business opportunities.
Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker filed legislation to spend $1.1 billion in state-wide capital projects for IT upgrades on April 11.
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will be facilitating $20.4 billion of investments into high-speed broadband networks across rural America over the next 10 years, FCC Chairman Ajit Pai announced during a briefing with President Trump on April 12.
Help could be on the way for state and local governments grappling with defending against cyber attacks, in the form of bipartisan legislation introduced in the House and Senate that would authorize the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to operate a grant program for states looking to implement better cybersecurity and recovery measures.
Detroit announced it will hire Joshua Edmonds as its first director of digital inclusion to help make computer and internet access more accessible to the city’s citizens.
Broadband access is essential in the 21st Century. To achieve availability across the country, the Federal government must have accurate broadband access data to ensure that funds and resources are being spent to expand coverage to unserved areas. However, accuracy issues with the broadband map have plagued the Federal Communications Commission (FCC)–the Federal entity tasked with compiling the data.
