The overwhelming majority of parents and educators believe it is necessary to have online educational technology in place to prevent students from accessing harmful or explicit content. New polling from Morning Consult found that parents and educators alike have significant concerns for student mental health and a high level of support for schools using online technologies to help keep kids safe.

At its fall conference in Louisville, Ky., this week, the National Association of State CIOs (NASCIO), with the support of Grant Thornton, published its 2022 annual state CIO survey – entitled The People Imperative – with workforce challenges emerging as a pervasive theme in both the report and at the conference.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) released the tentative agenda for its October Open Commission Meeting scheduled for Oct. 27, at which the agency plans to consider a notice of proposed rulemaking to strengthen the operational readiness of the Emergency Alert System (EAS) and Wireless Emergency Alerts, including by reducing the vulnerability of these systems to cyberattacks.

The White House’s Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) issued a new blueprint for an “AI Bill of Rights” to help guide organizations on the development and deployment of artificial intelligence, in an effort to help protect the rights of Americans in the age of AI.

In a public service announcement (PSA) issued Oct. 4., the FBI and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) said they believe that “any attempts by cyber actors to compromise election infrastructure are unlikely to result in largescale disruptions or prevent voting.”

Amid a tumultuous threat landscape, state and local government (SLG) IT leaders are warning that their organizations’ cybersecurity preparedness is putting citizen data at risk, according to new research from MeriTalk, underwritten by Invicti, Keeper, Recorded Future and ServiceNow.

Tracy Barnes, chief information officer (CIO) for the state of Indiana, said the use of artificial  intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) technologies are a crucial component of the state’s automation strategy. Employing the latest automation tech, he said, helps the state punch above its weight in the continuing battle to protect networks and data against cyberattacks.

Automation tools are helping state chief information officers (CIOs) drive more efficiency in government operations and advance citizen service delivery, according to state and local government experts.

The legislative push to develop digital identity systems took another step forward today when the  Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee voted today to advance the Improving Digital Identity Act.

New York City launched a new digital equity program, called “Big Apple Connect,” on Sept. 19 that will provide free high-speed internet and basic cable TV to about 300,000 New Yorkers living in more than 200 New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) developments by the end of 2023.