The COVID-19 pandemic and the sudden need for digital service delivery exposed gaps in the technology capabilities of state and local governments, which struggled to meet constituents’ needs during a time of crisis. In the wake of the pandemic, citizens continue to demand a more customer friendly experience when accessing critical government services. To keep pace, state and local governments are accelerating modernization efforts and looking to emerging technologies to build a digital government, where processes and services are fully connected and automated to deliver timely, responsive citizen services.

Governments are dealing with a big spike in cybercrime, and as international ransomware attacks escalate, state and local governments are being increasingly targeted. Texas is not immune to the trend, and state Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) Nancy Rainosek provides a unique look at how the Lone Star State is reacting to the crime wave with a blow-by-blow description of a serious ransomware attack.

The state of Alabama is rolling out a new modernized driver license system, replacing a decades-old system.

This month marks the launch of a new fellowship intended to bring more Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) into the ranks of senior leadership within higher education information technology.

Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte launched CareInMontana.com, a new website intended to recruit qualified healthcare providers to move to Montana.

Utah’s courts will rely on an algorithm to implement the state’s Clean Slate Law, which automatically expunges old and minor criminal records of individuals who have remained crime free for a set period of time.

The National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC) has released a new mobile app – dubbed aCTknowledge – that shares unclassified counterterrorism reports, analysis, training resources, and alerts.

The state of Washington’s Department of Labor (DoL) confirmed that it detected “suspicious activity” during the week of Jan. 24 indicating a cyberattack targeting the state’s professional and occupational license data.

Discovery Education, an ed-tech company, has launched a new iPad app intended to put augmented reality (AR) technology at the fingertips of learners and educators.

Officials with the National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO) and CompTIA Public Technology Institute hosted their 11th annual State and Local 2022 Tech Forecast on Jan. 27 with a focus on hot-button digital government service issues including user centric design, improved customer experience, security, automation, and citizen identity management.