Santa Cruz County, Calif., has launched the new MySCCounty+ app, which provides residents a digital platform to purchase and store digital permits, as well as access other county services.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced a new initiative intended to strengthen and formalize the cooperation between the FCC and participating state attorneys general (AGs) on privacy, data protection, and cybersecurity enforcement matters.

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) – along with the National Security Agency (NSA), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the Israel National Cyber Directorate (INCD) – have released a new cybersecurity advisorywarning of continued Iranian-backed cybersecurity attacks aimed towards American and Israeli water and wastewater systems (WWS).

Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech) announced that Sharon Pitt will join university leadership as the school’s new vice president for information technology and chief information officer, effective Feb. 1, 2024.

The state of Rhode Island is rolling out new initiatives to address chronic absenteeism in its school systems, including putting place new partnerships, incentives, and enhanced data tools.

To help school districts combat the growing wave of cyber attacks targeting the education sector, the Iowa Department of Management Division of Information Technology (DOM-DoIT) is offering next- generation endpoint detection and response software to the Iowa school districts for up to 16 months at no cost to the schools.

Though State of Washington CIO Bill Kehoe doesn’t lament his lack of operational responsibilities in that position, that makes his collaboration strategy all the more impressive.

Recognizing the struggles college students can face when trying to afford non-tuition costs like food, child care, and housing, the New Jersey Office of the Secretary of Higher Education (OSHE) has launched a free online navigation tool that will connect college students with a wide spectrum of basic needs resources.

To help ensure the safety of government officials and employees, Michigan will deploy proactive AI gun detection technology at the state capitol building in Lansing. According to ZeroEyes, the creators of the AI gun detection video analytics platform, Michigan is the first state in the nation to deploy the technology at its capitol.

State and local governments are working through digital modernization roadmaps and turning to technology to improve the user experience. But with IT team resource constraints, budget issues, and ever-changing technology, working through modernization roadmaps while keeping the business of government running smoothly can be a challenge.