Critical Update

NASA futurist Michael LaPointe joins the podcast to talk about what it will take—in technology, time and treasure—to get a human out of our solar system.

The environmental agency collects vast amounts of data each day from its constellation of satellites.

NASA invents a lot of cool and cutting edge technology to make space exploration possible—tech that often ends up pretty close to home as well.

Oak Ridge National Lab's Travis Humble discussed the state of quantum technology development and what it demands for future development. 

Leaders from GSA's 10x program join the podcast to talk about how they're mapping paths through the Valley of Death.

Nextgov looks at the use of cooperative research and development agreements by some major industry players to highlight how the meaning of the phrase, and implementation of its associated authorities, has shifted over the years.

The future of warfare could be determined by the Defense Department's ability—or lack thereof—to quickly adopt emerging technologies.

Agencies will soon be required to ask vendors for a software bill of materials—or SBOM—to help manage vulnerabilities like those found in the Log4J library, but much of its contents could still be open for negotiation.

The newest and next era of supercomputing is on the horizon.

Re-writing the law for agencies to procure more secure cloud services is now mandated by executive order.

Here are the latest developments regarding unidentified aerial phenomena. 

A nascent team is developing platforms that are enabling new discoveries and insight sharing across the federal agency.

Federal Chief Information Officer Clare Martorana joins Critical Update to talk about the technology underpinning the President's Management Agenda, particularly with regard to improving customer experience.

Nextgov digs into the Veterans Affairs Department's strategic efforts to deploy future-facing technologies to modernize the care it provides. Department officials are experimenting with augmented and virtual reality—and also figuring out how tiny devices like sensors could improve the canes used by the visually impaired or help prevent falls in facilities.

Time isn't one of the things agencies facing cyberattacks usually have, but according to federal Chief Information Security Officer Chris DeRusha, that's exactly what they need. To address the new age of cyberattacks, DeRusha previewed changes to cybersecurity reporting practices and his role working with other cyber leaders, agency CISOs and the Federal Acquisition Security Council.

Technology is not good or evil—it all depends on how it is used. The same is true of cryptocurrencies, which are often used to purchase illicit goods and services or for questionable “investment” schemes but can also help vulnerable communities not served by—or taken advantage of by—traditional financial institutions. The latest episode of Critical Update looks at how cryptocurrencies can be used for social good, framed around recent debate in Congress.

Deepfakes have a range of compelling applications in the modern communication and entertainment realms but the techniques underpinning them can also be repurposed for nefarious uses. This form of synthetic media, which often presents people doing and saying things they did not actually do or say, rose in popularity over the last several years, including seemingly real videos of public officials that have gone viral. And they've caught the attention of America's federal and state governments, which are trying to figure out just what to do about these powerful tools for disinformation.

The eventuality of a quantum computer won't mean the end of information security as it's often described. But experts say the threat it poses to encryption and security does demand urgent action from federal agencies, even as they fend off current cyberattacks. This episode dives into what policy efforts from the White House and Congress could push agencies to focus on post-quantum cryptography.

In 2017, the Defense Department started kicking around a disruptive idea: What if the department buys—not builds—an enterprise cloud? The department initiated a multibillion-dollar procurement for the Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure cloud, which hit legal snag after legal snag until DOD cancelled the project in July. Though JEDI was never realized, experts say the contract's true legacy may lie in what it symbolized rather than what it actually produced.

U.S. national laboratories are about to enter the exascale era by turning on supercomputers that can perform a billion billion operations per second. But all hardware needs software, which led the Energy Department to create the Exascale Computing Project—a vast network of some of the nation's top scientists to create programs to simulate wind farms and nuclear stockpiles, perform precision medicine and more.

In the wake of several high-profile cyberattacks, the federal government wants to shore up the security of its software supply chain. A recent executive order aims to raise the standard of software the government buys based on basic cyber hygiene practices, auditing capabilities, and transparency measures, like requiring a software bill of materials. Two experts explain the merits of some approaches and why there’s no silver bullet.

DevSecOps is enabling incredible accomplishments at the Defense Department—like updating code on a U-2 jet during a live flight. With software factories popping up across the department, Nextgov sought out the story of one program in particular to understand how DevSecOps works at DOD. That program is called Platform One, and though it's been around for less than two years, it already supports major programs across the military services and DOD components. 

Too often, talk about modernizing the federal government’s technology turns to innovation groups. But the IT systems delivering services to the American people day-in and day-out are built, maintained and updated by career federal employees. Meet two agency software developers: One at the start of their career and the other nearing the end.

CRISPR is a gene-editing technology that the world is still figuring out. The tool allows a user to reprogram the DNA of cells in plants, animals and humans but with that comes a slew of ethical and legal questions. Scientists are still exploring potential uses—and they aren’t the only ones. Some individuals experiment on themselves. In this episode, a Food and Drug Administration official and a biohacker share their perspectives on what’s happening now and where things could go.

Inside the government, talk of unidentified aerial phenomena, or UFOs isn’t as taboo as it used to be. This episode of Critical Update offers a glimpse into how the government explores the unexplainable—and whether or not humans are alone in the universe.

An electromagnetic pulse, or EMP, capable of knocking out all electronics in its area could come in the wake of an atomic blast or, if TV and movies are to be believed, from a small non-nuclear device. But are EMPs a real threat? Experts join Critical Update to weigh in.

The Defense Department has a well-documented interest in bringing artificial intelligence to fruition so human operators can focus on high-level decisions while the tech takes care of the rest. But there’s a significant hurdle: If people don’t trust AI, the technology won’t be useful. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s Air Combat Evolution program is not only bringing AI to the cockpit, it’s also figuring out how to measure trust so that AI can be tailor-made for pilots to create a symbiotic human-machine team.

Artificial intelligence is already transforming the way government works. But federal agencies face an urgent need to invigorate their workforces with AI-capable talent in order to realize the true promise of this technology, experts say. Dr. José-Marie Griffiths, president of Dakota State University, is a member of the National Security Commission on AI in charge of the workforce line of effort. She also had words of advice for federal workers: read up.

The COVID-19 pandemic moved a lot of federal employees from agency offices to home offices this year, requiring remote, cloud services so they could keep doing their jobs. But the federal cloud journey has been slow and uneven—so, did COVID-19 actually push more cloud adoption across government? The answer is complicated.

America’s space agency is undergoing a drastic digital transformation set to impact its Earth-based day-to-day operations—and next-level moves beyond the home planet. And, one day, there could even be a “data center on the moon,” according to Ron Thompson, the agency’s chief data officer and digital transformation officer. Steering the unfolding modernization, he offers a front-seat view into what’s to come.

For more than a decade, federal agencies have been told to adopt cloud computing for a variety of reasons, including improved security. But in a cloud model, vendors and customers share responsibility for protecting data. Federal officials looking to instill more clarity around the roles of cloud-based providers and their government customers could help chip away at one factor that might be affecting adoption of the technology: security officials’ fear of losing control.

Inside the Fiscal Service Bureau’s Office of Financial Innovation and Transformation, almost two dozen Treasury Department officials explore emerging and evolving technologies that could be scaled across the federal government in the not-so-distant future. Adam Goldberg, the acting assistant commissioner of FIT, shared insights on the agency’s blockchain and artificial intelligence projects, how to get buy-in from colleagues, and why co-creation has become a top priority across the office’s pursuits.

NASA’s iconic Apollo program was about landing humans safely on the moon and returning them back to Earth. The agency’s contemporary missions—like Artemis, which aims to land the first woman and next man on the moon—are focused on one thing: going beyond. The final episode of Nextgov’s Critical Update, Season 6 explores what those forthcoming missions will entail, the evolution of commercial companies’ roles in NASA’s missions, what water ice on the moon could mean for the future of our journeys deeper into the solar system—and more.

Can federal agencies and hackers work together to improve security? Vulnerability disclosure programs—a path for security researchers, a.k.a hackers, to report bugs and issues—are old hat to the tech industry but would be new ground for most of the U.S. federal government. The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency has been working on a directive for such a program, though public comments show an uneasiness from some federal officials. Nextgov spoke to some seasoned vulnerability disclosure coordinators, and Rep. Jim Langevin, D-R.I., to get a deeper understanding of what’s behind the pending policy and give implementers a glimpse of what lies in store.

How does an agency know where to start modernizing its outdated systems? That’s one of the things that the Centers of Excellence program can help agencies figure out. The CoE, which operates out of the General Services Administration and is backed by Jared Kushner and the Office of American Innovation, works with customer agencies on their needs and matches them with vendors. The program started out working with agencies one at a time, but in less than three years, it sped up, staffed up and spread out across government.

The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency’s mission is no small feat: The agency maps and models activity on Earth from the sea to space to support combat missions and disaster response. NGA Director Vice Adm. Robert Sharp discusses the agency’s recently unveiled 2025 priorities, where technology and partnerships fit in, and how the coronavirus helped the agency rethink its operations.

“What do you need help with today?” That’s how the Veterans Affairs Department’s first chatbot starts a conversation with a user. The department launched the bot to help vets navigate health care and benefits during a surge of coronavirus-related inquiries. CTO Charles Worthington and Presidential Innovation Fellow Dr. Kaeli Yuen discuss creating the bot with vet input and under an intense time crunch.

As the coronavirus interrupted the daily lives of millions of Americans and shuttered the offices of most federal agencies, the Veterans Affairs Department relied on technology to help meet the moment. Deputy Chief Veterans Experience Officer Barbara Morton explains how her office is using data, customer experience tools, technology and engagement to help VA—and the veterans the agency services—meet new challenges.

As governments of all sizes respond to the novel coronavirus pandemic, scientists and researchers at U.S. national laboratories are harnessing advanced technologies—and creating new networks of collaboration—in the global fight against COVID-19. In addition to their own work with gene-editing and advanced modeling, the labs are opening up their cutting-edge systems and supercomputers to other scientists through the COVID-19 High Performance Computing Consortium. Nextgov’s Brandi Vincent talks with the Energy Department’s Undersecretary for Science Paul Dabbar, Director of IBM Research Dario Gil, Argonne National Laboratory’s Rick Stevens, and Sandia National Laboratories’ Joe Schoeniger and Oscar Negrete. 

Before the end of the year, the Defense Department intends to finalize a rule change that will require any contractor it engages with to have obtained a certification of its cybersecurity practices from an approved external auditor. The program—known as Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification—looks to eventually cover 300,000 contractors and subcontractors, many of which are anxiously waiting for the costs and details. Nextgov’s Mariam Baksh dives into the issue with DOD’s Katie Arrington, CEO of the Professional Services Council David Berteau, senior vice president of policy for the Information Technology Industry Council Gordon Bitko and principal director of strategic programs at the National Defense Industrial Association Corbin Evans.

Critical Update contributors Heather Kuldell and Brandi Vincent recently appeared on the GovExec Daily podcast and we’re sharing the full episode with you. Listen to hear about how CISA advice to federal employees for safer teleworking, NSA’s input on how to choose a video conferencing platform and other ways tech may smooth the way for workers to return to offices.

One year into managing IT for the entire State Department—his first government job—the agency’s chief information officer, Stuart McGuigan, is starting to see his early initiatives pay off. For example, a shift to the cloud paid off during the current COVID-19 crisis, as his staff and bureaus are well-suited to remote, distributed working. McGuigan shares his plans for the department, as well as which IT and budget management principles from the private sector he’s found still apply in government and the parts of his management style he’s had to adjust.

Federal agencies can’t just connect their systems to the internet; they need to follow a policy called Trusted Internet Connection to ensure a certain level of security. The policy was recently updated and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency was tasked with providing use cases for guidance and a reference architecture explaining key concepts. The draft documents for the latter include a concept called “trust zones,” which caused confusion about whether it was related to a popular cybersecurity concept called “zero trust.” Nextgov Senior Editor Aaron Boyd talks to the people shaping the program—and a critic—to set the record straight.

With the coronavirus pandemic gripping the nation—and the world—federal employees and contractors are dealing with unprecedented times while trying to work from home. To kick off Critical Update Season 5, Nextgov reporters came together for a roundtable discussion of our latest reporting on how the federal IT workforce is dealing with COVID-19 and leading the charge in response to a global crisis. GovExec Senior Correspondent Eric Katz also breaks down how the stimulus bill affects the federal workforce. Sponsored by Booz Allen Hamilton

We rely on a variety of different encryption techniques to keep our digital lives safe as we bank, chat and conduct business online. It takes today’s most powerful computers thousands, if not millions of years to break the strongest codes, but quantum computers threaten to crack through them in a fraction of the time. The National Science Foundation’s Thyaga Nandagopal explains where quantum efforts are now and where they’re going. Sponsored by Raytheon