Connecticut

The state legislature’s judiciary committee has approved legislation aimed at discouraging and potentially punishing deceptive election campaign tactics, specifically AI-generated deepfakes.

A major insurer is partnering with the University of Connecticut for a range of projects, from energy-tech research to the use of artificial intelligence and smart-city tech to improve workplace safety.

Central Connecticut State University's planned conversion into an R2 polytechnic university, emphasizing AI, cybersecurity and Industry 4.0, would trade its current values for a focus on market alignment with Big Tech.

SCSU's expanded program on AI in manufacturing aims to prepare current and future manufacturing professionals to understand, evaluate and apply AI-enabled tools in production environments.

Under proposed legislation, rather than having to transition to all zero-emission school buses by Jan. 1, 2040, Connecticut school districts will have until July 1, 2040 to transition 90 percent of their buses.

The state Department of Motor Vehicles is cautioning drivers to watch for text messages claiming people have unpaid traffic citations. They are fraudulent, the DMV said; it does not notify by text.

City 911 center staff temporarily moved Feb. 17 to a statewide emergency communications center. Several city departments remain without Internet after the attempted “interruption” Feb. 13.

Windsor, Conn., is turning off cameras that take photos of license plates, citing a list of concerns that includes federal agencies previously accessing the data in an effort to enforce immigration laws.

Consumer protection and child safety will likely be the focus of legislation on AI during the state’s General Assembly session that ends in early May, according to state officials.

Connecticut legislators expect to debate a couple technology-related education issues this year, including whether to pass a statewide policies to restrict access to cellphones and social media for K-12 students.

Connecticut could see legislation proposed and passed this year that would limit law enforcement's use of cameras that can automatically log and track license plates of passing cars.

City officials are trying to determine the full extent of systems impacted by a ransomware attack, which paralyzed phone and computer systems in multiple departments beginning early Wednesday.

An ambulance billing company has agreed to pay Connecticut and Massachusetts $515,000 for a 2022 data breach that exposed private information of nearly 350,000 residents, officials said.

In the wake of a scam last year, the state agency has refocused on data encryption and security, and will do monthly cyber training and awareness. It has recovered nearly all of the stolen funds.

Developing policies to establish phone-free schools and a playbook for artificial intelligence, including curriculum, rules and professional learning, are among Connecticut's legislative priorities for 2026.

In the two years since the state released guidance for localities interested in speed or red-light cameras, fewer than 10 percent of its municipalities have submitted and won approval of plans.

Connecticut state lawmakers are moving to ban facial recognition technology in retail stores throughout the state, citing a CT Insider report on the practice.

After transitioning from Fairfield University’s leader of enterprise systems to director of IT strategy and enterprise architecture for the state of Connecticut, Armstrong will return to higher-ed leadership in January.