NASCIO

The National Association of State Chief Information Officers’ annual list aggregates pressing tech and security challenges states face. Input from CIOs and CISOs helps shape its content.

The state CIO, who is also secretary of the North Carolina Department of Information Technology, will retire Dec. 31. State Attorney General Josh Stein, who was elected governor Nov. 5, has reportedly nominated a successor.

Artificial intelligence may have been the topic on many minds this year, but cybersecurity and risk management topped NASCIO’s annual list of the top 10 priorities for state CIOs. AI did, however, rise to second place this year.

The work of state-level CISOs is expanding to help serve the cyber needs of small municipalities and vulnerable groups, a NASCIO report affirms. Whole-of-state cybersecurity and grants are helping drive the endeavor.

Many state governments are implementing AI technologies. A new NASCIO report offers insight into current use cases, the role of state CIOs and recommendations for states exploring generative AI implementation.

States are navigating an ever-growing number of emergencies, including unprecedented weather events, infrastructure failures and cybersecurity incidents. Response plans must stay agile.

CIO Craig Orgeron has a plan to help the state spark more innovation with AI — one that includes a “two-pizza team” and an executive order. He talked at NASCIO about what’s already happened and what he hopes will come with AI.

The territory’s digital ID initiative, IDEAL, lets government agencies do a better job of sharing information they already have on residents, after securing their permission. It’s aimed at simplifying processes and making them quicker.

Puerto Rico faces earthquakes, hurricanes and tsunamis. North Carolina was hard-hit by Hurricane Helene. Through it all, government needs to keep critical digital services running. Here’s how they do it.

Washington, D.C., CTO Stephen Miller describes a large-scale modernization project that aims to reorient government services so residents can quickly get what they need no matter how they got there.

A report from the National Association of State Chief Information Officers and the National Association of State Procurement Officials illustrates how AI can support government procurement. It examines use cases and obstacles, too.

Chief Information Officer Christine Sakuda explains how the COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the need to update older technologies, but the state workforce will also need new skills to support modern services.

Third-party risks are a high concern for a significant portion of CISOs, and recently the CISOs of New Hampshire and Kansas made time to discuss how they're handling related challenges in their states.

Tech leaders from Kansas, Nebraska and New Hampshire recently shared insights into building talent pipelines, bringing on interns and other strategies to maintain robust workforces.

The National Association of State Chief Information Officers has named a new president, vice president and secretary/treasurer for the program year ahead. The organization also welcomed a new director to its Executive Committee.

Chief Information Officer Mark Raymond is on a mission to convince decision-makers that technology doesn’t just cost money — it provides value. “It’s how we improve in government at all.”

CISO John Godfrey sees potential for AI to help cybersecurity teams know when it’s safe to push patches fast. At the same time, he’s keeping an eye on AI-powered threats like deepfakes.

The National Association of State CIOs (NASCIO) held its annual conference in New Orleans, La., this past week. Here are some of the highlights, along with some thoughts about what the future holds for state CIOs.