Pennsylvania

Andy Ritter took the reins as Pennsylvania’s new CISO earlier this year after nearly a decade supporting cybersecurity and risk management. As CISO, he is focused on constituent outcomes.

Cumberland County, Pa., will receive about $107,000 in state government funding in order to purchase body camera equipment for the staff at the prison and at the sheriff’s office.

Pennsylvania educators and researchers testified Tuesday at a state House Education Committee hearing on AI in K-12, recommending that the state be proactive in issuing guidance to local school districts.

Seven Pennsylvania universities, the state government and the Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center are coordinating shared AI and quantum computing infrastructure to boost research and industry collaboration.

Following a one-year pilot project to explore the use of ChatGPT, Pennsylvania is ready to deploy AI tools to thousands of workers across dozens of agencies. The move is part of a greater shift to embed AI statewide.

At one of several recent roundtables about the role of AI in schools, parents asked for better training for students and faculty, more accountability for deepfakes, and better resources for parents of victims.

The grant, which totals $250,000, will specifically fund a cyber risk assessment in Lehigh and Northampton counties, with a goal of both identifying vulnerabilities and suggesting solutions.

The state has put out a new call for applicants to help state agencies with AI, data analytics, emergency technologies and other areas. The push reflects similar programs from other governments.

Amid a wave of IT leadership promotions, the state lifted the acting tag from four total positions, the others being executive deputy CIO, chief of staff to the CIO and executive director of CODE PA.

In his 2026-2027 budget address, delivered to the General Assembly on Tuesday, Gov. Josh Shapiro announced new infrastructure standards intended to guide responsible data center development.

The federal government’s now-defunct United States Digital Service has served as an inspiration for states that are increasingly putting human experience at the center of their tech projects.

The millions in cost savings resulted from modernization of legacy technologies and smart financial management, state officials said. New funding in the 2025-2026 budget will strengthen IT and cybersecurity.

Heidi Norman, who has served as permanent CIO of Pittsburgh since 2022, and in other roles with the city since 2017, has departed at the request of the city’s incoming mayoral administration.

Middlesex Township Planning Commission members voted to recommend the approval of plans creating internal lot lines for the project, now known as Pennsylvania Digital 1.

State CIO Bryanna Pardoe was previously the inaugural director of the state’s digital experience office. That work is shaping her approach to leading state IT and driving human-centered design.

The $11.5 million allotment for the Commonwealth Office of Digital Experience is intended to support single sign-on access, website upgrades and broader modernization across agencies.

The average data center requires a power supply of 100 megawatts, an Akron-based company told Pennsylvania utility regulators, and that’s more than four times the energy load of the University of Pittsburgh.

The state’s acting CIO Bryanna Pardoe helmed its digital experience office until October. She has since been selected to lead technology efforts and serve as deputy secretary for information technology.