State Government

The number of cyber attacks on schools has been ramping up, with schools facing off against ransomware, DDoS attacks and other threats. Luckily, a number of resources can help them bolster their defenses.

The U.S. Department of Commerce is giving the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands $17.3 million in federal funds to expand high-speed Internet access in underserved native Hawaiian communities.

As current Chief Technology Officer Duane Schell approaches his last day in office at the end of this month, the state announced that Craig Felchle has taken over the role in a permanent capacity.

The Texas Department of Criminal Justice has rolled out more than 62,000 tablets across 66 prison facilities to allow inmates to connect with loved ones. The devices will also give inmates access to educational resources.

The state's e-titling and vehicle registration program is expected to go live during the first quarter of 2023, providing residents with access to DMV services through an online portal or smartphone.

More wind and solar power is coming online all the time. But yearslong permitting processes across multiple agencies, community opposition, and high costs mean it can take a decade to build the infrastructure needed to move it.

The Golden State plans to invest more than $5.5 billion in state funding toward electric vehicle charging infrastructure and incentive programs. This is in addition to some $384 million in federal funding.

On the heels of a week-long civil trial surrounding the data collection practices of the Maine State Police, officials will seek an outside review into whether its intelligence unit is violating federal privacy laws.

The Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation is receiving $72 million toward upgrading its unemployment insurance system. The project is expected to take four years to fully implement.

Gov. Charlie Baker has created the Cyber Incident Response Team in a Dec. 14 executive order. The group will be comprised of members from state government public safety and cybersecurity organizations.

Neil Cooke, who has served as interim chief data officer since the departure of Ed Kelly in September, has been selected to fill the position on a permanent basis. He brings more than two decades of IT experience to the role.

After serving the commonwealth in various capacities for decades, Massachusetts CIO Curtis Wood has announced his forthcoming departure from his role as a new governor is set to take the reins.

Rep. Jared Patterson has introduced legislation aimed at keeping everyone under the age of 18 off of social media platforms like TikTok, Twitter and Facebook. The bill is the state's latest attempt to reduce the power tech companies wield.

The international ransomware group LockBit claims to have stolen 76 gigabytes of data from the California Department of Finance. The data is said to include confidential and financial documents, and other sensitive information.

A survey by the National Association of State Chief Information Officers has identified the top priorities for state technology leaders for the coming year — and cybersecurity remains at the top of the list.

The state has received a downpayment of $6.6 million from the federal government to expand broadband services and skills training for the increasingly digital workforce, the governor announced Thursday.

State courts’ IT choices can raise or lower barriers to accessing the justice and impacts whether the public sees it as fairly distributed. Experts discussed what the path to a more equitable process looks like during a recent conference.

The Michigan-based company, whose founders also include former state CIO David Behen, launched in July and offers a FICO-like cyber score. The funding comes as governments get more aggressive about digital defenses.