State Government

The California Department of Justice recently launched a new online portal that gives survivors of sexual assault a way to track the status of the DNA evidence kits associated with their cases.

In a forthcoming project, Secretary of Commerce Elizabeth Tanner hopes a centralized data lake and distributed ledger technology could securely share professional and business identity data across state agencies.  

In an effort to push out car-centered infrastructure, Santa Fe officials are aiming for a more environmentally friendly transportation system with the addition of more bike lanes and expanded bus routes.

A vote tabulation glitch in Arizona’s Maricopa County and an attempted takedown of voter-facing websites in Mississippi prompted a flurry of election misinformation and efforts from officials to set the record straight.

More states consider rallying volunteer cyber teams that can provide services like incident response and vulnerability assessments throughout the state. These models differ from state to state, however.

New data pulled from the Department of General Services’ data dashboard shows that the majority of state agencies are forging ahead with remote work arrangements. Some 90 percent of staff are working remotely in 37 departments.

Falsehoods are likely to proliferate as voters await final results of Tuesday's election, but efforts to communicate heavily about the process — and to explain any Election Day hiccups — can help, experts say.

The $50 million in ARPA funding, which is exclusively for digital equity activities, is meant to help address those issues. The funding has to be fully committed by the end of 2024 and fully spent by the end of 2026.

As officials attempt to assuage fears of election impropriety fueled by mis- and disinformation, the state’s Department of Public Safety is cracking down on phone-based scams to steal voters’ personal data.

Auditors for the Port of South Louisiana say damages from the 2021 cyber attack totaled more than $420,000 in misappropriated funds. Only around $250,000 was recuperated through insurance.

Ralph Johnson returns to the Pacific Northwest after leading information security operations for NantMedia Holdings, which owns The Los Angeles Times and The San Diego Union-Tribune. Johnson also served as CISO for King County, Wash.

In the recently released 2022 Invest in What Works State Standard of Excellence analysis, eight leading states were recognized for their work with data and evidence to guide policymaking decisions.

When state and local government suffers a cyber attack, officials are faced with a dilemma: How much is the public entitled to know? How much can you reveal while keeping systems secure?

North Carolina CIO Jim Weaver and former Washington CISO Vinod Brahmapuram explain obstacles and tips and tricks for states looking to better collaborate with local partners and extend cybersecurity support statewide.

The California Air Resources Board held the first of two hearings on the proposed Advanced Clean Fleets regulation, which lays a road map for transitioning public and private fleets to zero-emission vehicles.

As the state makes a big push to the cloud, CIO Shawnzia Thomas explained how replacing Georgia’s 20-year-old ERP platform with a new, standardized solution will help set the stage for the next generation of state staff.

Ken Boykin, who has worked with the state for the last five years, will become its new chief data officer Oct. 31. He replaces Youri Antonin, who left the position in November 2019.

Patti Chapman, the CIO for Pennsylvania's Integrated Enterprise System, will take over as acting state CIO when John MacMillan departs in November, the state has announced.