Sophia Fox-Sowell

1 month ago | statescoop.com | Sophia Fox-Sowell

South Dakota Gov. Larry Rhoden last Thursday named Mark Wixon as the state’s new chief information officer and commissioner of the state’s Bureau of Information Technology. Wixon replaces Madhu Gottumukkala, who left his position this month to become deputy director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. “South Dakota relies on leaders like Mark Wixon to maintain a statewide legacy of strength, safety, and freedom,” Rhoden said in last week’s announcement.

1 month ago | statescoop.com | Sophia Fox-Sowell

The State of Washington and the University of California, Berkeley’s Center for Long-Term Cybersecurity on Wednesday announced a partnership designed to help municipal governments better understand the cybersecurity challenges faced by their nonprofits. Part of UC Berkeley’s Cybersecurity for Cities and Nonprofits, the initiative is funded by a $500,000 grant from the IT services firm Okta.

1 month ago | statescoop.com | Sophia Fox-Sowell

Arizona on Wednesday launched an artificial intelligence steering committee to ensure that state and local agencies are adopting the emerging technology responsibly and ethically. The goal of the 13-person committee — comprised of experts in government, education, law enforcement, academia and the private sector — is to develop a statewide AI policy framework that emphasizes transparency, fairness and accountability, Gov. Katie Hobbs announced.

1 month ago | statescoop.com | Sophia Fox-Sowell

A study published Tuesday by the software firm SAS Institute reveals that government agencies are increasingly vulnerable to fraud, particularly as criminals use advanced technologies like generative artificial intelligence to launch sophisticated schemes. The research, which examined 1,100 government organizations, underscores a significant uptick in fraudulent activities targeting government programs by malicious actors to create convincing fake documents and identities using generative AI.

1 month ago | statescoop.com | Sophia Fox-Sowell

California’s yearslong next-generation 911 rollout has been marked by safety concerns and delays, with some dispatch centers experiencing outages, misrouted calls and busy signals. The California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services has since last November been re-evaluating the project by focusing on improving technology and processes, and is planning to open new contracts by the end of the year.