When a disaster strikes, the infrastructure needed to support recovery usually is hit hard, as well. Tornados take down cell towers, buildings, tear up roads; floods damage water treatment plants, homes, bridges; wildfires destroy everything in their path. First responders – the people going into harm’s way to save people and property – need as much information as possible about the conditions they will face. The U.S. Fire Ad...

Drones and robots can extend the capabilities of first responders. In December 2024, a search and rescue team in Colorado used drones to find a 10-year-old boy who was lost in the mountains south of Denver. The team also used a drone to deliver a plastic bag with protein bars, gel packs, water, a winter hat and a thermal blanket for him until authorities arrived at the site. In Alaska, firefighters used a robot to drop needed supplies to crews...

There have been several cyber attacks recently that were launched through users’ mobile devices, often targeting high-profile government officials. For instance, the FBI and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) released a joint statement in November 2024 that their ongoing investigation into the People’s Republic of China (PRC) targeting of commercial telecommunications infrastructure revealed a broad and sig...

The federal government has been on a journey to modernize its IT infrastructure in support of the mission and the strategic initiatives that each executive department has identified. This commitment to modernization is driving the federal government to explore new technologies that can enhance its operational capabilities and infrastructure. The implementation of 5G promises to provide faster network speeds, ultra-low latency connectivity, and...

Federal agencies are at a crossroads in their early-talent acquisition efforts. Approximately 30% of employees are over 55, another third is eligible for retirement in less than two years, and less than 8% are under 30. Our government faces the threat of a massive knowledge drain and loss of institutional knowledge if more members of Generation Z (Gen Z) aren’t attracted to public service positions now. This challenge is only more urgent...

When the Navy CIO released the Service’s Information Superiority Vision 2.0 last year, its focus was on facilitating the secure movement of information to support warfighters, by emphasizing three pillars – optimize, secure, and decide. For Navy IT users, “optimize” means utilizing modern software and services such as cloud adoption; “secure” refers to implementing zero trust and increasing focus on cybersec...

5G networks first made their appearance in 2019, when major telecommunications carriers started rolling them out. Today, more than half the U.S. has 5G coverage, mostly in more densely populated areas. By 2030 it is estimated that more than 90% of mobile data coverage will be 5G. And it has been as significant a change as promised, with download speeds up to 20 Gbps, resulting in very low latency (signal delay) – one reason that streamin...

“You won’t find it difficult to prove that battles, campaigns, and even wars have been won or lost primarily because of logistics,” Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower once said. Agencies in the national security and public safety sectors, such as the Department of Defense and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, understand the critical importance of logistics in ensuring that the right personnel and right materials are available t...

There is a critical conversation to be held on safeguarding U.S. critical infrastructure against persistent and evolving cyber threats. With global adversaries increasingly targeting power grids, communications networks, water systems, and other essential services, the urgency to fortify national cybersecurity has never been greater. Meanwhile, artificial intelligence, machine learning, and automation continue to evolve. Organizations must ret...

There is a critical conversation to be held on safeguarding U.S. critical infrastructure against persistent and evolving cyber threats. With global adversaries increasingly targeting power grids, communications networks, water systems, and other essential services, the urgency to fortify national cybersecurity has never been greater. Meanwhile, artificial intelligence, machine learning, and automation continue to evolve. Organizations must ret...