Critical Update

Technology is not good or evil—it all depends on how it is used. The same is true of cryptocurrencies, which are often used to purchase illicit goods and services or for questionable “investment” schemes but can also help vulnerable communities not served by—or taken advantage of by—traditional financial institutions. The latest episode of Critical Update looks at how cryptocurrencies can be used for social good, framed around recent debate in Congress.

Deepfakes have a range of compelling applications in the modern communication and entertainment realms but the techniques underpinning them can also be repurposed for nefarious uses. This form of synthetic media, which often presents people doing and saying things they did not actually do or say, rose in popularity over the last several years, including seemingly real videos of public officials that have gone viral. And they’ve caught the attention of America’s federal and state governments, which are trying to figure out just what to do about these powerful tools for disinformation.

The eventuality of a quantum computer won’t mean the end of information security as it’s often described. But experts say the threat it poses to encryption and security does demand urgent action from federal agencies, even as they fend off current cyberattacks. This episode dives into what policy efforts from the White House and Congress could push agencies to focus on post-quantum cryptography.

In 2017, the Defense Department started kicking around a disruptive idea: What if the department buys—not builds—an enterprise cloud? The department initiated a multibillion-dollar procurement for the Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure cloud, which hit legal snag after legal snag until DOD cancelled the project in July. Though JEDI was never realized, experts say the contract's true legacy may lie in what it symbolized rather than what it actually produced.

U.S. national laboratories are about to enter the exascale era by turning on supercomputers that can perform a billion billion operations per second. But all hardware needs software, which led the Energy Department to create the Exascale Computing Project—a vast network of some of the nation’s top scientists to create programs to simulate wind farms and nuclear stockpiles, perform precision medicine and more.

In the wake of several high-profile cyberattacks, the federal government wants to shore up the security of its software supply chain. A recent executive order aims to raise the standard of software the government buys based on basic cyber hygiene practices, auditing capabilities, and transparency measures, like requiring a software bill of materials. Two experts explain the merits of some approaches and why there’s no silver bullet.

DevSecOps is enabling incredible accomplishments at the Defense Department—like updating code on a U-2 jet during a live flight. With software factories popping up across the department, Nextgov sought out the story of one program in particular to understand how DevSecOps works at DOD. That program is called Platform One, and though it's been around for less than two years, it already supports major programs across the military services and DOD components. 

Too often, talk about modernizing the federal government’s technology turns to innovation groups. But the IT systems delivering services to the American people day-in and day-out are built, maintained and updated by career federal employees. Meet two agency software developers: One at the start of their career and the other nearing the end.

CRISPR is a gene-editing technology that the world is still figuring out. The tool allows a user to reprogram the DNA of cells in plants, animals and humans but with that comes a slew of ethical and legal questions. Scientists are still exploring potential uses—and they aren’t the only ones. Some individuals experiment on themselves. In this episode, a Food and Drug Administration official and a biohacker share their perspectives on what’s happening now and where things could go.

Inside the government, talk of unidentified aerial phenomena, or UFOs isn’t as taboo as it used to be. This episode of Critical Update offers a glimpse into how the government explores the unexplainable—and whether or not humans are alone in the universe.