Federal cybersecurity leaders say they’re looking to artificial intelligence to help thwart cyber adversaries who are increasingly using AI themselves. Gharun Lacy is the deputy assistant secretary of state for cyber and technology within the State Department’s Bureau of Diplomatic Security. And Joseph Aguayo is the deputy chief information security officer at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. They talked with Federal News Network’s Justin Doubleday. Lacy speaks first.

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The Army is overhauling its direct commissioning program as it tries to bring more civilian tech experts into uniform. Service officials say the program will “completely upskill” Army organizations over time. Federal News Network’s Anastasia Obis is here with an update. 

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Leadership changes sparked by DHS Secretary Noem’s departure and Oklahoma Senator Mullin’s potential role have stirred new political drama but provided no path forward on the Department of Homeland Security’s funding freeze. Add to that a Congress increasingly split over war‑powers resolutions and the path to any Middle East supplemental, and the next few months look anything but predictable. We connect the political and procedural dots with Mitchell Miller of WTOP.

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Three years after a freight train carrying hazardous chemicals derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, residents are still worried about the health risks from the controlled burns that sent toxins into the air. Now, the National Institutes of Health has set up a new research office on the ground to monitor those impacts. Federal News Network’s Eric White spoke with the person running that effort, Dr. Ashlinn Quinn, to find out how it's going.

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Experts say the next month could bring disruptive cyber activity from Iran and its aligned groups, and they’re urging organizations to shore up defenses now. The concerns center on the likelihood of targeted operations against the sectors with the highest visibility and the weakest points of entry. We'll examine what the threat picture looks like—and how leaders can harden their operations quickly—with James Turgal, VP of global cyber risk at Optiv.

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Today on the Federal Drive with Terry Gerton

• U.S. organizations should prepare for potential retaliation in the cyber domain as tensions with Iran escalate
• NIH sets up camp near one of the worst environmental disasters ever
• A stalled DHS funding fight at home and rising tensions abroad are pushing Congress into another week of high‑stakes maneuvering

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The last 12 months have been tough for small business government contractors, to say the least.There is increased scrutiny on not just the 8(a) program, but on all small business set-aside contracts. The Small Business Innovation Research Program has been on pause since October. And then there was the longest-ever government shutdown that delayed work and contract awards. But it’s all not bad news as there is now some light at the end of the SBIR tunnel. For more on how small businesses can navigate this tough time, Federal News Network executive editor Jason Miller caught up with Kim Reidy, the director of the Office of Small Business Programs for the Naval Information Warfare Systems Command and Shadi Azoum. the program manager of the Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer programs also at NAVWAR, at the West conference in San Diego.

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Agencies may soon make their layoff decisions based on performance, rather than tenure. A new proposal from the Trump administration seeks to reverse agencies’ current order of operations when deciding who to remove, or retain, in a reduction-in-force. Here with the latest, Federal News Network’s Drew Friedman.

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Today on the Federal Drive with Terry Gerton

• The Schedule Policy/Career rule raises alarms about the independence of federal science
• New rules implementing the Administrative False Claims Act could expand how federal agencies pursue smaller fraud cases
• This year’s tax rules introduce new benefits and new confusion for federal workers and the military

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Federal workers and military families are navigating one of the most complex tax seasons in recent memory. New rules on overtime, car‑loan interest, and Social Security are changing how many households will file. Here to break down the changes and what they mean in practice is Mike Meese, president of Armed Forces Mutual.

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