White House Announces Plans to Revamp Data Routing Security by Year-End

by  David DiMolfetta

Border Gateway Protocol hijacking attacks are becoming more sophisticated, according to National Cyber Director Harry Coker.

Over 50% of IP addresses owned and used by federal agencies will have enhanced data routing security measures in place by the end of the year to help prevent hackers from hijacking digital pathways into government networks, a White House cyber official said Thursday.

The augmentations concern the Border Gateway Protocol, a backbone data transmission algorithm that determines the optimal path for data packets to move across networks, said National Cyber Director Harry Coker during a National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee meeting.

 Read full story at NextGov/FCW…

Report Card: How Satisfied Are People With State Services?

by  News Staff

A survey of more than 14,000 people who have used state government services recently reveals where state governments excel in customer service and where they fall short. Overall, websites scored higher than mobile applications in terms of user satisfaction.

How happy are people with their state government services? It depends on where they live, according to new survey data from Qualtrics, an experience management platform.

The company worked with Code for America to survey more than 14,000 people from every state in the country about their experiences interacting with their state governments from December 2023 through January 2024. The types of government services people were questioned about included departments of motor vehicles and those that handled state taxes, Medicaid and SNAP benefits.

People in the Western and Southern regions of the U.S. generally reported higher satisfaction levels than the Midwest and Northeast.

 Read full story at GovTech…

State and Local Governments Make Progress Against Ransomware

by  Trey Barrineau

A new Sophos report reveals fewer attacks, but governments shouldn't take it easy

State and local governments are highlighted in a new report that provides a mixed assessment of the effects of ransomware attacks on global organizations. But despite some positive news, the report also illustrates why it's vitally important for state and local governments to have strong cyber recovery strategies in place to reduce downtime and restore essential functions quickly and efficiently.

Sophos's The State of Ransomware 2024 report, released April 30, found that just 34 percent of state and local governments reported a ransomware attack the previous year.

 Read full story at StateTech…

Judge Hints at Plans to Rein In Google's Illegal Play Store Monopoly

by  Paresh Dave

“Google as an illegal monopolist will have to pay some penalties,” US federal judge James Donato said Thursday, in a hearing discussing next steps after a jury found the company breached antitrust laws

A jury in December found that Google broke US antitrust laws through deals and billing rules that gave an unfair boost to its Google Play app store. On Thursday, a judge began laying out how Google could be forced to change its business as a penalty. The remedies under consideration could drive the most consequential shakeup ever to Google' dominance over the Android universe.

Fortnite video game developer Epic Games, which beat Google in the trial that saw a jury declare the Play store an illegal monopoly, is demanding that federal judge James Donato ban Google from contracts that deter competition.

 Read full story at Wired…

Privacy Experts Sound the Alarm Over Microsoft's Latest AI Tool

by  Samantha Kelly

Microsoft' buzziest new AI feature is raising concerns that it could potentially be misused in the wrong hands.

This week, the company showed off a new tool called Recall for Windows computers that acts as a personal “time machine,” allowing users to quickly pull up anything that's ever been on screen, such as documents, images and websites. It's different from a keyword search; the tool regularly saves screenshots of the user's screen and stores them directly on the device. It then uses AI to process the data and make it searchable.

For example, if someone previously searched for a green dress or the name of a local ice cream shop, they can ask the feature to “recall” anything in their history that was shown on screen.

 Read full story at CNN…

What's in Antivirus Software? All the Pieces You May Need (Or Not)

by  Alaina Yee

We break down what features you might encounter — so you can decide if they're right for you

But as protecting your PC became more complicated, vendors slowly morphed their offerings into full suites. Nowadays, a firewall and other safeguards like a browser extension, password manager, and VPN get dropped onto your system. You might even get a handful of utilities focused on optimizing your computer, rather than defending it.

To help you figure out what components are most important — as well as necessary for your situation — we've broken down the most common elements of today's antivirus software.

 Read full story at PCWorld…

DOE Awards $7.4 Million to Advance Nuclear Education

by  Xendee

Reducing Costs and Uncertainty in Microgrid Deployment By Employing An Integrated Solution

The global microgrid market is growing, with an expected $245.5 billion valuation by 2032. Standardization is suggested to save time and money in the implementation process. This article emphasizes the importance of sophistication in the feasibility and design analysis stage for microgrid deployment. It discusses the complexity of microgrid projects, highlighting the need to consider various factors from site selection to detailed analysis for successful microgrid implementation.

 Download now to learn more at Microgrid Knowledge…

Evergy Files Resource Plan for New Gas and Solar Generation

by  Sean Wolfe

Power plant regulations that were announced by the Environmental Protection Agency in April are not accounted for in the 2024 plan.

Evergy filed its triennial Integrated Resource Plan with the Kansas Corporation Commission, and economic growth helped drive the addition of 1900 MW in the companywide resource plan compared to 2023.

“In Kansas and Missouri, economic development was the biggest driver of change to our short- and long-term generation plans. We will grow our diverse energy portfolio by adding renewable and dispatchable resources to meet customers' needs,” David Campbell, Evergy chairman, president and chief executive officer, said. The plan maps out the approach to meeting customer electricity needs over the next 20 years.

 Read full story at Power Engineering…

Streamlining Microgrid Deployment for Cost-Efficiency

by  Xendee

Reducing Costs and Uncertainty in Microgrid Deployment By Employing An Integrated Solution

The global microgrid market is growing, with an expected $245.5 billion valuation by 2032. Standardization is suggested to save time and money in the implementation process. This article emphasizes the importance of sophistication in the feasibility and design analysis stage for microgrid deployment. It discusses the complexity of microgrid projects, highlighting the need to consider various factors from site selection to detailed analysis for successful microgrid implementation.

 Download now to learn more at Microgrid Knowledge…