A discussion with GAO cyber director Jennifer Franks

From the impact of the Crowdstrike outage to IT issues with the Thrift Savings Plan’s modernized benefits and recordkeeping system, Jennifer Franks has her pulse on the federal cybersecurity space and the biggest challenges agencies face. Franks joins the Daily Scoop to discuss her journey to this role, what it’s like to work with federal agencies who may not be excited about her poking holes in their work, the biggest reports she’s issued recently — as well as those that are forthcoming — and much more.

Also: The Department of Housing and Urban Development has funded a project that will use 3D-printing technology to construct an affordable housing unit in Nome, the culmination of a yearslong effort from federal, state and local governments, private industry and academia. The $600,000 HUD project is part of a $1.6 million matching grant program to fund the development and testing of a mobile 3D printer built specifically for use in the unforgiving Alaskan clime.

And, all federal agencies using artificial intelligence for “consequential decisions” should be required to have a civil rights office to prevent things like algorithmic discrimination, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., said Monday in a letter to the White House. In the letter to Office of Management and Budget Director Shalanda Young, the lawmakers noted that President Joe Biden had taken steps when it comes to addressing AI bias — including his Blueprint for an AI Bill of Rights and October 2023 executive order on the technology — but said that more oversight is needed.

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