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cybersecurity FCC Sees Massive Demand for School Cyber Pilot Funding
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) said it has received 2,734 applications from schools, libraries, and consortia of schools and libraries to participate in the agency’s Schools and Libraries Cybersecurity Pilot Program.
Recent News
  1. How Fortinet Platforms and AI help State and Local Governments Ward off Cyber Threats
    State and local governments – facing technology skills gaps and difficulties hiring and retaining talent – can be especially vulnerable to cyber threats. Increasingly complex network infrastructures add new cybersecurity challenges. In a recent interview with MeriTalk, Mike Lauer, national director of public sector at Fortinet and former chief technology architect for the state of Iowa, discusses how platform approaches coupled with artificial intelligence (AI) can give state and local governments the boost they need against threat actors. 
  2. Connecticut Gets $9M in Federal Funding to Close Digital Divide
    The U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has awarded Connecticut more than $9 million in Federal funding to implement the state’s Connecticut: Everyone Connected digital equity plan.
  3. San Diego Says Smart Streetlights, Plate Readers Improving Public Safety
    San Diego, Calif., is touting the success of its recent roll out of smart streetlight and automated license plate reader (ALPR) technology in helping police get a better handle on crime. 
  1. Pennsylvania Launches Grant Search Tool to Improve Transparency
    Pennsylvania has launched a new one-stop grant search tool that is intended to improve citizen access to government funding opportunities.
  2. Illinois Launches New Online Professional Licensing System
    The Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR) announced that it has launched the Comprehensive Online Regulatory Environment (CORE), a new online licensing system, for the first set of IDFPR-licensed professionals.
  3. Chicago Begins Automated Bus Lane Ticketing
    Cars parked in bike and bus lanes in downtown Chicago will now begin receiving automated tickets taken from cameras mounted on city vehicles.
  4. NYC Uses Drones to Combat Subway Surfing
    The New York City Police Department (NYPD) has turned to drones to combat a growing trend of “subway surfing,” or riding on top of above-ground subway cars.
  1. Maryland Modernizes Grant Management With new Digital Platform
    The Maryland Department of General Services has modernized its capital grants management system, replacing an old cumbersome, manual-reliant process with a new digital platform.
  2. NSF Awards UCSC $1M Grant to Improve Diversity in STEM
    The National Science Foundation has awarded University of California Santa Cruz (UCSC) nearly $1 million to help improve diversity and inclusion in STEM graduate programs.
  3. New Visualization Resources Help Blind and Low-Vision Students in Online Courses
    A partnership between Alchemie, a digital learning tools developer, and Wiley, a publishing company, is helping college students with vision-based disabilities to use visualization tools in online courses without outside help.
  4. California Schools Ink Data Sharing Agreement
    A group of school districts, colleges, and universities in California have signed a new data-sharing agreement designed to improve education-to-career pathways across the region.
  5. Missouri Rolling Out Modernized Drivers License System
    The Missouri Department of Revenue’s Motor Vehicle and Driver License (MVDL) division is getting ready to deploy its modernized driver license and processing system at all license offices.
  6. Indiana Offering Free Web Hosting for Local Governments
    The Indiana Office of Technology (IOT) has announced that it will offer no-cost website hosting for local governments, marking an expansion of a previous program that offered low-cost web hosting to local governments.
  7. Hawaiʻi Looks to Map Internet Speeds Across State
    Hawaiʻi has launched Digital Detectives, a new initiative that looks to map internet speeds across the state.
  8. Scranton, Pa., Looks to Deliver Universal Internet Access
    The City of Scranton, Penn., is partnering with Verizon to deliver universal internet access across the city. Through the partnership, Verizon will invest tens of millions of dollars over the next three years to develop a ubiquitous network of fiber-based internet access to homes, providing the opportunity for all Scranton residents to subscribe to high-speed internet service.
  9. FCC Launches Tribal Library E-Rate Advocacy Program
    The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on Oct. 28 announced the launch of its Tribal Library E-Rate Advocacy Program (T-LEAP), which builds on the agency’s Tribal Libraries Pilot Program and will give Tribal libraries the chance to sign up for one-on-one assistance to start learning about and working on the E-Rate application process. 
  10. CISA Unveils #PROTECT2024 Election Threat Updates Website
    With Election Day quickly approaching, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) launched a new one-stop shop website on Monday for election threat updates from CISA and the agency’s Federal partners.