The Fed Mission Success Round Up: DARPA AI Cyber Efforts; UN Cybercrime Treaty; and Labor Department CIO Retiring

Welcome to the Fed Mission Success News Round Up brought to you by Makpar. Each week, we will provide a summary of actionable news and insights to help aid in overall mission success for Federal agency IT decision-makers and influencers.

DARPA Edges Closer to Using AI to Expose Cyber Vulnerabilities

DARPA selected seven teams to advance to the final stage of a U.S.-sponsored cybersecurity competition, where they will be tasked to finalize an AI-powered system designed to secure open-source software that underpins many critical infrastructure sectors.

United Nations Approves Controversial Cybercrime Treaty

After a cumulative three years of work, the United Nations voted to adopt a draft version of its cybercrime convention, slated to be implemented by the General Assembly later this year in what the organization calls the first global legally-binding instrument on cybercrime.  

U.S. Digital Corps Announces AI-Focused Cohort

The General Services Administration’s 2024 cohort of U.S. Digital Corps fellows will mostly focus on artificial intelligence and AI-related projects, the agency said last week.

State Department Aims for Total Of 52 Bureau Chief Data Officers in Next Five Years

Nearly two years after launching its bureau chief data officer program, the Department of State is seeing success and aiming to almost quadruple the size of its current cohort, according to FedScoop.

Microsoft AI Offerings Now Authorized at FedRAMP High

Microsoft is continuing its expansion of artificial intelligence tools to federal customers, with Azure GPT-4 and Azure OpenAI Service being approved to be used within FedRAMP High environments.

Gundeep Ahluwalia Leaving Department of Labor After 8 Years as CIO

Gundeep Ahluwalia is stepping down from his role as Department of Labor CIO after nearly eight years on the job.

Rising Stars Nominations Extended Until August 30

Nominations for the 2024 Rising Stars program — a joint effort of Nextgov/FCW and Route Fifty — are being extended ntil August 30th, and will showcase some of the best up-and-coming talent in government.