| Dear Executive Briefing Subscribers—Earlier this week, Microsoft hosted its 15th annual Microsoft Ability Summit, bringing together 20,000 attendees from 164 countries and focusing on the ways AI is transforming accessibility. You can learn more in this blog. |
This Week in Washington
- Nextgov: For more than a year, the National Vulnerability Database, which falls under the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), has faced a backlog of unanalyzed cybersecurity vulnerabilities. The logjam was projected to clear this month, but NIST said that vulnerability submissions increased by 32% in 2024.
- StateScoop: Rep. Richard Hudson (R-N.C.) introduced legislation this month called “Streamlining Program Efficiency and Expanding Deployment for BEAD Act” or “SPEED for BEAD.” The bill would amend BEAD so that any technology provider able to provide “reliable broadband service” meeting the law’s performance criteria is eligible to compete for projects on a level playing field.
- Associated Press: The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) are warning that a ransomware-as-a-service software, called Medusa, has recently impacted hundreds of people. It is recommended to patch operating systems, software, and firmware to protect against ransomware.
- CyberScoop: A wide-ranging text message scam that claims people have unpaid toll violations is circulating the U.S. on mobile phones. The FBI, Federal Trade Commission (FTC), and Federal Communications Commission (FCC) are tracking and investigating the scam and advise users who receive these texts to avoid clicking any links, file complaints, and delete the messages.
Article Summary
- Delaware Gazette: The Delaware County Board of Commissioners and Consolidated Cooperative, a utilities provider, announced the start of a $4.9 million expansion of broadband services in the county. Consolidated Cooperative aims to contact eligible property owners via mail and door-hanger notifications.
- Wall Street Journal: According to Ford Motor’s director of artificial intelligence, a number of AI use cases are being pushed forward as part of an effort to design and engineer new cars as fast as competitors are.
- StateScoop: According to a report published by the Consortium for School Networking, 73% of surveyed district leaders oversee their district’s student data privacy program despite it not being part of their job description. In addition to financial barriers, survey respondents said the biggest barriers to improving data privacy programs were the lack of time and manpower and the lack of guidance on federal and state laws.
Featured Highlight
- TEDTech
AI has made it possible to approximate a PhD’s worth of work in only a few seconds. “Now some people say that this is a one time only event and that we can’t expect to see these breakthroughs in science with AI be repeated,” said Max Jaderberg, Chief AI Officer at Isomorphic Labs, “I disagree.” Learn how AI technology is freeing up researchers’ time and resources to tackle the next frontiers of science. (“How AI is saving billions of years of human research time | Max Jaderberg” – March 7, 2025)