An executive order signed last week by President Trump allows agencies to prioritize skills-based hiring in addition to traditional educational-based requirements. The new rules represent a chance for agencies to more directly determine whether job seekers possess the knowledge, skills and abilities to do the job they're applying for, the acting director of the Office of Personnel Management said. Billy Mitchell has more.

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Nearly 75% of states launched chatbots to aid pandemic response

Surging demand at health and labor departments spurred adoption of chatbots in state government, according to a new NASCIO report. Colin Wood has the details.

IT consolidation led to culture clashes, Tennessee's CIO says

"We should’ve done more to do a cultural analysis," Stephanie Dedmon said of merging IT workers from 23 different agencies into a unified organization. Benjamin Freed has more.

During a pandemic, stalkerware becomes even more sinister

When officials started recommending social distancing to reduce COVID-19's spread, the goal was to place people out of harm's way. But the policy has forced many domestic violence victims to face a far more insidious danger: isolating with an abuser. In a feature on CyberScoop, Shannon Vavra looks at how the use of stalkerware has risen during the pandemic, and how it impacts machines used for telework. In one such instance, a company IT team found stalkerware tracking an employee. Shannon's reporting highlights how a crisis at home can affect the technology that an employee might be using for official business. Read the full story on CyberScoop.

Tell us how your agency is closing IT skills gaps

If you work in federal IT, HR or budget offices take our brief, anonymous survey on how well agencies are doing to hire and develop its IT workforce. Answer here.

Nebraska's IT consolidation paid off during pandemic's remote workforce rush

Consolidating IT functions was already saving the states tens of millions of dollars, but CIO Ed Toner said the project's true value was revealed when the pandemic hit. Ryan Johnston has more information.

Air Force wants to reserve its cyber experts for big jobs while AI plays defense

The Air Force sees defensive cyber measures as the best place to start when it comes to using artificial intelligence. Jackson Barnett has more.

OMB calls for Federal Data Strategy detailees for agencies

Detailees will work with their agencies' chief data officers to implement the 2020 FDS Action Plan and develop one for 2021. Dave Nyczepir has more.

Job of the Day

Associate CIO for Strategic Portfolio Management |U.S. Department of Transportation

The Associate CIO for Strategic Portfolio Management at the U.S. DOT is responsible for developing and institutionalising a comprehensive, enterprise-wide IT portfolio strategy, including personnel management, cybersecurity and regulatory requirements. See this job and more.