The Office of Personnel Management released data from the 2020 Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey this week, showing that at the pandemic’s peak, 74% of federal workers teleworked at least part of the week. Of those, 59% of respondents said they did so every day, and another 10% did most of the week. Prior to the pandemic, just 3% of federal workers teleworked on a daily basis, per the data of the 2020 FEVS report. And despite this new work arrangement for most federal employees, engagement still rose. Billy Mitchell has more.

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DOD grapples with the future of its cyber workforce

The Department of Defense has introduced several new policies and programs to bolster its cybersecurity workforce. Despite that, the department's cyber skills gap isn't narrowing, top DOD cyber leaders testified. “I am concerned about the pace” at which DOD is hiring and training cyber personnel, Lt. Gen. Dennis Crall, CIO of the Joint Staff, said during a hearing before the Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Personnel. “I think the divide between the need is growing compared to what we’re able to fulfill. I’m not sure we’re closing the gap, and time is ticking for us to do so.” Read more.

Senate bill looks to boost AI talent in government

Sens. Gary Peters, D-Mich., and John Thune, R-S.D., re-introduced a bill recently that would give students scholarships to study artificial intelligence in exchange for federal service. The AI Scholarship-for-Service Act comes as agencies struggle to enlist AI talent, despite the U.S. attempting to become a global leader in the space — ahead of top competitors like China. To be eligible undergraduate and graduate students studying AI or a related field would need to agree to work for the federal or a state, local or tribal government after completing their degree for a period equal to the length of the scholarship. Dave Nyczepir has this one.

University of Connecticut, AT&T plan 5G lab

A new partnership with AT&T will provide 5G and edge-computing technology to the University of Connecticut’s Stamford campus starting this fall as part of an effort to boost the school’s data-science and entrepreneurial programming, AT&T said Monday. The telecommunications giant said it will complete construction on a new lab in Stamford by the end of the summer and work with two local startup incubators — CTNext and StamfordNext — to encourage students and local businesses to take advantage of the data analysis and application development tools enabled by the new wireless standard. Ryan Johnston has more.

Job of the Day

CISO |DHS

The Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) is a Senior Leader (SL) position located within the Office of Intelligence and Analysis's Intelligence Enterprise Readiness, in the Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO). The CISO reports to the Chief Information Officer (CIO) and is responsible for implementing DHS Intelligence Enterprise cybersecurity policies, standards and guidance and ensuring the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of information technology (IT) systems, networks, and data in support of the Department's Intelligence mission. The CISO serves as the principal advisor to the CIO for the DHS Intelligence Enterprise information security program. See this job and more.