The National Association of State CIOs recognized excellence in state technology at all levels at the recently wrapped NASCIO 2017 annual conference. Four awards were announced: the State Technology Innovator Awards, the 2017 NASCIO State IT Recognition Awards, the Thomas M. Jarrett Cybersecurity Scholarship, and the Corporate Longevity Awards.

This weekend, state and local websites displayed a pro-ISIS message due to a hack that is being claimed by a group called Team System DZ. The hacked sites of Howard County, Md., Ohio Gov. John Kasich, and other local governments temporarily read: “You will be held accountable Trump, you and all your people for every drop of blood flowing in Muslim countries”; and “I love Islamic State.”

Connected Nation is working with five communities across Ohio to analyze broadband data and develop a plan to increase high-speed Internet adoption in local areas.

Calls for government transparency are increasing as citizens want to know exactly what information governments have and how governments are spending taxpayer money. Cincinnati has taken these calls to heart and has invested roughly six months and $55,000 into 15 new dashboards that help educate and inform citizens.

The U.S. Department of Transportation is asking cities for proposals to test automated vehicles through the new Automation Proving Ground Pilot Program.

State governments are slowly following the private sector to the cloud, mostly with limited programs to support specific groups within each state. Ohio is proving to be an exception to that rule, rebuilding its entire infrastructure as part of a multiyear IT modernization project with a cloud-first mind-set. And other states should consider following that example.

Smart cities need to ensure that their technology is accessible to people in all socio-economic groups, according to Department of Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx.

The Lucas Metropolitan Housing Authority of Toledo announced that it is using the Citrix Cloud to secure its IT operations.

Full-time virtual charter school students show weaker academic growth compared to students of traditional public schools. A new report calls for policy reform for full-time virtual charter schools to hold these schools accountable, and produce better results for their students. The report was released by the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, the 50-State Campaign […]