The Department of the Treasury is soliciting public feedback on national security and illicit finance risks posed by digital assets in accordance with a recently released action plan and a March executive order on digital assets. 

The department is asking the public to cite illicit finance risks associated with non-fungible tokens, decentralized finance and peer-to-peer payment technologies and suggest additional steps the U.S. government should do to detect, disrupt and deter the misuse of digital assets, according to a Federal Register notice published Tuesday.

The Treasury is also looking for ways on how it can effectively support the integration of anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism controls into a potential U.S. central bank digital currency design.

Other questions pertaining to AML/CFT regulation and supervision, global implementation of AML/CFT standards and private sector engagement are also listed in the notice.

“Without appropriate controls and enforcement of existing laws, digital assets can pose a significant risk to national security by facilitating illicit finance, such as money laundering, cybercrime and terrorist actions,” Brian Nelson, undersecretary of the Treasury for terrorism and financial intelligence.

“As we work to implement the Illicit Finance Action Plan, hold bad actors accountable and identify potential gaps in existing enforcement, we look forward to receiving the public’s input on this urgent work,” added Nelson.

Public comments are due Nov. 3.

The Government Accountability Office has urged Congress to codify the authorities and responsibilities of the federal chief information officer to drive consistency in the role’s impact on governmentwide information technology functions such as cybersecurity.

In a 77-page report, GSA noted that CIOs at the agency level and in the private sector are more unrestricted in their ability to exercise authority across key information technology management areas than the federal CIO position.

The government audit agency polled 71 industry people holding the role or its equivalent to compare their duties to their government counterparts’ responsibilities outlined in law and guidance set forth by the Office of Management and Budget.

GAO found that while the agency and private sector CIOs assume responsibility and accountability for cybersecurity and IT investments, the federal CIO can only assist or consult for these types of duties.

Federal CIOs are also not required to report to higher-ups compared to agency and private sector CIOs who report to designated heads to ensure effective implementation of IT management responsibilities.

The watchdog recommended OMB to prioritize the development of federal CIOs through collaborations with agency counterparts and other executives as well as initiatives focused on improving managerial skills.

AFWERX, the innovation arm of the Department of Air Force, has released a request for information for a new Prime program that seeks to accelerate the development and implementation of commercial autonomy technologies for military applications.

Autonomy Prime proposes a proving ground, which will include digital twins, testbed aircraft and modeling and simulation systems, to remove the barriers hindering the rapid testing of autonomy technologies in aircraft, spacecraft and ground vehicles.

“We recognize that many of the technical functions for autonomy apply across a large number of Air Force missions and commercial applications. Finding those overlaps and casting a wide net for solutions enables us to identify the most promising capabilities,” said Lt. Col. Tom Meagher, chief of the AFWERX Prime division.

The service branch said it is looking for sensors, communication technologies, software algorithms and other autonomy platforms ideal for testing and development.

Autonomy Prime builds on the framework of Agility Prime an existing program aimed at accelerating the development of the commercial electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft industry.

“We want to follow the philosophy in Agility Prime of forging new partnerships to accelerate development of dual use technologies and apply it to one of the primary focus areas of the department in the near future – autonomy,” Sterling Alley, technology transition lead of the Prime program.

The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy has issued a report that outlines the policy objectives for a U.S. central bank digital currency and presents an analysis of technical design choices for a CBDC system in accordance with a March executive order on digital assets.

The report also analyzes how such technical design choices would impact the policy objectives for CBDC platform, the White House said Friday.

Some of the policy objectives listed in the report are providing benefits and mitigating risks for consumers, investors and businesses; promoting economic growth and financial stability and mitigating systemic risks; and improving payment systems.

The document touches on the feasibility of establishing a minimum viable product for the system and discusses how a CBDC may impact federal operations with a focus on privacy and cybersecurity, social safety net programs and customer experience.

OSTP said the report offers recommendations on how to prepare federal agencies for a CBDC implementation.

The document recommends that the Federal Reserve continue research and experimentation work related to CBDC systems and calls on OSTP and the National Science Foundation to come up with a research-and-development agenda for digital assets to further promote innovation in support of the Federal Reserve’s initiatives.

The report also recommends that the federal government scale up technological capacity, infrastructure and expertise to mitigate risks associated with digital assets.