A new Atlantic Council report has outlined several principles policymakers and regulators should consider when deploying a central bank digital currency supported by cybersecurity protections.

The council said Wednesday one of the principles discussed in the report is ensuring accountability.

According to the report, the framework governing CBDCs should come up with clear policies and rules with regard to accountability for breaches, errors and other consequences. Accountability requirements should also be established among validators on the blockchain for CBDCs relying on distributed ledger technology.

Other key principles outlined in the report are promoting interoperability, developing legislative measures that “apply even-handedly to different technologies over time,” enabling security audits and testing for CBDC implementation, advancing privacy-preserving CBDC designs and using existing risk management regulations and frameworks.

The think tank also listed some of the cybersecurity risks facing CBDCs, including reduced regulatory oversight of financial systems, increased centralization of payment processing and sensitive user data and challenges in payment credential management and key custody.

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency will collaborate with university-based research teams to develop storm mitigation technologies to protect civilian and Department of Defense personnel and infrastructure from coastal flooding, erosion and storm surges.

DARPA said Wednesday three teams from the Rutgers University, University of Hawaii and University of Miami will work on structures for reefs in the Gulf Coast, Pacific Ocean off the coast of Hawaii and Atlantic Ocean, respectively.

Efforts will be done under the agency’s Reefense program, which was aimed at building hybrid biological reef-mimicking structures that are both self-healing and engineered to endure environment conditions.

“As part of this program, performers will employ recent innovations in materials science, hydrodynamic modeling and adaptive biology to optimize these structures for responding to a changing environment,” stated Catherine Campbell, Reefense program manager.

The custom wave-attenuating base structures are expected to result in calcareous reef organism settlement and growth while native non-reef building organisms are eyed for maintaining the system. In addition, adaptive biology will also be used to boost the resilience of coral and oyster against disease and temperature stress.

“These protective structures aim to provide immediate protection, facilitate the growth of natural calcareous organisms, and enable rapid biological adaptation of the coral and oysters already present in the water to the new reef structure in a matter of months to years,” added Campbell.

A joint office between the departments of Transportation and Energy opened the public nomination period for potential government and industry representatives who can offer federal advice on electric vehicle-related topics.

DOE said Wednesday that future members of the Electric Vehicle Working Group will recommend strategies to help both the public and private sectors address EV infrastructure, workforce and grid integration requirements.

The Joint Office of Energy and Transportation kicked off the process of selecting candidates to join the working group less than one week after DOT’s Federal Highway Administration proposed minimum standards for project proposals that will be funded through the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Formula Program.

Both departments expect to attract nominees from the EV manufacturing sector, public utilities, regulatory agencies, the trucking industry, labor organizations and tribal government entities.

Nominations are due July 15.

The Department of Defense announced that the U.S. will provide $1 billion in additional military support to help Ukraine continue to defend itself against Russian invasion.

J. Todd Breasseale, deputy assistant to the secretary for public affairs at DOD, said Wednesday the latest package brings the total U.S. security assistance to Ukraine to about $6.3 billion since the start of the Biden administration and consists of $350 million in assistance through the use of a presidential drawdown authority and $650 million in funds through the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative.

Under the PDA authorization, military capabilities to be provided include howitzers, ammunition, tactical vehicles, additional ammunition for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, spare parts and other equipment.

The USAI package includes Harpoon coastal defense systems; radios, night vision devices, thermal sights and other optics; and funding for maintenance, sustainment, transportation, training and administrative costs.

DOD News reported that representatives from over 50 countries participated in the Ukraine Defense Contact Group’s third meeting in Brussels and committed to delivering more military capabilities to Ukrainian forces.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, who chaired the meeting, said Germany will provide Ukraine with multiple-launch rocket systems and guided MLRS munitions and Slovakia will deliver MI-series helicopters and rocket ammunition.

“We also discussed important new artillery donations from many countries, including Canada, Poland and the Netherlands,” added Austin, a 2022 Wash100 Award winner.

The Department of Homeland Security has collaborated with Canadian technology company Mappedin to develop a tool designed to help first responders create and analyze digital floorplans for their incident response missions.

Public safety and local government organizations can license the Mappedin Response platform as a cloud-based service, DHS’ science and technology directorate said Tuesday.

The technology allows emergency response personnel to view 3D floorplans using mobile devices and input critical information, such as the presence of any hazardous material in the location.

“Mappedin Response provides the ability to conduct a 360-degree assessment with digitized floor-plans, better positioning responders to take necessary precautions and ensure they have the necessary equipment and tools to act more effectively in protecting people, property and their own lives,” said Kathryn Coulter Mitchell, acting undersecretary of DHS S&T.

Anthony Caracciolo, manager of the directorate’s First Responder Capability Program, noted that the platform can complement existing sensors to offer the user a holistic view of critical situations.

DHS S&T and the software developer sought feedback from intended users within North America during the tool development project.