The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is looking for specialists who can help the agency develop technology-based strategies and platforms for agency-wide investigative and policymaking efforts.

CFPB Chief Technologist Erie Meyer wrote in a blog post that the hiring initiative is an expansion of a pilot program that sought to incorporate technical expertise into its supervision and enforcement groups.

The bureau is seeking candidates skilled or experienced in data science and strategy, software engineering, product management and design and user experience.

Meyer observed many companies investing in new payment systems and financial algorithms that she believes could transform how a pre-existing product or service works.

“Technology-based positions will play a key role in helping us understand and regulate the constantly evolving financial marketplace,” she said.

The CFPB plans to appoint technologists for a term of two to four years.

The Department of Defense announced that the Biden administration authorized an additional $400 million in security assistance to help Ukraine counter Russian invasion.

Todd Breasseale, acting press secretary at the Pentagon, said in a statement published Friday the latest package brings the total U.S. security assistance to Ukraine to approximately $8 billion since the start of the administration and marks the 15th drawdown of military equipment from DOD inventories for the Eastern European country since August 2021.

Military capabilities in the security assistance package include High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems and additional ammunition for HIMARS; tactical vehicles for equipment recovery; 155mm artillery ammunition; demolition munitions; counter-battery systems; and spare parts and other equipment.

DOD News reported the security assistance includes 1,000 rounds of 155 mm artillery described as having greater precision.

“It offers Ukraine precise … capability for specific targets. It will save ammunition. It will be more effective due to the precision. It’s a further evolution in our support for Ukraine in this battle in the Donbas,” a senior defense official said of the 155mm artillery ammunition.

Heidi Shyu, undersecretary for research and engineering at the Department of Defense and a 2022 Wash100 Award winner, has announced the formation of a new task force within the Defense Science Board to help identify weapon system and operational concepts as part of efforts to regain the U.S. military’s operational superiority.

The task force on strategic options will focus on several areas, including advanced undersea assets and operational concepts, use of cyber weapons, development of new countermeasures for electronic warfare and new uses of space systems, Shyu said in a memo published Tuesday.

“Additional considerations should include the adversary’s use of countermeasures to undermine U.S. dominance in the air, space, sea and cyber domains,” the memo reads.

The task force will present its findings and recommendations to DSB for discussion and deliberation through a public meeting.

Shyu said she will sponsor the task force, which will begin the study period within 30 days of the initial appointment of its members and will gain access to DOD officials and data to support its activities.

“In no event will the duration of the Task Force exceed 24 months from the start date,” the memo states.

Software company Micro Focus has earned recognition from the IDC Marketscape product assessment organization for its unified endpoint management programs in several categories that highlight their various impacts.

Bestowed with the “Leader” designation in the international UEM market for small and midsize businesses, Micro Focus’ new honor marks its efforts to serve the SMB market with technologies that allow organizations to manage data securely from various endpoints, the Berkshire, United Kingdom-based company said Thursday.

Rick Carlson, vice president in the information management and governance solutions division at Micro Focus, interpreted the IDC Marketscape results as a sign that the company is satisfying the needs of a workforce trending toward remote work and the desires of some companies to streamline the technology they implement.

Through features and capabilities including patch management verification, asset management, endpoint security, service desk software and data analytics, Micro Focus’ UEM products are seen as a potentially beneficial tool for remote workers. The IDC Marketscape report praised their ZENworks platform for its ability to administer devices in disparate locations through location detection and making consequent adjustments to applications and restrictions.

Additionally, IDC Marketscape labeled Micro Focus a “Major Player” in the categories of UEM software worldwide, UEM for ruggedized / Internet-of-Things device deployments and UEM for Apple devices.

Micro Focus’ offerings are targeted primarily to information technology businesses with small or medium staff sizes, due to the fact that their UEM products often streamline multiple IT practices into one program. The IDC Marketscape evaluation singled out their UEM platforms for their favorable comparison to “over-the-air UEM Windows management tools that rely only on the MDM protocol for modern PC management.”

In June, Micro Focus released a new version of its Network Operations Management program to the public, which featured reconfigured troubleshooting, dashboards and reporting functions of the OPTIC Data Lake.