South Carolina, Apple to build computer labs promoting digital equity

Falls Church, a Washington, D.C., suburb will collaborate with Virginia Tech on a 44-acre smart city site to pilot emerging and connected transportation technologies.

The past year was tough — here's what leaders across state and local government, and higher education, are thinking about as they move forward.

Fadi Fadhil left the city government in December to work for Palo Alto Networks as a cybersecurity consultant specializing in the education sector.

Challenges surrounding climate change, transportation, housing and civic technology will be addressed by 17 research partnerships starting in February.

"Smart" traffic signals, pedestrian counters and other connected vehicle and infrastructure projects were recently funded by the Federal Highway Administration.

More than half of all ransomware attacks against state and local entities targeted school districts as the new academic year began this fall, according to a new advisory from the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.

Brandon Wales, the acting director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, said ransomware is "quickly becoming a national emergency."

"Looks like we’re getting our first cyber snow day," wrote a high-school football coach in the 114,000-student school district.

"It’s sort of a morbid joke that instead of a snow day, schools now have cyber days," one speaker said during an online talk on ransomware against K-12 schools.

A group of university researchers and state authorities will monitor the movements of 1,000 Baltimore residents with the goal of improving transit "through an equity lens."