Open Source

A transparent, open-source vision for U.S. elections

Voting technology in the U.S. is secretive and often expensive. Can an open-source alternative take its place?

  • By Spenser Mestel, Undark

Plans to install EV charging stations are about to run into an ugly wall of permitting and utility delays

COMMENTARY | We must overhaul dysfunctional municipal permitting systems and utility connection processes if we expect to install close to 7 million electric vehicle charging stations by 2035.

  • By Catherine Geanuracos

ChatGPT can rapidly build solutions for network defense

A new report outlines how the generative AI tool can quickly build scripts to thwart attackers and identify security vulnerabilities, but stresses that secure and responsible use of the evolving technology is essential.

  • By Stephanie Kanowitz

Generative AI helps spot malicious open-source code

Developers can ask DroidGPT natural language questions about the code they’re researching and get instant ratings on its security from Endor Labs’ proprietary database.

  • By Chris Teale

Machine learning maps location of lead pipes

An open-source map will help communities find and remove pipes faster.

  • By Kaitlyn Levinson

Everyone’s having a field day with ChatGPT – but nobody knows how it actually works

OpenAI's recently released ChatbotGPT is not open source and has not been accompanied by peer-reviewed literature so far. One expert says this lack of transparency could slow down future AI advancements.

  • By Toby Walsh, The Conversation

County assessor’s code repository powers transparent government

Cook County, Illinois, Assessor’s Office moved paper-based and siloed property assessment records to the GitLab DevOps platform where developers now post data and code to a public-facing repository.

  • By Stephanie Kanowitz

Integrating open data, open source, cloud drives efficiency

Better integration of three of the federal government’s main strategies -- use of cloud, open source software and open data – would collectively benefit their progress, a new report found.

  • By Stephanie Kanowitz

Why open source adoption in federal IT is poised to accelerate

As a result of the pandemic’s push toward modernization, new leadership and additional funding sources, support for open standards is growing and may be reaching a tipping point in federal agencies.

  • By Bob Dunn

Free and open: Accelerating innovation in the battle against COVID-19

The open-source model gives developers tools to manage, search and analyze various data types in real-time, and that gives IT leaders the visibility to implement a data-first strategy to deal with COVID-19.

  • By Dave Erickson

Open source community helps responders improve rescue operations

The open source Emergency Response Demo is a “call for aid” application that supports evacuation efforts in hurricane-ravaged areas by helping disaster response officials monitor rescue efforts and match volunteers with boats to people who need evacuation.

  • By Chuck Mosher

DARPA's plan for a US-friendly 5G network

Defense Advanced Research and Projects Agency aims to develop a secure, open-source, standards-compliant network stack for 5G networking.

  • By Susan Miller
Featured eBooks
The State of Trust in Government
Cybersecurity in State and Local Government
Building Data Literacy in the State and Local Workforce

The way America votes is broken. In one rural county, a nonprofit showed a way forward.

In Mississippi last week, a seamless performance by a new set of voting machines took place amid widespread anxiety about election integrity.

Saving time, money and trees

ZDOCS has allowed the small zoning office to transform operations, save money and free workers to focus on more important tasks.

  • By GCN Staff

AI-enabled drone maps disaster victims' location, need

DroneAid uses visual recognition to detect and count SOS icons on the ground from drone video streams and automatically plots the emergency needs on a map for first responders.

  • By Stephanie Kanowitz

Let freedom and innovation ring

Open source technology offers agencies the freedom of choice they need to effectively innovate their way out of their current challenges, incrementally and at their own pace.

  • By Adam Clater

Is open source the key to secure election infrastructure?

Some organizations are working to create a foundation of election-related technology that can be used and improved over time through crowdsourced testing.

  • By Derek B. Johnson

Microsoft unwraps open-source election security tools

ElectionGuard, an open-source software development kit, aims to make voting more secure, accessible and efficient by enabling end-to-end verification of elections.

  • By Susan Miller

Opening supercomputing to all agencies

The combination of the hybrid cloud and Linux containers makes high-performance computing attainable –- even for organizations without the budget or supercomputing expertise inherent in larger agencies.

  • By David Egts

Keeping the lights on when the grid takes a hit

The open-source Severe Contingency Solver software can help government agencies better plan for power outages caused by extreme events.

  • By Stephanie Kanowitz

DARPA tackles election security

The Defense research agency is exploring the feasibility of locking down election systems with open-source software and secure hardware.

  • By Susan Miller