All K-12 public schools in Rhode Island will begin using by the end of the current school year a new cybersecurity tool that will better protect their schools’ data and systems, according to a press release from the White House.

Rhode Island Gov. Dan McKee on July 15 hosted the inaugural meeting of Rhode Island’s Artificial Intelligence (AI) Task Force, which includes members from the state’s public and private sectors.

Rhode Island Gov. Dan McKee has signed a new executive order (EO) that established an AI task force and data center of excellence.

The state of Rhode Island is rolling out new initiatives to address chronic absenteeism in its school systems, including putting place new partnerships, incentives, and enhanced data tools.

A new initiative from Rhode Island Gov. Dan McKee is looking to increase awareness of the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP), a Federal Communications Commission (FCC) program that aims to help lower-income families pay for high-speed internet.

The Rhode Island Seafood Marketing Collaborative (RISMC), public-private body that aims to support local fishermen and seafood farmers, has launched FishLine, a mobile app and redesigned website that aim to bring awareness to Rhode Island’s local seafood market.

Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo, a Democrat, has eliminated the Cybersecurity Officer position from her cabinet. Unlike most states, which are pouring additional funding into cybersecurity, Raimondo has cut all funding from the Cybersecurity Officer’s role, which was held by Mike Steinmetz since the position was created in 2017.  The Cybersecurity Officer functions will be distributed among other state agencies, according to a published report.

Mike Steinmetz took office April 17 as Rhode Island’s first cybersecurity officer. Although he has been in this new position for only two months, Steinmetz has developed a network of state officials, academics, and industry experts. He stressed the importance of partners within the private sector and academia.

AT&T was awarded a $6.5 billion contract to build and operate the nationwide network FirstNet. However, the legislation that authorizes FirstNet also authorizes a state to develop its own alternative on the spectrum carved out for the network, as long as the alternative is interoperable with the FirstNet core.

IT projects within Rhode Island’s Department of Revenue will likely remain on schedule despite Gov. Gina Raimondo’s recent freeze on all such initiatives, according to Paul Grimaldi, the department’s chief of information and public relations.