Providence Technology Group

If governments are going to collect data on citizens, they need to understand the responsibilities that lie therein. That was the overarching message during a data privacy discussion at the 2020 Public Sector CIO Academy Thursday in Sacramento, Calif. Panelists from a range of backgrounds shared their experiences of how and when data should be stored or shared. Michael Wilkening, special adviser on innovation and digital services to California Gov. Gavin Newsom, said that IT leaders should view the data collected from various services as their duty to protect, and in the case of sensitive data, something to be shared only when justifiable. “As we’re starting to use that data, what are the implications there? Are you gathering information for enrollment purposes or administrative purposes?”...[Read More]

Parents are playing a more hands-on role in California’s ongoing quest to grow the number of students who pursue technology professions — and tech-savvy workers in all kinds of fields. At schools around the state, parents are learning how to code alongside their young children as a way to increase interest in computer science as a potential career path. Called Family Code Night, these events are designed to help address the need to expand the pipeline in order to meet the demand of one of the state’s fastest growing job sectors. “I didn’t have this when I was in school, and it’s so cool to see him do it,” said Manuel Majinmontijo, an electrician who sat next to his 3rd-grade son Markus during a recent Family Code Night at Bagby Elementary School, part of the Cambrian School District in San...[Read More]

Using technology to alter an actor’s appearance in a movie is entertaining (and generally done with the actor’s consent), but similar techniques are being used to fabricate versions of real politicians saying and doing things that never happened. There’s serious concern that false or misleading information based on such video deepfakes will influence the 2020 elections, and experts in government and academia are working to find ways to detect them. Simple manipulated videos and photos have already been seen in the 2020 campaign. Selective editing with basic software can readily alter or obscure a politician’s meaning; changing or adding something new to a still image is as easy as firing up a photo editing program. Deepfakes go a step further, using deep machine learning to enhance the acc...[Read More]

(TNS) — The electrical grid may likely represent a prime target after Iran has vowed “crushing revenge” on the United States following a drone strike that killed its top general, Qassem Soleimani. But the former director of the organization that oversees the power system for the bulk of California says he’s not overly worried about a major disruption. “We spend a lot of time, money and energy to harden the system so this doesn’t happen,” said Jim McIntosh, who was director of grid operations from 2000 to 2009 at the California Independent System Operator. “And the system is broken up into a lot of pieces. We can isolate areas very readily and keep control of the system. So it’s a very difficult task to take the grid down — very difficult.R...[Read More]

The data centre is the first of several approved facilities on the 38-acre Prime campus. The facility has a 50MVA sub-station on-site, and the ability to add another 100MVA. Prime offers complete solutions for colocation powered shell, and a joint venture structure enabling the customer to own the real estate they occupy. The company revealed that it chose Sacramento because it is a smart alternative for San Francisco Bay Area companies. “Sacramento is the perfect location for backup and Disaster Recovery replication with minimal transmission-induced latency.  Unlike locations along major fault lines in Oregon and Nevada, Sacramento sits in a seismically inert region,” said the company in a written statement. The company added that the partnership with the Sacramento Municipal Utilities Di...[Read More]

Every December the Greater Sacramento Economic Council hosts its Annual Dinner to celebrate the successes of the year. We give out four awards recognizing the exceptional individuals, organizations, projects and communities that have helped move our region towards greater prosperity and inclusion. 2019 was a game-changing year for the Greater Sacramento region. With the Major League Soccer announcement, new incentive programs, growing startups, and companies breaking ground; there was certainly a lot to raise a glass to and many achievements to award. Keep reading this article at The Greater Sacramento Economic Council

Utilities continue to test promising uses for the digital ledger software despite caution and lack of widespread knowledge. Blockchain has been a rising concept in the energy space in recent years, as more utilities announce pilots and partnerships with tech companies. Several new projects were announced in 2019, and that number will likely grow in 2020. Utilities throughout the country are trying to figure out how the software can help them secure their operations as new customer-owned generation resources come on the grid, and in the future, blockchain could play an important role in enabling energy exchanges between customers in “transactive energy” marketplaces. Keep reading this article at Energy News Network

A sweeping new law that aims to rewrite the rules of the internet in California is set to go into effect on Jan. 1. Most businesses with a website and customers in California — which is to say most large businesses in the nation — must follow the new rules, which are supposed to make online life more transparent and less creepy for users. The only problem: Nobody’s sure how the new rules work. The California Consumer Privacy Act started from a simple premise: People should be able to know if companies sell their personal information, see what information companies have already collected on them, and have the option of quitting the whole system. Keep reading this article at LATimes.com

The Cosumnes Fire Department is taking a modern approach to training its cadets on how to battle the ever-changing landscape of firefighting. Its latest addition: virtual reality. Kirk McKinzie, a technology specialist with the department, said that with a full set of firefighting gear on, a person can only last seconds in a room consumed by fire at a temperature of 1,800 degrees. With the department’s recent addition of virtual reality goggles, new cadets can experience what those dangers are like without getting in harm’s way. McKinzie said the concept of using technology is still very new to the firefighting world. Keep reading this article at MSN.com

Greater Sacramento is situated at the epicenter of global air quality policy, as home to the California Air Resources Board, and within the largest US market for electric vehicles, California. With the California Mobility Center set to launch in 2020 and an already growing sector of research and development, both by private companies and educational institutions, the region is primed to become a world leader in future mobility. California Mobility Center: A center of excellence Based on the PEM Motion model in Aachen, Germany, the California Mobility Center will support, fund and commercialize new future mobility technologies and develop and promote new business and policy models for adoption on the international stage. This international hub of innovation will be driven by a sustainable w...[Read More]

The California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 is a bill intended to enhance online privacy rights and consumer protection for residents of California, United States. But the bill has national and global implications. Here’s how to prepare your organization for compliance and protect your customers. It was only a matter of time before US created their own version of the EU’S General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). However, unlike the EU who addresses digital privacy protection on a national level, the US is handling online privacy on the state level. California has led the charge with the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) that was passed into law in 2018. 3 main takeaways from the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 CCPA is designed with consumers in mind and gives California resi...[Read More]

PG&E is under severe criticism about its power outages and wildfire-sparking equipment. The utility is now testing a proactive technology that would “identify potential equipment failures” and avoid starting fires. (TNS) — California utilities are experimenting with a new technology that proponents say could help prevent both electricity shutoffs and equipment failure-related wildfires. The technology comes as the Pacific Gas & Electric faces intense criticism over its Public Safety Power Shutoff program, which has led to hundreds of thousands of Californians being left without power, often for days at a time, in an effort to prevent failing equipment from starting wildfires. Distribution Fault Anticipation, as the technology is called, uses a predictive algorithm to assess electri...[Read More]