The Colorado Digital Service was an experiment that began with a simple hypothesis; if we could attract tech talent using a “tour of service” model and couple it with modern software delivery practices, like product management and human-centered design, we could help to improve the experience for people engaging with government services. We’ve shown that this model works. The bet that Governor Polis and the Legislature placed on us has delivered a solid return on investment. Here are some highlights from 2020: We scrubbed in on Exposure Notifications with Apple and Google, which are used ..read more

The holiday season is often proclaimed the most wonderful time of the year, but it also brings out those who could best be described as follows, and I quote: “Stink, stank, stunk!” It happens every year: Grinches try to take the joy out of the holidays. With more people shopping online and avoiding malls, email and texting scams are on the rise. In fact, one cyber company cites that the number of shipping-related phishing emails increased 440% in just one month (from October to November)! Here are a few things to watch out for to avoid being scammed: Fake Delivery Texts or Emails You’ve li ..read more

Cybercriminals and hackers are eager to acquire online passwords, especially as COVID-19 runs rampant and many organizations are attempting to push the majority of their business operations online. An unprotected password can allow cybercriminals to fraudulently gain access to systems, and the important data stored in those systems. Personally identifiable information (PII) is one type of data cybercriminals are always trying to find. PII is any data that could potentially identify a specific individual, including one’s SSN, date of birth, driver license number and/or email address, to name a ..read more

A while back, I received a call from someone claiming to be from a company where a mail order of mine was delayed. They said they had a solution: If I gave them my full credit card number, instead of the final digits they had, they could send my order right away. I wasn’t believing it, so they reassured me that I could call customer service, but that they could save me time. I said “No, thanks” and hung up. When I called customer service, they had no record of anyone contacting me, but fixed the issue with my order and had it to me in no time. I later Googled the number of the person who cal ..read more

Election season is here, which means temperatures are cooling down, political ads are heating up and cybercriminals are ready to take advantage of the chaotic atmosphere. The 2016 presidential election saw unprecedented misinformation and disinformation campaigns. We expect more of the same as we enter the home stretch before Election Day on November 3, along with email scams meant to steal personal or business information.  Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold has launched an initiative to fight foreign interference, but it’s up to each of us to stay alert and protect ourselves. Y ..read more

The more than 1.3 million Coloradans who depend on food, cash, and medical assistance to maintain a safe and healthy livelihood for themselves and their families rightfully expect the state to timely deliver benefits, communications, and documentation to avoid adding stress to an already trying situation. When they have questions regarding their assistance, Coloradans similarly expect the state to do everything possible to respond quickly. Before August 2019, they could contact call center agents about Colorado PEAK®—the online portal where customers apply for, change, and renew benefits—du ..read more

During a recent All Hands virtual meeting there was a call to action to look at 21-Day Racial Equity Habit Building Challenge ©. I started to pursue this challenge by reading Peggy McIntosh’s White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack. In the article, McIntosh lists 25 extraordinarily common things that identify the way white privilege operates in her life. It's often easy to identify when a person is the victim of racism. It is harder to recognize when your normal experience is a product of privilege. Privilege is not experienced consciously; racism is. I want you to read the article f ..read more

Are you using your Colorado Digital ID™ for purchases and services requiring identification within our state? It’s a convenient, legal form of identification that’s with you all the time on your smartphone! As the myColorado project manager, I might be a little biased, but when I’m out and about, I take every opportunity possible to see which Colorado businesses are accepting the Digital ID. Below are just a few examples I discovered!  Colorado Digital ID Use Case Simple My husband and I were sitting on the patio of a German restaurant here in beautiful Colorado enjoying a coup ..read more

Stop! Before proceeding, check out Part 1 of the Great Toilet Paper Cyber Hack of 2020 - posted on July 10, 2020. Lessons Learned When I reached out to Hal several weeks later to ask all the questions that kept nagging me about this activity, I learned that Hal had taken several actions to ensure this would never happen again. Hal and I agreed that we should share those as lessons learned. 1) Shop From Known Merchants As mentioned in Part 1, it’s always best to be suspicious of unsolicited advertisements on social media sites, in emails, and anyplace encountered. No doubt, many of these s ..read more

A friend of mine told me this story about how his computer was hacked in his search for toilet paper. This occurred in late March 2020 - when toilet paper was non-existent in stores across the nation. My friend “Hal” (not his real name) told me that he found some Charmin Ultra Soft toilet paper available for purchase online. He did some price comparison and found it to be a fair price - not gouging and not cheap, but reasonably priced. There was nothing unusual to indicate that it might not be authentic, so he ordered it. He was expecting a package of 60 Mega rolls, which should last a w ..read more