If you are a government agency who uses Login.gov, or if you are a U.S. citizen who has a Login.gov account, I’m not sure about the future of the service.
Back in November 2023, I wrote a post that included the three letters “18F.” Specifically:
Obviously there are a number of private companies (over 80 last I counted) that provide secure access to information, but Login.gov is provided by the government itself—specifically by the General Services Administration’s Technology Transformation Services. Agencies at the federal, state, and local level can work with the GSA TTS’ “18F” organization to implement solutions such as Login.gov.
Now perhaps I’m, um, biased, but I happen to think that identity verification, whether performed by a public entity, is kinda sorta important.
Which is why I took notice when I saw Brian Krebs’ Saturday night LinkedIn post. Here’s a short excerpt:
This is from the executive director of the 18F, the digital services agency within the General Services Administration (GSA) that develops open-source tools to improve digital services across the federal government.
“I am the Executive Director of 18F and 18F’s longest running employee- I have been at 18F for 10 years. You may not have heard of us, but last night proved that we are powerful. The way the administration ran to get rid of us under the cover of night and shut us down without warning proves that they were scared. They are too afraid to even speak to us.”
Krebs also links to a FedScoop article.
The General Services Administration has eliminated its 18F program, an internal team of tech consultants and engineers that develops open-source tools to improve digital services across the federal government.
The announcement, which came overnight, is the latest in the Trump administration’s ongoing efforts to slash the federal workforce. It was foreshadowed weeks ago when Elon Musk, who’s become a highly influential and controversial voice in the White House, tweeted that the decade-old program had been “deleted.”
At this point I am not sure how this affects future updates to Login.gov. As far as I know the service itself remains operational.
To be continued? Or not continued?
Bredemarket 
3 Comments