Japan's Digital Agency starts its My Number Card service on Android phones
Upper floors of the glass-clad office tower at Tokyo Garden Terrace Kioicho in Tokyo, where Japan's Digital Agency has its offices, against a blue sky.Photo: Akonnchiroll / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Japan's Digital Agency has started its "My Number Card on Android" service, it announced on 20 October 2026. According to Keitai Watch, it works on phones running Android 12 or later that have a separate hardware security chip, and lets users show details such as their name, address and photo on the phone. Until now, Android phones could use only functions of the card's chip, Keitai Watch reports, while an iPhone version started in June 2025. Keitai Watch says users can show just that they are 20 or older, without revealing their name or address.
The General Services Administration (GSA) has signed a OneGov agreement with US AI. Nextgov reports that US AI is a North Bethesda, Maryland, company and that it is GSA's first direct-to-government OneGov deal with an 8(a) certified small business. GSA's listing offers federal agencies up to 30 per cent off eligible software licences, plus two-week proof-of-value pilots for $1, on a FedRAMP High-authorised platform. GSA describes the offer as a limited-time offering that expires on 30 September 2028. The entry shows no signing date. GSA lists these terms under the US AI entry.
Governor Abigail Spanberger signed Executive Directive 6 on 23 October. It tells the Secretary of Public Safety and Homeland Security to set up a Cyber Consortium, which must adopt a statewide cyberattack prevention and response plan and an infrastructure-hardening plan that address AI-related risks. AI companies are to be asked to share with the Cyber Consortium the confidential briefings and reports they give other government bodies, including New York's Department of Financial Services under the RAISE Act and the European AI Office. The secretary is to aim for briefings on AI risks at least quarterly, and a tabletop exercise at least yearly. Other states will be invited to join.
Japan's Digital Agency said on 22 October that data may have leaked after a third party accessed the cloud environment of Studio, whose service ran part of its website. The agency lists five categories of potentially affected contact-form submissions, each a maximum, together at most 13,323, including up to 3,661 enquiries about its vaccination certificate app, plus 35 staff or contractor accounts. The agency says the scope is being examined and no misuse has been confirmed. Aomori Prefecture said on 21 October that data on 206 event applicants, collected by its contractor on Studio, may have leaked.
Oman has launched the second phase of its National Digital Economy Programme, for 2026–2030, a release on the Foreign Ministry's website says. It focuses on digitalising strategic sectors, expanding e-commerce and electronic payments, and accelerating artificial intelligence adoption. The release gives its targets as a contribution of 1.5 billion Omani rials to gross domestic product (GDP), 300 million rials in technology investment and 3,000 new direct jobs a year. The programme's Strategic Intelligence Platform, built with the World Economic Forum, was also launched. An official survey cited in the release puts the digital economy at 9 per cent of GDP.
