Byte Back bows out

Newsletter for July 31, 2024

After decades of programming for thousands of students in DC and Baltimore, the digital literacy nonprofit Byte Back recently announced that it's shutting down classes. It's unclear why the organization, which offered no-cost courses on topics ranging from Microsoft Office basics to CompTIA A+, is closing. But a NoVa organization is trying to fill the void left for Byte Back's students. You can read more about that below.

Also, many people and businesses are still reeling from the CrowdStrike breakdown the other week. For one Baltimore founder, the outage highlights a real issue in the tech world: Cybersecurity and operations teams need to work together more.

— Kaela, Technical.ly lead reporter in DC and Baltimore

For the bulk of its 27-year existence, Byte Back operated in DC before expanding to Baltimore in 2019. The nonprofit offered virtual and in-person classes, taught in both English and Spanish, on a wide range of technical skills. As of its 25th anniversary, it had served 7,000 people and was highly regarded by the DC government.

But there's another option for people affected by the sudden and unexplained closure. Computer CORE, which offers all-virtual, no-cost digital literacy classes for Virginia residents, will accept Byte Back enrollees from DC and Maryland for the foreseeable future.

Despite stepping in, Computer CORE's executive director Donna Walker James told me that a major gap remains in teaching digital literacy in DC and Maryland.

“It’s a big void that’ll be there,” James said. “A real need.”

➡️ Learn more about Byte Back's end and how Computer CORE is stepping in.

This month's CrowdStrike fiasco, while extreme, is far from the only recent instance of a software issue disrupting major systems. In May, the health payment processing company Change Healthcare failed to deploy a software update, which led to a cyber attack.

These are different cases that represent similar challenges in cybersecurity and operations, writes Tina Williams-Koroma, the founding CEO of Baltimore-based companies CyDeploy and TCecure.

Updating and protecting programs is a balancing act, Williams-Koroma said, and organizations need to better manage security changes. Her company CyDeploy is attempting to bridge the gap between cybersecurity and operations teams so that fewer outages like CrowdStrike's happen.

➡️ Learn more about the cyber-operations divide in Williams-Koroma's op-ed.

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Leaders are seeking innovative AI solutions that transform work environments, facilitate collaborative efforts across teams and organizations, improve accessibility and inclusivity, increase personal productivity, supercharge supply and demand planning, boost climate resilience and upskill the workforce of tomorrow.

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• Body-camera video obtained through a Maryland Public Information Act request shows police officers rescuing construction worker Julio Cervantes Suarez after the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse. [Baltimore Banner]

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• Columbia-based Nava Health cleared a roadblock to go public in a $320 million deal with the Gaithersburg-based special acquisition company 99 Acquisition Group. [Baltimore Biz Journal]

• Maryland’s first offshore wind farm off the Delmarva Peninsula will have minor adverse effects on the environment, according to a recent report. Most of those impacts will be temporary. [Baltimore Banner]