Web Headlines

Headlines from around the Web for Wednesday, Feb. 13, 2008
Compiled by Melanie Bender

Lockheed Secures Contract to Expand Biometric Database

The Washington Post

The FBI yesterday announced the award of a $1 billion, 10-year contract to Lockheed Martin to develop what is expected to be the world's largest crime-fighting computer database of biometric information, including fingerprints, palm prints, iris patterns and face images.

U.S. Government Plans For Increased IP Enforcement

InformationWeek

Federal agencies charged with protecting intellectual property will try to help small and medium-sized enterprises finance foreign IP registrations and evaluate assets through audits. They will also expand outreach programs to address IP issues and explain economic, safety, and health impacts from counterfeit goods.

U.S. Program to Verify Worker Status Is Growing

The New York Times

The number of businesses taking part in a voluntary program that allows them to verify electronically their newly hired employees’ legal authorization to work in the United States is soaring, the federal government said Tuesday. About 52,000 employers are now using a Web-based system, known as E-Verify, compared with 14,265 a year ago.

When a Bus Becomes a Superbus

Governing

City and county fleets all across the country are pulling into the high-tech fast lane, gaining ground on cars for commuting. The new generation of buses offers passengers benefits â€" not just TV but Wi-Fi and other high-tech amenities â€" they couldn't enjoy if they were behind the wheel of a car.

Georgia Government Tracks Down Missing Data, Virtualizes Storage

NetworkWorld

Knowing the location of your data may seem simple enough, but figuring out where data lives and, in some cases, where it has been placed inappropriately was a key part of a $400,000 project led by Puckett, the IT services manager for Georgia’s Gwinnett County government.

Senate Passes Spy Bill, Phone Immunity

InformationWeek

U.S. phone companies that took part in President Bush's warrantless domestic spying program would receive retroactive immunity from lawsuits under a bill passed overwhelmingly Tuesday by the Democratic-led Senate. But it was unclear if the Democratic-led House would also approve the measure to shield firms from potentially billions of dollars in civil damages.

High-Tech Giants Seeking Massive Tax Break

Seattle Post-Intelligencer

Microsoft and a handful of other tech giants are quietly securing a state tax break that could be worth more than $1 billion through legislation forged amid corporate threats and an interstate bidding war for computer server farms that have become the backbone of the Internet.

E-Vote: Colorado to Begin Recertification of Voting Machines

Government Technology

Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter on Monday signed bipartisan legislation that will allow Secretary of State Mike Coffman to begin the review and recertification process for electronic voting machines that the secretary decertified in December.

Students in DOD-Supported Schools Share Info Through Network

Stars and Stripes

DODDS-E Net, which began as an in-house e-mail system for students to keep in touch with deployed parents has evolved into a computer network that includes student-to-student messaging, blogs and electronic homework assignments.

FAA Wants Help Becoming Cybersecurity Shared-Services Provider

Federal Computer Week

The Federal Aviation Administration wants to become a shared-services provider under the Security Line of Business initiative. In a market survey released on FedBizOpps.gov last week, FAA asked for support services for a “leading edge cybersecurity management center.”

VeriSign Moves Closer to IPv6

Government Computer News

VeriSign Inc., which operates two of the Internet’s 13 Domain Name System root servers, has upgraded the servers to enable them to handle native IPv6 traffic. VeriSign Chief Technology Officer Ken Silva called the enhancements “the next logical step in improving the availability efficiency and reliability of the core Internet infrastructure.

CRS: DHS Directorate Lacks Collaborative Spirit

Washington Technology

Industry executives find it difficult to work with the Homeland Security Department’s Science and Technology Directorate because of the agency’s lack of responsiveness, according to a new report from the Congressional Research Service.

U.S. Recession May Benefit Indian Outsourcers

InfoWorld

Close on the heels of the appreciation of the Indian rupee against the dollar, Indian outsourcing companies are grappling with a new problem -- uncertainty among U.S. companies about a recession has made these companies delay finalizing their IT budgets. If the IT budgets of U.S. customers are marginally impacted in a recession, then there is an increase in business offshore to cut costs, a Forrester analyst said.