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Aliya Sternstein

Senior Correspondent

Aliya Sternstein reports on cybersecurity and homeland security systems for Nextgov. She has covered technology for nine years at such publications as National Journal's TechnologyDaily, Federal Computer Week and Forbes. Before joining Government Executive, she covered agriculture and derivatives trading for Congressional Quarterly. She has been a guest commentator on C-SPAN, WTOP and Federal News Radio. She is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania.

Results 1611-1620 of 1688

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Lawmaker predicts U.S.-China space race

January 11, 2008 A space race between the United States and China will emerge in the next five to 10 years and could jeopardize U.S. national security, a key House lawmaker said Friday. Floridian Tom Feeney, ranking Republican on the Science and Technology Space and Aeronautics Subcommittee, made the comment after the Congressional ...

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Legal experts, labor leaders decry e-mail ruling

January 7, 2008 A recent ruling by the National Labor Relations Board that lets employers block employees from using company e-mail for "non-job-related solicitations" flies in the face of a labor law meant to protect democracy in the workplace, some professors argue. The decision arose after an employee at The Register-Guard, a daily ...

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Federal tech spending gets more scrutiny

December 21, 2007 The comprehensive spending bill for the federal government in fiscal 2008 indicates that Congress is exercising more oversight and demanding more transparency of information technology contracts, an industry group leader said Friday. "It's too early to tell how good [the package] is for IT procurement," said Alan Chvotkin of the ...

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Fewer connections could limit cyber attacks, agency official says

December 12, 2007 A Justice Department cyber-security official on Wednesday touted the government's strategy of reducing its number of Internet connections to 50 by June in order to reduce cyber vulnerabilities. The government's "Trusted Internet Connections" initiative, which was announced last month, will help protect information by shrinking the attack surface area -- ...

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NASA will check backgrounds despite criticism

December 7, 2007 NASA is going forward with what some are calling "invasive" background checks at all but one of its field centers despite ongoing litigation to end the process at that facility, NASA officials said Thursday. On Wednesday, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in California heard arguments in the case ...

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Tech problems hamper drug agency, report says

December 3, 2007 Severe weaknesses in information technology are hampering the Food and Drug Administration's regulatory role, with some computer systems unable to distinguish between different forms of common chemical compounds like salt, an advisory panel said Monday. "The IT situation at FDA is problematic at best -- and at worst it is ...

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Panel eyes ways to enhance hospital communications

November 28, 2007 A diverse advisory committee representing the technology sector, healthcare community and all levels of government met Wednesday to hear from each other and outside officials on efforts to ensure that medical facilities can communicate with each other during disasters. The Commerce Department and FCC established the Joint Advisory Committee on ...

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Courts offer libraries free access to e-records

November 20, 2007 For the first time, the U.S. court system is providing free access to its online court records at select libraries. Lawyers say that waived fees for the system known as Public Access to Court Electronic Records, or PACER, which typically costs 8 cents per search, will empower citizens who choose ...

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FCC announces creation of telehealth initiative

November 19, 2007 The FCC is moving into the healthcare arena. Chairman Kevin Martin last week announced a plan for a $400 million effort to expand treatment access for Americans in rural and impoverished areas via high-speed Internet services. The expansion of long-distance healthcare, known as telehealth, will help lay the foundation for ...

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Privacy concerns plague Senate health IT legislation

November 16, 2007 The Senate's eagerness to mandate incentives for modernizing healthcare through information technology has prompted concerns about enacting a law without adequate privacy protections. Psychiatrist Deborah Peel, founder of the Patient Privacy Rights Foundation, has alerted her coalition of nearly 40 organizations, including the American Academy of Family Physicians and the ...