Ideas

6 Steps to Improve an Agency’s Cyber Defenses

Here are several security actions agency and command leadership can take to harden their cyber defensive posture.

Cybersecurity

New OPM Cyber Czar Worried About an ISIS Hack

Clifton Triplett -- named OPM's first-ever senior cyber and IT adviser last month – says forthcoming access controls will blunt the severity of any future hack.

Emerging Tech

DHS Wants to Offer Alternative Contracts to Silicon Valley Startups

Traditional procurement takes too long for the new Silicon Valley office, a new DHS notice says.

Digital Government

Why the Federal Government Tracks Visitors to Dot-Govs

Analytics.usa.gov keeps tabs on traffic to more than 4,000 government websites.

Digital Government

Feds Will Require $5 Registration Fee for Drones

Drone companies are expecting big sales for the holidays, but the government just gave them a lump of coal.

Emerging Tech

Robots Are Now Fighting Fires in Australia

These fire-fighters can shoot out mists of water or foam from 60 meters away.

Emerging Tech

Video: Are Self-Driving Cars Really Safer?

Research shows that automated vehicles might not be accident free.

Modernization

3 CIO Insights on Cloud, Security and Mobile

The need for more collaboration was the focus of many of the discussions this year at the semi-annual Government Technology Research Alliance Summit.

Modernization

Trade Group: Government Needs to Ramp Up Cloud Adoption

A recent Professional Services Council survey found only 8 percent of federal CIOs progressed as much as they wanted to with cloud-based technology.

Emerging Tech

3 Things We Learned This Week from the White House’s Top Tech Officials

U.S. Chief Information Officer Tony Scott and Thomas Kalil, deputy director for policy at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, dropped a few notable soundbites and policy snippets.

Cybersecurity

OPM Rushed to Award $20M Post-Hack Contract -- and Ran Afoul of Federal Contracting Rules, IG Says

Because of OPM's missteps, "millions of taxpayer dollars were put at risk for waste or loss" the IG says.

Modernization

OMB Preps New Policy on Data Centers

OMB’s retooled guidelines are part of the administration's roadmap for implementing and operationalizing FITARA.

Cybersecurity

DARPA Wants Early Warning System for Cyberattacks

The Defense Department’s emerging technology agency is hosting a proposer’s day next week on rapid attack detection and characterization.

Modernization

Never Not Online

A new survey finds one in five Americans reports being online “almost constantly.”

Emerging Tech

Video: Car Crash Testing Goes Virtual

Computer-aided design is keeping us safe on the roads in new ways.

Cybersecurity

DHS Contract Expands Anti-Hacker EINSTEIN Protection to Every Agency

The deal was inked to complete a goal of making so-called EINSTEIN 3A network protections available to all civilian agencies by Dec. 31.

Emerging Tech

In-Q-Tel Invests in Firm That Says It Can Retrieve Evidence from Encrypted Devices

In-Q-Tel, the IC’s technology investment arm, did not disclose how much funding it will provide the Canadian-based Magnet Forensics.

Cybersecurity

Ethical Hacking Might Not Pay the Bills and That’s a Problem

“White hat” hackers have seen growing demand for their services but some say it’s not yet lucrative enough to keep people from using their skills for darker purposes.

Emerging Tech

Pentagon Aims to Revamp Global Command and Control System

DOD is looking specifically at deploying data in cloud-and mobile-based environments.

Cybersecurity

OPM Says Dead Federal Employees Also Need ID Theft Protection

The agency is mailing about 300,000 notification letters addressed to the departed