Digital Government
ISS offers security outsourcing package
Internet Security Systems Inc. recently moved into the federal market with its ePatrol managed security services, which will enable agencies to outsource security management while maintaining control of security policy. Security vendors are starting to move beyond offering products, consulting or i
Digital Government
Database to track health care fraud
Beginning today, public and private agencies involved in health care services must report any convictions or judgments against them to a new database designed to curtail health care fraud and abuse. The new Healthcare Integrity and Protection Data Bank will contain the following information on heal
Digital Government
Feds receive 'above average' grade on Y2K
Lawmakers today released the last in a series of Year 2000 report cards, giving the federal government an overall grade of Bplus for its efforts to correct the computer date problem.
Digital Government
Bill would boost DNA crime-fighting
State and federal agencies would get more than $50 million to build DNA crimesolving databases in a bill introduced last week by Rep. Benjamin Gilman (RN.Y.) The bill, the Convicted Offender DNA Index System Support Act, aims to ease states' backlogs in processing DNA samples used in databases of
Digital Government
Go ahead, forget that password
No longer the stuff of science fiction, biometrics the use of a person's physical characteristics and habits to identify that person was hot enough at this year's fall Comdex show in Las Vegas to warrant its own pavilion. Not limited to recognizing body parts such as fingerprints, irises and fa
Digital Government
CIOs look to grade fed security
As it becomes more evident that agencies may have licked the Year 2000 problem, the CIO Council has turned its attention to the next big obstacle facing federal information technology: security. The council has begun to collect and develop a series of benchmarks that will enable Congress and admini
Digital Government
Bases in Pacific gobble bandwidth
HONOLULU A voracious appetite for bandwidth has nearly overwhelmed a recently launched Defense Department program here to double the capacity of the cables that handle phone calls and Internet service for military personnel stationed throughout the Pacific Ocean. In April, the Defense Informatio
Digital Government
Cities offered tips on Y2K preparedness
Global Action Plan (GAP), a nonprofit environmental education organization, is offering 125,000 brochures on basic Year 2000 preparedness for free to municipalities and civic organizations.
Digital Government
Competition adds value to IT contracting
About a year ago, the Federal Computer Acquisition Center (FEDCAC), which is part of the General Service Administration's Federal Technology Service, recompeted a contract for information technology disaster recovery services. The center originally had awarded the contract in 1993, prior to the gro
Digital Government
WebSphere spans application server demands
Two criteria govern the selection of an enterpriselevel application server: It must fit within your existing application infrastructure, and it must be capable of growing as your application framework expands. IBM Corp.'s WebSphere Application Server 3.0 stands out on both counts. First, WebSphere
Digital Government
Firms lead feds into Web video
Of all the types of data that will be part of the future Internet, video holds the most promise as an application medium but also poses the most problems. While video can be run over the Internet, there's no way to browse and search it in the same way as text. A company called Virage Inc., based in
Digital Government
Air Force tests improved GPS radio
In the four years since fighter pilot Scott O'Grady's plane was shot down by the Serbian Army over Bosnia, forcing him to spend days hiding behind enemy lines waiting for rescuers, the Air Force has been trying to develop a radio that could better use the Global Positioning System to rescue downed
Digital Government
First step: Defense bandwidth
The Army wants to transform itself into a lightweight fighting force capable of rapid deployment to military trouble spots anywhere in the world. That's a laudable goal. As the service moves its sights away from the monolithic menace of the former Soviet Union and toward smaller, hotter and more wi
Digital Government
Choose wisely: Health care costs on the rise
It is now open season for federal employees to move to a new health insurance plan. However, that flexibility to change plans every year and the rising costs of prescription drugs are making health care coverage more expensive for employees. Average annual subscriber premiums for the Federal Employ
Digital Government
Intercepts
HONOLULU THE 438TON PROBLEM. The Army Signal Command shipped 438 tons of communications gear, bought during the Cold War, from Fort Huachuca, Ariz., to support peacekeeping operations in East Timor. My mobile Intercept unit, out here for the annual AFCEA AsiaPacific conference, has picked up s
Digital Government
Corel Linux poised to challenge desktop rivals
It's obvious that Linux, the 'operating system that could,' is well suited for serverbased tasks. In large agencies, Linux also is highly viable as a midtier platform, and it is equally qualified to tackle server functions at smaller agencies or in a departmental setting. But for all its reliabil
Digital Government
ESRI wins $22M mapping deal
The National Imagery and Mapping Agency took a big step toward standardizing on commercial mapping software by inking a $22 million deal with Environmental Systems Research Institute Inc. for a host of electronic and geospatial mapping products. For NIMA, a Defense Department group that has relied
Digital Government
Unisys Federal changes leadership
James McGuirk, the longtime president of Unisys Federal Systems, quietly left his post recently amid a top management shakeup at the McLean, Va.based firm.
Digital Government
Army takes over Navy's mega-IT contracts
San Diego The Army plans to take the lead in acquiring highend computer systems and databases for the Defense Department and other federal agencies. On Jan. 11, the Army plans to release a request for proposals for the Army Small Computer Program's Mini Maxi and Database contract and plans to m
Digital Government