Digital Government
GAO: IT security law needed
Agencies have improved the security of many information systems, but the lack of clearly defined roles among agencies coordinating security has hindered federal security experts' ability to protect systems from intrusion, according to the General Accounting Office. Agencies have spent the past two
Digital Government
Marine unit buys attack-modeling software
The Marine Corps' Chemical Biological Incident Response Force (CBIRF), one of the Defense Department's leading antiterrorism units, recently purchased an enterprise license for one of the first software applications capable of modeling and predicting the impact of terrorist attacks involving nucle
Digital Government
SI Outlook: CExec makes it big in government
IDG News Service For more than 20 years the small Dulles, Va.based systems integrator CExec Inc. has quietly maintained a steady stream of federal business, including contracts to produce passports and build networks for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. This year, largely thanks to renewed feder
Digital Government
Letters
A balanced view of NTIS I am writing on behalf of all National Technical Information Service employees. We noted with interest J. Timothy Sprehe's commentary concerning Commerce Secretary William Daley's proposal to eliminate NTIS [FCW, Aug. 30]. We realize that the commentary most likely was based
Digital Government
County close to $644 million outsourcing deal
In what would be the largest technology outsourcing pact among local governments, San Diego County is close to awarding Computer Sciences Corp. a $644 million contract to take responsibility for managing the county's computer and telephone systems.
Digital Government
GTE wins $30M weather contract
The National Weather Service recently awarded GTE Information Systems LLC a contract potentially worth $29.4 million to build a more reliable and less expensive satellitebased system to disseminate weather information. GTE will beef up the existing National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration W
Digital Government
A clickable Army
The Army's top soldier plans what he calls a 'major transformation' of the service from a tankheavy force designed to fight the Soviet Army on the plains of Europe into a lightweight deployable machine capable of quick response anywhere on the globe, relying heavily on technology to cut the fat. G
Digital Government
GovWorks forms civic partnerships
GovWorks.com, which helps municipalities nationwide provide online information and services, announced last week that it has formed partnerships with the U.S. Conference of Mayors (USCM) and the International City/County Management Association (ICMA) to work on new projects.
Digital Government
DOD accounting system off-balance, Inspector General's report finds
Longstanding glitches in one of the Defense Department's main finance and accounting systems have caused the Pentagon's financial managers to lose track of more than $1.8 billion during a sevenyear period.
Digital Government
Is government 'computer chaos' over?
While looking through some old files recently, I came across a report addressing federal agencies' problems with developing large computer projects. The report 'Computer Chaos: Billions Wasted Buying Federal Computer Systems,' which was investigated by William Cohen, now the secretary of Defense
Digital Government
Roster Change
Joanne Connelly, former editor of Federal Computer Week, last week was named vice president for consulting at Federal Sources Inc. starting Oct. 25. In her new role, Connelly will advise small and large companies about business opportunities in federal agencies. Maj. Gen. David Gust, program execut
Digital Government
Entry-level servers: Workgroup workhorses
The latest entrylevel workgroup servers, 500 MHz Intel Corp. Pentium IIIs, are ideal for small workgroups. These file and print servers are not meant for department level use or critical data storage. Rather, they are basic workhorses for printing, email and standard file storage, and perfect fo
Digital Government
Outsourcing: Friend or foe?
As the trend to outsource work to private contractors grows more popular in government, it is imperative that Congress keep in check the potential abuse of the process. A recently enacted bill that requires the Defense Department to report on its use of outsourcing is a good first step in this dire
Digital Government
Laptops improve students' attendance, performance
A year after providing free laptop computers to all of its students and teachers, Mississippi's Hancock High School has seen attendance rates rise and discipline problems decline, the school's superintendent said at last week's Hancock Technology Day.
Digital Government
NARA fees miff feds
A new National Archives and Records Administration program that requires agencies to pay for storage and retrieval of paper records has angered some agencies, threatening NARA's upgrade to its storage and retrieval system. Under the federal records center reimbursable program, which began Oct. 1, N
Digital Government
Justice names deputy CIO
Deputy Attorney General Eric Holder Jr. on Oct. 15 named Linda Burek to head the Justice Department's information resources program. In her new role, Burek will serve as deputy chief information officer and deputy assistant attorney general for information resources management. She had held those p
Digital Government
Experts say electromagnetic pulse devices threaten U.S.
Experts this month warned Congress that terrorists and foreign countries may have a new cyberweapon at their disposal to counter U.S. military might electromagnetic pulse devices. When 'detonated,' an EMP weapon produces a pulse of energy that creates a powerful electromagnetic field capable of
Digital Government
Bytes
Y2K: No laughing matter. Picture this: It's New Year's Eve. You're full of cocktail peanuts and champagne. You're a little giddy and getting giddier. The clock ticks over to midnight. Then the lights go out, and panic sets in. 'Where's the flashlight? What did I do with the bottled water? To heck w
Digital Government
DOE site makes research easier
The Energy Department last week unveiled a new World Wide Web site that will enable visitors to search through more than 500 scientific and technical research publications. The new site, PubScience (pubsci.osti.gov), was developed through an ongoing partnership between DOE's Office of Science and T
Digital Government