Digital Government

New Federal Program to Respond to Mass-Destruction Threats

New Federal Program to Respond to Mass Destruction Threats

Digital Government

Letters to the Editor

Working Together I appreciate your publication's interest in the administration's effort to address the Year 2000 problem and therefore was disappointed to read your March 23 editorial, 'Legislation not Year 2000 solution,' which mischaracterized my suggestion that there may be a need for future, a

Digital Government

Net Sentinel offers to file agencies' archiving woes

As federal agencies anticipate new requirements for maintaining their electronic files, a new company plans to offer, starting today, to take the problem of archiving and storing these documents off their hands. For a monthly fee, Net Sentinel Inc., Annandale, Va., will archive the contents of agen

Digital Government

CA adds remote-control technology options

Federal users of Computer Associates International Inc.'s Unicenter TNG systems management solution now have the option for integrated remote control of their servers and desktops, the company announced late last month. The Remote Control Option allows distant technical experts to address problems

Digital Government

Asymetrix ships course management software

Asymetrix Learning Systems Inc. last month began shipping a more scalable release of its computerbased training management software, which automates the distribution, lesson management and assessment of training applications. Librarian 6.0 works in conjunction with Asymetrix's ToolBook II software

Digital Government

NSA report details risks of key-recovery technology

The National Security Agency has prepared a report that may be the first federal government documentation of the potential risks posed by the encryption technology that has been at the center of a raging debate between the Clinton administration and industry. The report details the potential threat

Digital Government

Roster

Marie Monsees has been named program director of the National Institutes of Health's Information Technology Acquisition and Assessment Center. She is in charge of NIH's Electronic Computer Store II, Chief Information Officer Solutions and Partners, and ImageWorld contracts. Thomas Dunn is the new d

Digital Government

New satellite signals improve civilian use

The addition of two new civilian signals to navigation satellites widely used by federal agencies ranging from the Forest Service to the Census Bureau will provide greater accuracy and reliability with little or no increase in the cost of the receivers, according to top managers in the Global Posit

Digital Government

Intercepts

* The Great CIO Saga (continued). The campaign for the key deputy CIO slot at DOD continues unabated, with the fervor usually found in a smalltown election but then, the Pentagon does resemble a small town, albeit with a disproportionate number of supercharged egos. As Intercepts fans remember,

Digital Government

IRS wants flexibility in modernization effort

The Internal Revenue Service last month launched its muchanticipated contract worth more than half a billion dollars to modernize its outmoded information technology systems. Release of the request for proposals for the Prime systems integration project had been delayed for almost four months as I

Digital Government

Switched Ethernet emerges as high-speed LAN favorite

Although the demand for more network bandwidth could lead some agencies to adopt Fast Ethernet or other highspeed networking technologies, network vendors also are pushing switched networking as a more practical option. Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM), Fast Ethernet and highspeed token ring all

Digital Government

Fedwire

CDSI tapped for Senate LAN pact The U.S. Senate Sergeant at Arms late last month awarded a contract to Computer Data Systems Inc. for about $50 million worth of localarea network support services. CDSI will operate and maintain the Senate's Washington, D.C., LAN, which connects about 9,000 desktop

Digital Government

Gauss lays out IT plans for Spawar

Rear Adm. John Gauss, who last month took over as commander of the Navy's Space and Naval Warfare Command (Spawar), said he wants to deliver information to users as just another utility such as power and phone connections. The programs and projects Gauss plans in the near term will allow Navy user

Digital Government

FAA, industry team on LAAS

In an effort to reduce development costs and risks, the Federal Aviation Administration will work closely with industry to develop the specifications of a new satellitebased program that will help planes make precision landings at airports under inclement weather conditions. The LocalArea Augment

Digital Government

Fastlane steers AF base network traffic analysis

Fastlane Software Systems Inc. has landed the first purchase order for its Xni network traffic analysis and security software tool, through a contract with the 15th Communications Squadron at Hickam Air Force Base in Honolulu. Xni is designed to provide a graphical view of network usage and traffic

Digital Government

Federal Bytes

Justice pays the Bill (Gates) Microsoft Corp. is the company people love to hate, but it also makes the software people love to use. The Justice Department, which has engaged in a long and sometimes rancorous tussle with Microsoft about alleged violations of antimonopoly laws, appears to be yet an

Digital Government

Contract success sparks thoughts for MAIQ follow-on

A General Services Administration contract for governmentwide systems integration services has nearly reached its $840 million ceiling years ahead of schedule, and agency officials plan to meet later this month to discuss a followon contract. GSA awarded the multipleaward, indefinitequantity 960

Digital Government

HUD halts IT maintenance work to support Year 2000

Faced with less than a year to make its computer systems Year 2000compliant, the Department of Housing and Urban Development this month stopped routine maintenance on five of its largest systems so that programmers can devote their full attention to fixing the date codes in the systems. Under the

Digital Government

Set-Asides

Census dumps online plan The Census Bureau last month announced it will not allow citizens to respond to the 2000 census via the Internet because the agency is concerned about security and the perception that the confidentiality of census information might be compromised. The bureau will develop an

Digital Government

Audit mess tied to schedule woes

While members of Congress and the General Accounting Office last week blamed inadequate information technology systems for agencies' inability to create accurate financial statements, federal financial officials complain they are unable to purchase quality financial management systems (FMS) through