Ideas
The ObamaBerry Coming Soon
<em>The Washington Times</em> <a href="http://washingtontimes.com/news/2009/apr/23/inside-the-ring-77808870/">reported yesterday</a> that President Obama will soon be getting his hands on a souped-up, high-security Blackberry that the National Security Agency is currently developing:
Ideas
The CIA Memo Transparency Test
It was probably the stark absurdity of the situation that created the final decision tipping point: release classified documents relating to the CIA waterboarding of captured Al Qaeda members, but move mightily to keep information about aircraft bird strikes from the public.
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Hathaway Confirms What We Knew
In her first public speaking engagement since being named acting senior director for cyberspace by President Obama, Melissa Hathaway generally confirmed what was <a href=http://www.nextgov.com/nextgov/ng_20090403_9076.php?oref=search>previously reported</a> regarding the 60-day review of federal cybersecurity policies and initiatives: The White House should coordinate cybersecurity efforts; private sector needs to play a bigger role in securing cyberspace; and responsibility for the protection of federal computer networks and systems should be divvied among a number of agencies.
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IT Too Big for Obama Budget Cuts
Federal IT managers can breathe a sigh of relief. President Obama's proposal to <a href="http://www.govexec.com/story_page.cfm?articleid=42526&dcn=todaysnews">trim $100 million from the federal budget</a> is unlikely to affect ongoing IT projects, according to Deniece Peterson, principal analyst at market research firm INPUT in Reston, Va. She said the relatively small dollar figure means officials are likely to look elsewhere for savings.
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TechAmerica's Cybersecurity Council Chair
Phillip Dunkelberger, chief executive officer of e-mail and data encryption software vendor PGP Corp., will chair a cybersecurity council of industry executives.
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Time's Up on Cyber Review
An interagency group is in the process of submitting to President Obama the findings and recommendations that resulted from a 60-day review of the federal government's cybersecurity initiatives. the study came to a close on April 17.
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New CTO to Wear Two Hats
Aneesh Chopra, the nation's first-ever chief technology officer, would serve as both "assistant to the president" and "associate director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy," if confirmed by the Senate, White House officials said on Monday.
Ideas
Oracle to Buy Sun
Officially squashing <a href=http://www.nextgov.com/nextgov/ng_20090318_5314.php>rumors</a> of an IBM purchase once and for all, Sun Micro Systems will be acquired by software company Oracle for about $7.4 billion, <em>The New York Times</em> <a href=http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/21/technology/companies/21sun.html>reported</a> this morning.
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Library of Congress Taps YouTube
The Library of Congress launched its own YouTube channel on April 7. The site currently offers 74 videos organized by the following playlists:
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Cyberattacks From Left Field
The Internet is <a href="http://www.nypost.com/seven/04162009/postopinion/opedcolumnists/the_vet_threat_164623.htm">buzzing</a> about the release this week of a <a href="http://www.fas.org/irp/eprint/rightwing.pdf">controversial report</a> from DHS' Office of Intelligence and Analysis detailing the threat of returning military veterans being recruited by radical right-wing groups (think skinheads, Timothy McVeigh).
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Standards for Mobile Transparency
The rapid communication achieved through text messaging and twittering has made citizens impatient for the government to go interactive.
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A New, New Media Chief at Defense?
Seems like the White House got the memo on the <a href="http://www.nextgov.com/nextgov/ng_20090415_8127.php">importance of social media to national security</a>.
Ideas
Donate Equipment, Train IT Workers
Military veterans will have access to IT training and certifications funded by a program that auctions off used computer equipment.
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OpenSecrets Opens Data
Lobbyist watchdog Web site <a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/">OpenSecrets.org</a> is releasing the data underlying its searchable databases so that anyone can download and manipulate the information, the site announced on Monday.
Ideas