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Cyber an NSA, Not a DHS, Thing
The debate over who controls cybersecurity in government is heating up. The news that Rod Beckstrom would resign this coming Friday as director of the National Cybersecurity Center elevated the struggle between who will control cybersecurity in the federal government.
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Stimulate This
TechAmerica, the technology industry association formed by the merger of the Information Technology Association of America and AeA, sponsored a luncheon today where they offered the industry's take on the estimated $100 billion set aside for IT in the recently passed economic stimulus bill.
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What Stimulus Spending Looks Like
If you're still confused what the economic stimulus spending will look like, consider this <a href=https://e-center.doe.gov/doebiz.nsf/d76fbc294818822885256d98006c63b6/0b37b72285cd2c7185257569006d57e6?OpenDocument>"notice of intent"</a> to issue a grant that the Energy Department posted on Thursday.
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$250B Ain't What it Used to Be
Obama's economic stimulus package has nearly tens, if not hundreds, of billions of dollars worth of information technology spending in it, but don't expect that to help out the IT industry.
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Obama Still Hearts YouTube
Tech Insider <a href="http://techinsider.nextgov.com/2009/03/no_more_youtube_for_obama.php">cited yesterday a report</a> that the White House had dropped YouTube as its platform for Obama's weekly addresses. "After taking some heat from privacy advocates, the Obama administration has switched from using YouTube to post President Obama's weekly addresses to Vimeo."
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No More YouTube for Obama
After taking some heat from privacy advocates, the Obama administration has switched from using YouTube to post President Obama's weekly addresses to <a href="http://vimeo.com/">Vimeo</a>, <a href="http://news.cnet.com/8301-13739_3-10184578-46.html">according to CNet's Chris Soghoian</a>.
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A New Way to Manage an Agency
In this month's Government Executive magazine, Nextgov's Tech Insider blogger Robert Charette, a risk management expert who consults with federal agencies, <a href=http://www.govexec.com/features/0309-01/0309-01s2.htm>argues</a> that agencies would meet their missions better if they adopted risk management techniques as part of their strategic management plans.
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A Look at Agency Stimulus Tracking
A quick scan of the stimulus tracking sites shows that most agencies like to use text - a lot of text - to present information. That makes navigating a bit tedious. But some departments, like the <a href=http://www.hhs.gov/recovery/>Health and Human Services Department</a>, looks to have put a bit more effort into designing their site, using graphics and thinking about how to package content.
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Moving Tech Front and Center
The federal information technology community must still be pinching themselves to make sure they are not dreaming. Almost every administration relegated IT to the back rooms, thinking of the computer guys as propeller heads, and chief information technology officers as someone who were there to <a href="http://www.cio.com/article/20909/Federal_IT_Flunks_Out">fix the secretary's BlackBerry</a>.
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Cyberwarriors Fight the DOS Blitzkreig
The Defense Department has been conducting training exercises for cyberwarriors for years, but it finally formalized the operations in the National Cyber Range. From an article on MSNBC:
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Federal CIOs' Power on the Rise
For CIOs, some good news from the latest <a href=http://www.nextgov.com/nextgov/ng_20090224_9757.php CIO survey conducted by Tech America</a>, the industry association that was formed with the merger of the Information Technology Association of America and AeA.
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Headline of the Day
From the National Institute of Standards and Technology's Feb. 24 issue of TechBeat, the agency's biweekly tip sheet for journalists:
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Reading the E-Verify Tea Leaves
From my colleague Humberto Sanchez at <em>CongressDaily </em>comes the news that the $410 billion omnibus <a href="http://appropriations.house.gov/default.aspx">spending bill</a> unveiled on Monday by House Democrats includes authorization for the controversial E-Verify program through the end of the fiscal year.
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DHS' New Privacy Officer
Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano <a href="http://www.dhs.gov/ynews/releases/pr_1235067917533.shtm">announced today</a> that she has appointed Mary Ellen Callahan as chief privacy officer for the department. Callahan is a partner in the international law firm Hogan and Harston in Washington working on privacy and security issues.
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Where're the Details on GovTrip Hack?
First it was <a href="http://www.nextgov.com/nextgov/ng_20090210_9221.php">the FAA</a>. Now news comes of another government Web site<a href="http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9128173&intsrc=news_ts_head"> being hacked</a>.
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