Digital Government

Office etiquette? There's a bot for that.

Slackbots offer a new way for agencies to guide employees' workplace conversations, but there are limits to bots' ability to save people from uncomfortable confrontations.

Cybersecurity

Wassenaar Arrangement could get a redo over cyber

Lawmakers heard from skeptical industry experts on the export control policy and process of implementing the 2013 amendments to the Wassenaar Arrangement.

People

You can never start a transition too early

The wheels are in motion for the next handoff of presidential power in 2017, and while government has plenty to do, outside partnerships are forming a key part of the "let's not mess this transition up" coalition.

Ideas

Digital Customer Experience: 3 Tips for Making Real Change in the Federal Government

Federal organizations can benefit from a digital approach that seeks to understand user needs, engages them and maintains usability and performance.

People

State of the Union is light on cyber, but touches on online terror

President Obama's final State of the Union address was light on tech, and was his first in many years not to directly address cybersecurity.

Cybersecurity

Jeb Bush plans to hold government IT managers accountable

In an op-ed for Business Insider, the GOP presidential candidate called for "the federal government must put its own house in order, prioritizing to reflect the urgency and importance of protecting key databases and communications."

Modernization

Does Pentagon Need a Narrow Definition of Cloud?

Ambiguity might actually be best when it comes to cloud -- at least for now, says DISA CTO.

Cybersecurity

McCain slams White House’s cyber deterrence plan

The Obama administration's long-anticipated cyber deterrence plan doesn't feature enough offense for Sen. John McCain.

People

Indie CIOs fall under FITARA's scope

A spending bill provision expands CIO budget authority to independent agencies, but whether or how agencies will actually change their operations is an open question.

Digital Government

Hill watchdogs warn on shortcomings in VA's claims system

The Veterans Benefits Management System has improved responses to compensation claims, but government watchdogs are questioning the VA's claims of improvement, as well as overall agency management.

Cybersecurity

IG: Human traffickers exploit data gaps at DHS

Ineffective data gathering and sharing between ICE and USCIS aid human traffickers, an IG report says.

Cybersecurity

Pentagon wraps up classified study of enterprise cyber defense

Pentagon officials have completed a classified assessment of the effectiveness of enterprise cybersecurity tools at defense agencies, and the assessors are sharing lessons with the military services.

Modernization

GSA seeks to create governmentwide cloud portfolio

The Office of Citizen Services and Innovative Technologies wants to explore the feasibility of creating a program that would help agencies transition to cloud computing technologies and services.

Cybersecurity

Pentagon Investigators to Probe NSA’s Crackdown on Rogue IT Employees

Be it a rogue contractor or an unknowing employee with sloppy login and logoff habits, insiders are a major threat to U.S. secrets, say researchers and federal officials.

Digital Government

The Cunning Way Hackers Break So-Called Unbreakable Encryption

If you’re a cryptographer, patterns are your enemy. But if you’re a cryptanalyst—someone who’s trying to break the code—they’re your friend.