Acquisition
NIST app competition, Clapper's hack warning, DIA protests and a new intel CIO
News and notes from around the federal IT community.
Emerging Tech
Obama Talks Federal IT on ‘Daily Show”
The commander in chief discussed the wave of Silicon Valley tech talent invading government, challenges in IT procurement and how better IT can lead to better federal customer service.
Emerging Tech
USDA Teams Up with Microsoft on Food Data Challenge
The newly launched Innovation Challenge aims to inspire the public to create tech tools for analyzing food supply data.
Emerging Tech
Here's What Its Like to Pilot a Giant Fighting Robot
MegaBots was founded by three engineers who didn’t want to use their skills to go work for another large tech firm in the valley.
People
Improving the skills of your IT staff
Assessing your employees' abilities and identifying skills gaps require a less subjective approach.
Acquisition
GAO resolves DHS CDM protest
Hewlett-Packard Enterprise Services lost its protest of an award that went to Knowledge Consulting Group.
People
HumanGeo acquired by Radiant Group
HumanGeo, which focuses on developing big data analytics and visualizations, was founded by Federal 100 award winners Al Di Leonardo and Abe Usher.
Cybersecurity
ID Theft Prevention Might Not Protect OPM Hack Victims, Top Democrat Says
Experts advise those affected learn how to spot deception in emails, phone calls and social interactions.
Cybersecurity
Hackers Take Aim at Census Employees, Compromise CVS Photo Customers, and Snoop on Epic Gamers
Just another week in ThreatWatch, our regularly updated index of noteworthy data breaches.
Digital Government
Treasury takes to Twitter to tout 10
The Treasury Department has enlisted 18F to assist its digital strategy and social media campaign for #TheNew10 launch of the first U.S. currency featuring a woman.
Digital Government
IFTTT: Your digital duct tape
IFTTT's developer platform can fuel everything from open archives to wearable devices with government application programming interfaces.
Cybersecurity
Could a Free Tool Have Stopped the OPM Hack? (And How to Get One for Yourself)
Created by two nonprofit companies, this software is completely free, can be used by anyone, and is actually pretty good at generating real, actionable intelligence.
Cybersecurity
Georgia Agency Emails a Contractor the Health Diagnoses of 3,000 Senior Citizens
Government (U.S.) // Healthcare and Public Health // Georgia, United States
Ideas
Government Hacked Yet Again. It's About Time Federal Cybersecurity Became a National Issue
The aftermath of the OPM hack, with all its humiliating details of ignored warnings, has shown the federal government is both stubbornly slow to fix mistakes and woefully understaffed with cybersecurity experts.
Digital Government
Video: Data as a Utility Has Unexpected Upshots
Just like the state's roads, anyone can use open data in Connecticut.
Digital Government
NIST Draws up Guidelines for Protecting Medical Patient Data on Mobile Devices
The guidelines attempt to ensure doctors don't compromise patient data when they use smartphones to access electronic health records.
Cybersecurity
ICE Cyber Crimes Center Gets Overhaul
Nearly two decades after its launch, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Cyber Crimes Center received its first major makeover.
Emerging Tech
What Happens if There’s a Massive Data Breach in the Cloud?
Federal cloud security standards have been hugely successful thus far in ensuring cloud service providers that serve government customers aren’t bringing knives to gun fights.
Cybersecurity