Cybersecurity

Hackers Scavenge CareFirst and Manipulate the Federal Reserve

Just another week in ThreatWatch, our regularly updated index of noteworthy data breaches.

Modernization

Counting mobile, robot gap, rural tech and more

News and notes from around the federal IT community.

Cybersecurity

FBI delayed privacy protection rules for Section 215 data, says IG

An IG report asserts that it should not "have taken 7 years … to develop minimization procedures" to protect the privacy of data.

Digital Government

BLS on CPI: I'm old fashioned, but I don't mind it

One of economics' most important numbers depends on data collected by hand – data that's largely already online, posted freely by merchants and their customers.

People

DOD needs a change in acquisition culture

The Pentagon needs a modern, agile acquisition process that can get technology into the field faster — and industry should take the lead.

Modernization

How many parties does it take to provide a single government login?

Identity management is central to efforts to make a wide range of IT activities secure, but streamlining the process is essential.

Emerging Tech

Inside the USAJobs Revamp and Other Digital Summit Highlights

Successful programs tended to come at problems from a user-centric point of view.

Cybersecurity

Health Insurer CareFirst Popped By Hackers

Healthcare and Public Health

Cybersecurity

Edward Snowden: Rand Paul's 'Filibuster' Is a 'Sea Change'

The ex-spy answered Reddit users' questions about NSA reform Thursday.

Digital Government

John Boehner on NSA: The Senate Must Act, But 'We’ll Certainly Look at What They Do'

The House speaker's remarks on Thursday suggest his chamber hasn't written off a "clean" renewal of the Patriot Act.

Digital Government

Watchdog Says Agencies Aren’t Tracking How Much They Spend on Smartphones

The federal government spends about $1.2 billion each year on circa 1.5 million mobile devices and services.

Modernization

Video: Apple Now Has New Location-Tracking Powers

How the tech company is improving upon GPS for its users.

Cybersecurity

Gun-testing robot, Open Internet guidance and a health care breach

News and notes from around the federal IT community.

Acquisition

Calling all space tech

NASA announced several multimillion dollar initiatives reaching out to industry and academia. The goal: investing in the future of space technology.

Digital Government

When It Comes to Protecting their Data, Americans Still Trust the Government More Than Facebook

Six percent of Americans say they’re “very confident” records maintained by federal agencies will be kept private and secure.

People

Roth tapped to head GSA

The president says he wants to remove the "acting" from GSA Administrator Denise Turner Roth's title.

Digital Government

Huge Data Sets Are Changing How Humans Observe the Universe

All this data is creating a new class of astronomer, one who doesn’t have to gaze skyward to understand the heavens, but instead has to go no further than a laptop.

Cybersecurity

Here’s What the Senate is Planning to Do About NSA Spying

The majority leader is facing a choice between a bill he doesn’t like and a short-term extension he may not be able to get passed.