People
PSC acquires TechAmerica Foundation operations
The Professional Services Council will take over the Vision Forecast and Conference, annual CIO survey and American Technology Awards.
Digital Government
US Visitor Surveillance System Brings Some Solace to Families of MH17 Victims
A database that houses the fingerprints of almost all foreign visitors to catch terrorists recently was used for a different purpose -- bringing closure to bereft families.
Digital Government
House Committee Demands Answers from CTO Megan Smith and HHS on HealthCare.gov Data Mining
The head of the House Space, Science and Technology Committee says he might call U.S. Chief Technology Officer Megan Smith to testify about potential HealthCare.gov consumer privacy gaps.
Ideas
Rocketing into the Future: Can Containers Help Secure the Cloud?
A combination of rapid application installation and controlled access to the underlying system will provide developers and operations with capabilities they need to fully exploit the cloud.
Digital Government
A New Global Swarm of Weather-Sensing Satellites
Armed with tiny orbiting sensors, a startup plans to build the world's largest database of private weather data.
Cybersecurity
Government Privacy Board to Obama: Shut Down NSA Mass Spying Now
The White House has been quiet on surveillance reform since the USA Freedom Act crumbled in the Senate last November.
Modernization
Amazon To Finally Announce How Much Revenue Its Cloud Services Bring In
The cloud service powers both the CIA and Netflix.
People
ONC releases interoperability road map
Baseline standards for interoperability could ultimately affect the level of reimbursement from Medicare and other federal health programs.
Modernization
Social Security preps data reboot
SSA plans to migrate data and production to the new National Support Center by August 2016.
Modernization
Minding the skills gap, plus AWS results, smart robots and DOE event planning
News and notes from around the federal IT community.
Digital Government
Managing Virtual Workers? Take a Page from Fantasy Football
The strategies to creating and managing a winning fantasy football team are just as effective when leading a very different group of players—the federal virtual workforce.
Cybersecurity
Stempfley leaving DHS
The deputy assistant secretary for cybersecurity and communications will join the Mitre Corp. in February.
People
How CIOs can use FITARA to get away from waterfall
The law’s certification and approval provisions empower CIOs to end outdated software development projects, says Agilex’s Roger Baker.
Cybersecurity
Hackers Redirect Malaysia Airlines, Pop Taylor Swift’s Twitter Account, and Harass Autistic Teen
Just another week in ThreatWatch, our regularly updated index of noteworthy data breaches.
Cybersecurity
Pro-Extremist Hackers Take on Small Quebec Community Website
Government (Foreign) // Quebec, Canada
Modernization
The Pentagon Accelerates Move to Cloud Computing
The proof is in the participation: The Defense Department’s latest cloud security guidelines received 800-plus public comments, the vast majority of them from industry players and cloud providers.
Digital Government
FCC Demands Faster Broadband
Republicans complain that increasing the definition of "broadband" is meant to justify power grabs.
Modernization
Cell Carriers Spend $45B in Auction of Wireless Frequencies
The astronomical figure shows just how desperate carriers such as AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile are for access to more airwaves to power their customers' devices.
Cybersecurity