Digital Government

Former NASA administrator on crashed flight in Alaska

Former NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe, who is now chief executive officer of EADS North America, is among the passengers on a plane that crashed in Alaska Monday night, the company said Tuesday.

Digital Government

Commerce reports $1.6 billion savings for decennial census

Officials attribute savings to good management and aggressive advertising.

Digital Government

Agencies could be prone to new kind of sophisticated cyberattack

The government should watch out for "man-in-the-browser" attacks that have been used to steal money from financial institutions, security expert says.

Digital Government

House leaders raise financial reporting proposal again

Lawmakers back a bill nearly identical to a regulatory provision that Senate negotiators puzzlingly scrapped during last-minute talks on the reform law.

Modernization

DISA could take on bigger IT role at Defense

In Secretary Gates' reform plans, the information agency will assume daily IT operations and the department's chief information officer, but federal IT experts disagree whether the move will strengthen the CIO as intended.

Cybersecurity

Cyber's Big Business

For Maryland, cybersecurity pays. The state's governor, Martin O'Malley, wrote on Monday in a <a href=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/08/06/AR2010080605935.html>commentary</a> appearing in the Washington Post's business publication, Capital Business, "Maryland is better positioned than other states to recover from the national recession stronger and sooner."

Digital Government

So Long NII

Defense Secretary Robert Gates made <a href=http://www.defense.gov/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=60348>official</a> the <a href=http://whatsbrewin.nextgov.com/2010/07/bye_bye_nii.php>elimination</a> of the office of the Assistant Secretary for Networks and Information Integration - also known as the office of the chief information officer. At a Pentagon press briefing today he detailed cuts in the Pentagon budget to save $100 billion over the next five years.

Digital Government

Do You Have Perishable Skills?

Who has a better chance of finding a job after being out of work for, say, six months? A software programmer (particularly in the health field) or a construction worker?

Ideas

Privacy Advocate Schwartz Joins NIST

Ari Schwartz, a longtime advocate for protecting privacy in the age of Web-based government, is leaving his post at the Center for Democracy and Technology to press for change from within the administration at the National Institute for Standards and Technology.

Digital Government

National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency gets first female director

Letitia Long becomes the first woman to lead a major U.S. intelligence agency.

Digital Government

Gates details plans to slash DOD budget

In his aggressive efforts to save money, Defense Secretary Gates is targeting a number of DOD offices and organizations, including one major command, IT infrastructure and several senior positions.

Digital Government

Bill Seeks to Downsize Government

A Republic senator late last week introduced a bill that would reduce and limit the number of civilian federal workers to February 2009 levels.

Digital Government

Gen Y Shakes Up Government

<em>The Washington Post</em> on Saturday had a great <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/08/06/AR2010080606461_3.html?hpid=artslot&sid=ST2010080700240">article</a> about how the younger generation is shaking up the federal workplace with their tendencies to take risks, connect socially online and share information across boundaries. The Obama administration is hoping to fill up to 60,000 entry-level federal jobs within the next year, and government personnel experts believe that in 10 years, 400,000 of the 2 million federal workers will be younger than 35.

Digital Government

FBI's Mueller urges companies to share info on cyber crime

FBI Director Robert Mueller wants companies to share data on network security breaches with his bureau.

Digital Government

White House uses LinkedIn for policy discussion

The White House claims success in using its LinkedIn group to hold a members-only discussion on Wall Street reforms.

Modernization

The rush is on to approve applications for broadband funds

The Agriculture and Commerce departments are rushing to review and approve $4.2 billion in stimulus law funding for broadband by Sept. 30, a report says.

People

Senators concerned about counterfeit parts

Recent reports on counterfeit electronics and IT products show increases in the number of incidents and inadequate policies to deal with the problem.

Digital Government

Buzz Factor

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People

IT projects at high risk of paperwork

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Digital Government

Funding cuts could signal concerns for cloud computing

The Senate Appropriations Committee recently voted to reduce fiscal 2011 spending on key Obama administration information technology initiatives, including e-government and cloud computing.