Digital Government

Panel OKs Commerce, Justice and Science bill, takes no stand on moon missions

Legislation would provide the $19 billion that Obama requested for NASA, but would withhold funding on the manned space program.

Digital Government

Key lawmaker emphasizes need for new border security technology

Texas Democratic Rep. Henry Cuellar also urges better collaboration with state law enforcement.

Modernization

Kabul embassy seeks to build mobile social networks in Afghanistan

U.S. wants to reach out via the phones one-third of the population uses.

Digital Government

Tech Keeps Pushing Health Costs Up

More bad news for health costs - and how technology is pushing them up.

Ideas

The Outdated and Not So Bad

<em>Smashing Magazine</em>, a publication for Web designers and developers, recently published a <a href=http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2010/06/23/showcase-of-ugly-military-intelligence-and-defense-websites/>critique of military and intelligence agency websites</a> worldwide, placing dozens of sites in one of its categories: Outdated, Poorly Coded, Poorly Designed, The Not So Bad, and A Few Good Sites.

Digital Government

$12 Billion VA Contract Delayed

The Veterans Affairs Department planned to release on Wednesday its request for proposals for the largest information technology acquisition in its history: the $12 billion <a href=http://www.nextgov.com/nextgov/ng_20091203_2809.php>Transformation Twenty-One Total Technology</a> contract, known as T4.

Digital Government

How safe will you be with Obama's 'trusted' identity solution?

Readers aren't sold on the administration's plan to abandon passwords for trusted digital identities, citing fears of identity theft or government snooping.

Digital Government

Are government Web sites in danger?

In an effort to cut costs, the United Kingdom is cracking down on expensive government-funded Web sites, promising to close the majority of them. Could the United States do the same?

Digital Government

iPhones, commercial satellites prominent in joint DOD exercise

The Defense Department interoperability exercise stresses flexible networking and new uses for existing technology.

Digital Government

Obama to double commercial spectrum available for broadband development

Presidential memorandum calls for NTIA and FCC to identify 500 MHz of radio spectrum to be licensed for broadband connectivity over the next 10 years, and for development of technologies to make better use of this limited resource.

Cybersecurity

Australia taps ISPs to fight 'zombies'

Australia's Internet Industry Code is aimed at reducing threats posed by computers that have been hijacked to act as zombies and participate in botnet attacks.

Cybersecurity

Security and Russian Spies

The FBI arrested 10 people this week <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/06/29/AR2010062901057.html?hpid=topnews">accused</a> of being Russian spies, an investigation that stretches back to the Clinton White House. According to the FBI, the operation was aimed at placing spies in nongovernmental jobs where they could get insider information without being easily identified. Interestingly enough, the FBI's arrest was aided by its ability to infiltrate the group's computers. Turns out these alleged spies weren't as careful about their cybersecurity as they should have been. So what did they do wrong?

People

Court TV: Viewers flock to federal judiciary's YouTube channel

The federal judiciary has started its own YouTube channel and redesigned its Web site to raise its public profile through Web 2.0 tools.

Digital Government

Telework Tips

Last Thursday, I moderated a webinar on the current state of telework programs across the federal government. Joining me were two special guests - Jennifer Carignan, an associate manager for research at the nonprofit Partnership for Public Service, and Danette Campbell, senior telework advisor at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office - who both gave excellent presentations on what's next for federal telework.