Digital Government
ACLU sues government for data on e-spying law
Civil liberties groups filed a lawsuit against the federal government on Thursday seeking the release of documents showing how a controversial electronic spying law is being implemented and whether the communications of U.S. citizens are being monitored improperly.
Digital Government
Some worry SEC's proposed system to monitor stock markets too ambitious
Exchanges would have few practice runs to submit detailed trading information, increasing the risk the data could be flawed.
Cybersecurity
Panel to recommend certifications for cybersecurity workforce
New report from nonpartisan commission will suggest the federal government establish a certifying body to test skills of potential hires.
Digital Government
Hackathon weekend could yield solutions for disaster relief
Federal CTO Aneesh Chopra encourages people to hack to save lives
Digital Government
‘Inherently governmental’ remains a sticky wicket
The Office of Federal Procurement Policy is getting closer to adopting a final rule that contains a clearer definition of what constitutes an “inherently governmental” function—i.e., one that should be done only by federal employees. But judging from the comments filed on the proposed rule, no one is completely thrilled.
Digital Government
Cyberattack Estimate: 250K an Hour
Army Gen. Keith B. Alexander, the head of the new U.S. Cyber Command, estimates that bad actors now probe Defense Department networks and systems 250,000 times an hour -- or some 6 million times a day. Or this: 2.19 billion times a year.
Digital Government
Advise and Consent
As the country lurches toward a future in which electronic medical records replace paper files that are at present the industry standard, resolving the question of how much control patients should have over digital files continues to be a sticky wicket.
Cybersecurity
CIOs Push New Software Settings
Two members of the <a href="http://www.cio.gov/">CIO council</a> have proposed baseline candidate settings for Windows 7 and Internet Explorer 8, an attempt to implement and secure new software without compromising existing security settings.
Ideas
Social Media's Increasing Drivel
Social networking, Twitter in particular because of its tight limits on characters, has given rise to a new set of clichés, trite musings and empty phrases. Danny Brown, a writer at Lawrence Ragan Communications Inc., a public relations firm in Chicago, <a href=http://www.ragan.com/ME2/Audiences/dirmod.asp?sid=&nm=&type=MultiPublishing&mod=PublishingTitles&mid=5AA50C55146B4C8C98F903986BC02C56&tier=4&id=192A51224B77420EA2D12867A99BF25E&AudID=3FF14703FD8C4AE98B9B4365B978201A>wrote</a> on Thursday that many of these worn out quips need to be extracted for good from social media.
Cybersecurity
Is It Enough?
The U.S. cyber craze recently celebrated its first birthday. Jim Garrettson over at The New New Internet <a href=http://www.thenewnewinternet.com/2010/06/01/cybersecurity-a-year-in-review>points out</a> that the nation -- and the Obama administration -- in the past year have come a long way in addressing cyber threats and boosting security across government.
Digital Government
Performance-Based Pay
Amelia Gruber at <em>Government Executive</em> <a href="http://www.govexec.com/story_page.cfm?articleid=45409&oref=todaysnews">writes</a> about a new report from the National Academy of Public Administration that endorses the implementation of a performance-based pay system for intelligence employees at the Defense Department. The current program - the Defense Civilian Intelligence Personnel System - is soundly designed and shows no evidence that it contributes to problems with diversity, NAPA noted in the report to Congress and the Defense Secretary.
Digital Government
Data mining
Technology can make government more efficient; distrust between public and private sectors on cybersecurity; U.S. tops in malicious Web content.
Cybersecurity
New DOD cyber commander seeks better situational awareness
Army Gen. Keith Alexander says the Defense Department needs a common, real-time, understanding of what's happening across its many computer networks.
People
Let the VA's Acquisition Academy serve other agencies!
Blogger Steve Kelman believes the VA's acquisition program offers an innovative approach not available in other training programs.
People
Data expertise needed to map out Medicare reform
Is the Obama administration equipped to arbitrate the dispute over geographic disparities in Medicare spending?
People
Transparency in contracting remains opaque
Transparency is all the rage in government circles these days. But there might be a limit to its usefulness to the public and ability to facilitate greater accountability in key government services, such as federal contracting.
Digital Government
Obama Extends Same-Sex Benefits
The Obama administration on Wednesday ordered federal agencies to extend several benefits to the same-sex domestic partners of federal employees. In a <a href="http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/presidential-memorandum-extension-benefits-same-sex-domestic-partners-federal-emplo">memo</a> to agency heads, Obama identified several benefits that could be provided to same-sex partners under existing law and ordered the Office of Personnel Management to issue regulations that would:
Cybersecurity
Cyber policy snared in legislative tangle
Cybersecurity remains a more pressing concern among experts than lawmakers, who have 35 cyber-related proposals and counting weaving their way through the legislative process.
Digital Government