Digital Government

GAO: Multiple Award Schedules program suffers from dearth of data

Electronic purchasing tools provide limited information and hinder GSA's ability to meet customer needs, report says.

Acquisition

Senate votes to expand access Federal Supply Schedules

The Senate has passed the Federal Supply Schedules Usage Act, which would make permanent programs that allow states and local governments buy goods and services from the General Services Administration’s Multiple Award Schedules program’s contracts.

Digital Government

Next GPO head must guide agency to the digital future

William Boarman, nominated to be the next public printer, would face the challenge of maintaining traditional printing skills with an aging workforce while adapting the 150-year-old Government Printing Office to an increasingly digital world.

Modernization

Getting to 'yes' in the federal cloud

Cloud computing will be widely adopted and will transform the way federal agencies operate, but it won't happen until managers figure out how to exploit cloud computing models, writes Mark Forman of KPMG.

Digital Government

Next steps for continuous network monitoring

Developments reflect the conclusion that agencies must move beyond current Federal Information Security Management Act requirements.

Cybersecurity

Mitigation, not prohibition, is best response to social media’s security risks

Policy, training and technology can help agencies deal with their concerns about the security of social networking, writes David Etue, vice president of products and markets at Fidelis Security Systems.

Digital Government

Revealed: Our picks for the best password strategies

Our readers offer hundreds -- literally -- of good ideas for building and managing strong passwords. Who's idea comes closest to covering all the bases?

Digital Government

Army Apps 1, Transformative Apps 0

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and the Army both kicked off projects to develop applications for mobile gadgets and gismos in March. The House Armed Services Committee strongly favors the <a href= http://www.nextgov.com/nextgov/ng_20100303_8240.php>Apps for the Army</a> project over DARPA's <a href=https://www.fbo.gov/index?s=opportunity&mode=form&id=5db2b9ccbed8edc27d7e1df20a0e2f39&tab=core&_cview=1>Transformative Apps</a> program.

Ideas

You Too Can Explore Space

Just when you though there was an automated process for everything, one of the most forward-thinking areas of science decided to ditch computers for some good old-fashioned human problem-solving.

Digital Government

When it comes to government data gathering, public trust is hard to come by

The public doesn't trust government to protect Americans' information, and laws reflect that mind-set, blogger Matthew Weigelt writes.

Cybersecurity

Security Common Sense Lost

The <a href="http://www.auscert.org.au/">Australian Computer Emergency Response Team</a> last week held a security conference that is making <a href="http://news.cnet.com/insecurity-complex/?tag=rb_content;overviewHead">headlines</a> for the wrong reasons. Apparently, organizers allowed IBM to hand out USB keys to conference participants, some of which contained malware. <a href="http://beastorbuddha.com/2010/05/21/ibm-letter-to-auscert-delegates-free-malware-giveaway/">Oh, the irony</a>.

People

Acquisition 2.0: GSA uncovers the pitfalls and promise of crowdsourcing

Acquisition officials at the General Services Administration have found that it’s not just ethics officers who have concerns about taking the government/industry dialogue onto the Web.

Digital Government

On Evaluating EHRs

There's an interesting discussion going on over at the <em>Journal of American Medicine</em> about the different types of monitoring and evaluation required to mitigate potential errors in e-health records.

Digital Government

Attracting Gen Y

Offering a mobile work environment, easy access to the office and high-tech amenities should be top priorities for organizations looking to attract and retain the Generation Y workforce, new research suggests.

Cybersecurity

NASA's new FISMA approach and what it means for you

Jerry Davis, NASA's deputy CIO for IT security, discusses his agency's break from the paper-based process used to measure IT security.

Digital Government

A few tips from GSA on the art of collaboration

Collaboration is much more than a crowd of people talking together about a subject, according to the administrator of the General Services Administration.

Digital Government

Health IT evangelists find help in the cloud

The Health and Human Services Department recently purchased a cloud computing solution for its regional extention centers that not only helps them do their jobs, but also provides performance information back to HHS.

Digital Government

It's official: DOD Cyber Command activated

Army Gen. Keith Alexander, head of the Defense Department's new Cyber Command, formally received his fourth star on May 21.

Acquisition

VA publishes draft solicitation for upcoming 'T4' IT acquisition

The Veterans Affairs Department is preparing to request bids on its $12 billion Transformation Twenty-One Total Technology IT services acquisition in June.

People

Four differences between Twinkies and open-government plans

Although not perfect, the initial open-government plans represent a strong first step toward increasing transparency, participation and collaboration, write Patrice McDermott and Amy Bennett from OpenTheGovernment.org.