Ideas

Body Scanners Spur Opposition

The Transportation Administration is continuing its <a href=http://techinsider.nextgov.com/2010/03/recovery_funds_fuel_body_scans.php>rollout</a> of the much-embattled full body scanners, which privacy groups have called invasive and not as anonymous as TSA claims.

Digital Government

OPM's OpenGov Plan

The Office of Personnel Management's open government plan ranked in the top five of all federal agencies creating such plans to improve transparency and collaboration, according to a recent <a href="http://sites.google.com/site/opengovtplans/">audit</a> by OpenTheGovernment.org.

Cybersecurity

Facebook Attacks X's and O's

If the Internet is <a href="http://www.forbes.com/forbes/2010/0301/rebuilding-paller-america-internet-give-me-your-hackers.html">God's gift to espionage</a>, Facebook is like a cruel joke. And it appears the latest Facebook fix is in, an attack referred to by experts as social engineering.

Digital Government

Virtual Career Fairs

Katherine McIntire Peters <a href="http://www.govexec.com/story_page.cfm?articleid=45175&oref=todaysnews">writes</a> at <em>Government Executive</em> about the intelligence community's <a href="http://wiredworkplace.nextgov.com/2010/01/ic_seeks_cyber_it_specialists.php?oref=search">push</a> to host virtual career fairs as a way to save money and draw the kind of tech-savvy candidates it is seeking. The idea started at the National Security Agency, which generated 2,200 resumes within 12 hours after its first virtual career fair in February 2009.

Cybersecurity

Coast Guard has IT internal control problems, audit says

The Coast Guard performed slightly better in its fiscal 2009 audit of IT controls, but an audit still found problems.

Modernization

FEMA goes mobile with disaster info

FEMA has a new Web site to help victims get disaster-related information on their mobile phones.

Digital Government

NSPS: 7,000 down, and 219,000 to go …

Some employee groups have worried that the differences between NSPS and GS may produce a loss of pay or grade. If you’re one of the 7,000 back in GS, we’re sure that the folks who are still in NSPS would like to hear what your experience has been.

Cybersecurity

Private, government experts wary about cybersecurity

The poll, conducted April 19-26 for the nonpartisan think tank the EastWest Institute, surveyed 137 security experts, 34 government officials and 103 private sector security experts.

Modernization

Group gives most open government plans mediocre marks

Some agencies such as NASA and Housing and Urban Development receive high grades for going beyond White House requirements for transparency, but most others fall short of meeting presidential directive.

Digital Government

Boucher to release privacy bill

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People

2. Open Government Plans

It's your turn to tell us what's really going on! In the FCW Challenge, we're going to devote an entire issue of Federal Computer Week magazine to the "Six Big Questions for the Future of Gov. 2.0." Up for debate here: open government plans.

Digital Government

Flooding forces DISA to cancel annual military show

Rising floodwaters forced the evacuation and closure of the Nashville hotel where conference was set to start.

Digital Government

Top DISA information strategist John Garing retires

DISA's director of strategic planning and information, John Garing, was instrumental in developing and advancing the information technology services DISA's provides the military through its Defense Enterprise Computing Centers.

Digital Government

Spreading the word on the oil spill

As oil from BP's Deepwater Horizon spill spreads toward the Gulf Coast, agencies spread the word on environmental and health concerns, along with updates on the government's response.

Digital Government

Knowledge management in the cloud: Catalyst for open government?

Speakers at the Knowledge Management Conference say cloud-based communities will cross interantional borders, requiring an international approach to governance, standards and intellectual property rights.