Digital Government

Lawmakers divided on extent of FCC's regulatory authority over broadband

Leader of Senate panel urges the agency to "bend the curve" to push National Broadband Plan forward.

Digital Government

McCain suggests using military tech on Mexico border

The Arizona senator describes drug cartels' operations in the area as irregular warfare and says the rising violence justifies a military response, including the use of technology such as unmanned aerial vehicles.

Digital Government

Military's technological might is slipping, Navy under secretary says

The military no longer enjoys the technological dominance and monopoly it once enjoyed and needs a new approach to marshaling its network enterprise systems, according to Undersecretary of the Navy Robert Work. At an AFCEA event, he outlined his vision.

Cybersecurity

House committee OKs bill to boost Homeland Security technology

Legislation would double the agency's cybersecurity research and development budget.

Digital Government

Senators worried about policy gap for new Cyber Command

Congress mulls what it is being asked to approve and the key cyberspace issues it must resolve.

Digital Government

Telework legislation moves closer to passage

A bill that would expand the opportunities for telework across the government has moved a step closer to being passed.

Digital Government

What Meaningful Use Can Do

Meaningful use is still being debated in Washington, but its possible impacts on health delivery and outcomes already are being discussed. John Halamka, chief information officer at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and CIO at Harvard Medical School, has some ideas and does about as good a job in clearly identifying them.

Digital Government

NASA's Global Hawk UAV

NASA sent its unmanned aerial vehicle called Global Hawk on its first science flights this week to conduct global warming research. It took a 14-hour trip north to Alaska from California on Monday, and followed that up with a 24-hour trip on Tuesday to Alaska again, west to Hawaii and then back to the Dryden Space Flight Center at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif.

Ideas

Your Tweets, Archived for Eternity

Think those 140-character ideas you have will be forgotten? Think again--the Library of Congress on Wednesday announced that it will acquire and archive every public tweet--ever--starting from Twitter's inception in 2006. According to the Library's Facebook page, that's more than 50 million per day and billions in total.

Cybersecurity

GAO Talks FDCC Failures

Usually when the Government Accountability Office releases a <a href="http://gao.gov/products/GAO-10-202">report</a>, there's a bit of finger wagging going on inside the Beltway. But with two new reports highlighting the lack of compliance by major federal agencies to meet the requirements of both the <a href="http://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:DGK-eVhgZWcJ:www.whitehouse.gov/omb/memoranda/fy2008/m08-05.pdf+Trusted+Internet+Connection&hl=en&gl=us&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEESi1jLZL7ngbvJD6AS0LLOkEJM8Y_F1LPxuRw6mV4McfMoVAPGrpfkjWZnjtfZam54tLx23rxax9C7Zh4HxhQsh1f04bEU1fB6nz1I3odlR-sbX0mwtYXWIZygs9dapMwGCThyL6&sig=AHIEtbT5zbBYfwH4DT38Tf1ctUE1OAxPcA">Trusted Internet Connection</a> (TIC) and the <a href="http://nvd.nist.gov/fdcc/index.cfm">Federal Desktop Core Configuration</a> (FDCC) White House initiatives, it's more like finger pointing.

Ideas

Web Design Duds

The .Gov space has thousands upon thousands of Web sites. Some are sleek and user-friendly (<a href=http://www.whitehouse.gov/>Whitehouse.gov</a>, for example), while others appear to be forgotten projects from the Internet's early days. Austin Carr over at <em>Fast Company</em> has compiled a <a href=http://www.fastcompany.com/pics/best-and-worst-government-web-design?partner=homepage_newsletter#0>slideshow</a> of the best and worst of government web design.

Digital Government

Cyber-[fill in the blank] tops list of federal priorities

Experts cannot seem to decide whether cyber war, cyber crime or cyber diplomacy should take precedent in the nation’s strategy, writes blogger Brian Robinson.

Digital Government

Cyber-[fill in the blank] tops list of federal priorities

Experts cannot seem to decide whether cyber war, cyber crime or cyber diplomacy should take precedent in the nation’s strategy, writes blogger Brian Robinson.

Digital Government

Food safety legislation may ladle IT money to FDA

Sen. Durbin's bill would increase trace-back and surveillance of food-borne illness data but lacks specifics on how it would be done.

Digital Government

Navy 'Milicruiting' Cyber Workers

The Navy is "milicruiting" veterans and military spouses to help beef up its cybersecurity workforce. The department plans to hold its Milicruit and Hire Heroes USA virtual career fair on April 29 for veterans and military spouses who are qualified in information technology disciplines to join the Navy's civilian ranks and help defend the department's networks. There are immediate cyber job openings in Norfolk, Va., and Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, Navy said.

Cybersecurity

Senators look to Amsterdam for airport technology

Computer-based auto-detection technology deployed at Amsterdam’s airport to screen passengers for explosives could be useful in the United States, according to some senators.

Acquisition

Recovery Act work strains SBA acquisition staff

SBA's IG raises concerns about the agency's contracting shop shrinking even as the work is growing.

Cybersecurity

Civil liberties groups fight biometric IDs

The ACLU and other civil liberties groups oppose two senators' plan that includes a requirement for biometric Social Security cards.

Cybersecurity

Haiti response proves interagency collaboration can work

Every once in awhile, a cataclysmic event will bring together the factions and defy federal compartmentalization.