Modernization
IG questions SSA's data center siting process
The SSA's Inspector General knocks agency's process for choosing a location for its new $800M data center.
Digital Government
Pick to lead DOD's Cyber Command to face senators April 15
Army Lt. Gen. Keith Alexander, director of the National Security Agency, is scheduled to have his confirmation hearing to lead the Defense Department's planned Cyber Command.
Cybersecurity
Cyber chief slams security efforts
The White House's top cybersecurity official calls for needed measures to protect federal networks, some of which should have been done long ago.
Digital Government
Rights groups oppose proposed biometric Social Security cards
Employers would be able to swipe the card through a machine to confirm someone's identity and immigration status.
Modernization
Cloud raises diplomatic issues, top Clinton aide says
Collectively hosting applications and hardware off-site promotes the exchange of ideas, but it also raises the question about who owns the information, says State Department's senior adviser Alec Ross.
Digital Government
Library of Congress to archive public Tweets
Collection will be used for research and other purposes after six-month period.
Digital Government
House grills Defense health officials about centers of excellence
Military leaders say they need a common management structure and network so they can focus on the research of battlefield wounds.
Digital Government
Oversight committee OKs telework and TSP bills
Federal employees are one step closer to regular telecommuting and to being allowed to put the cash value of unused leave toward their retirement.
Digital Government
Air Force Worried About Gut Illness
This FedBizOps <a href=https://www.fbo.gov/index?s=opportunity&mode=form&id=b3aef8f19fd2bd69b67e5d01c43cd0f3&tab=core&_cview=0>notice</a> on what it calls "Gut Illness" may not have much to do with technology, but it's so loopy I had to write about it.
Ideas
Chatting with Public Officials
A White House official this month has been <a href="http://www.nextgov.com/nextgov/ng_20100412_6003.php">taking heat</a> for doing something many of us do almost reflexively on a daily basis - chatter with friends, coworkers and bosses online. Andrew McLaughlin, the White House deputy chief technology officer for Internet policy, reportedly used Web-based e-mail to communicate with administration colleagues and lobbyists at Google, his former employer. According to images posted on the Internet, a list of his contacts showed he used his Gmail account to converse with Aneesh Chopra, the White House chief technology officer, and Katie Stanton, another Google veteran who now works at the State Department.
Digital Government
Majority OK with airport full-body scan, report says
In a recent Unisys survey, 65 percent of air travelers found full electronic body scans to be acceptable.
Cybersecurity
Apache.org and Attack Soup
This morning, a <a href="http://isc.sans.org/diary.html?storyid=8623">story</a> from the Internet Storm Center caught my eye. The piece, about an attack launched against the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bug_tracking_system">bug tracking system</a> used by <a href="http://apache.org/">Apache.org</a>, was pretty technical, so I asked Johannes Ullrich, chief research officer for SANS, to break it down.
Acquisition
Smaller task orders on IDIQ services contracts?
A move away from contracting bundling could provide agencies with more flexibility in how they develop and field systems, writes blogger Steve Kelman.
Digital Government