Digital Government

CIO Council considers new privacy guidance

People who work with the federal enterprise architecture could soon get additional guidance for building privacy protections into systems.

Acquisition

GSA solicits wisdom of the crowd for acquisition improvements

General Services Administration officials are testing collaboration and using social media to improve the federal acquisition process.

Digital Government

Hill negotiators weigh uniform standard for spending reports

Aides are trying to reach consensus on House-passed language that would direct agencies to use the same format for financial data.

Cybersecurity

Cybersecurity bill first step in fixing controversial FISMA

Agencies would be required to monitor vulnerability of networks and consider the security capabilities of products and services before buying them.

Digital Government

Soundbytes: Facebook, Health Reform and Flying

A weekly roundup of the best in Nextgov comments. All comments are presented in their original, unedited form.

Modernization

GSA chief says agency will 'up its game' with technology

Administrator Martha Johnson says improving the flow of information and data, and more reliance on social media will provide better service to agencies and will be what drives growth.

Cybersecurity

FISMA 2.0 Picks Up Steam

A <a href="http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c111:H.R.4900:">bill</a> that rewrites the 2002 Federal Information Security and Management Act (FISMA) was <a href="http://www.house.gov/apps/list/press/ca33_watson/2010324.html">introduced</a> by Rep. Diane E. Watson, D-Calif., o n Wednesday. Vivek Kundra, federal chief information officer for the Obama administration, didn't state his approval for any specific measures in the bill but did reiterate his disdain for the ongoing paper-based compliance measures supported by current law.

Digital Government

Health Reform and Health IT

Making law is often compared to making sausage, but the crafting of health care reform that unfolded over the past year more resembled the intractable twisting and turning of a taffy puller. If nothing else, the epic process provided a ready-made excuse for reluctant readers: Why peruse today a bill that will change again tomorrow?

Cybersecurity

Cybersecurity is Hard

It's not going to be easy creating an overall strategy for protecting federal networks from hackers and insider threats. Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, prepared the government for just that when talking about the 2009 Cybersecurity Act, which she co-sponsored with Sen. John (Jay) Rockefeller, D-W.Va.:

Ideas

House Passes File Sharing Bill

The House on Tuesday passed a <a href="http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d111:H.4098:">bill</a> that would mandate a policy banning the use of file sharing software on federal computers and networks, along with those used by contractors.

Digital Government

45 Pounds Sure is Heavier Nowadays

This Sunday, as my buddy Paul McCloskey, editor of <a href=http://govhealthit.com/>Government Health IT</a>, and I passed mile marker six on the <a href=http://whatsbrewin.nextgov.com/2010/03/touched_by_history.php>Bataan Memorial Death March</a> we passed a young soldier toting an enormous rucksack, who was limping and favoring his left leg.

Digital Government

NIST Releases Testing Protocol

Seeking to ensure that the nation's burgeoning health IT infrastructure lives up to expectations, the National Institute of Standards and Technology has released <a href="http://www.nist.gov/public_affairs/techbeat/tb2010_0316.htm#hit">the first phase</a> of "a new health IT test method and related software." Three additional installments are to follow.