Modernization

Government re-opens while feds talk telework in aftermath of blizzard

Now that severe weather in the nation's capital and elsewhere have provided ample opportunities for testing continuity-of-operations plans, federal employees have some thoughts.

People

TechStat: A new way of doing business in Washington?

There is a very tough balance to be sought in these "Stat" meetings between providing outside scrutiny to agency IT projects and the meetings' intended purpose as occasions for learning and improvement.

Digital Government

Advice for the cyber czar: Make friends with OMB

Melissa Hathaway, the Obama administration’s former acting senior director for cyberspace, said the strongest ally the cyber coordinator needs or should have is in the Office of Management and Budget.

Cybersecurity

Former officials plan guest appearances in cyberattack simulation

A bipartisan group of former senior government officials will participate in a simulation to show how the government would craft a response to a major cyber incident.

Digital Government

NOAA launches online climate portal

The prototype Climate.gov Web portal would serve as a tool for the proposed NOAA Climate Service, a new line office that would bring together expertise and data from other NOAA offices already observing and modeling the Earth’s atmospheric and oceanic systems.

Digital Government

White House looks to IT to provide efficiencies, report says

Obama administration wants to spend money to save in the long term, with many proposals focused on system consolidation.

Modernization

Google's super-broadband plan could benefit agencies' online efforts

Company officials aren't commenting yet on specific ramifications for government.

Digital Government

Appeals court to hear cell phone tracking case

The American Civil Liberties Union, Electronic Frontier Foundation and the Center for Democracy and Technology filed a friend-of-the-court brief with the court urging that the district court's decision be upheld.

Digital Government

Sensitive Information? Read the Budget

It's amazing what I can find trolling through thousands of pages of budget documents. Like this one: the location of a highly sensitive system.

Ideas

Get Ready for Cyber ShockWave

A Washington think tank will host a simulated cyberattack on the United States on Tuesday to demonstrate how the government would respond to a large-scale attack on the nation's computer systems and networks.

Ideas

Taking Twitter Too Far?

Sun Microsystems Chief Executive Officer Jonathan Schwartz late last week announced his resignation on Twitter. His <a href="http://twitter.com/OpenJonathan/status/8620937722">tweet</a> incorporated a bit of haiku -- Financial crisis/Stalled too many customers/CEO no more -- and fell just below the platform's 140-character maximum. When major private sector players start using social media to break news, will others follow suit?