Digital Government
Agencies identify $19 billion in contract savings
OMB says plans show government is on track to meet President Obama's mandate to cut $40 billion by fiscal 2011.
Cybersecurity
Commerce Department gets funds to combat cyber espionage
Initiative aimed at preventing efforts to steal data about illicit trafficking of weapons of mass destruction
Digital Government
VA employee presents cost-cutting idea to Obama despite snow
Colorado-based winner of the SAVE contest travels to Washington to discuss her proposal with the president.
Digital Government
Congress directs Defense and VA to consider common health IT systems
Departments are to give lawmakers a report in early January, listing the systems that could be combined and outlining a plan for joining forces.
Cybersecurity
When did the CISO become sexy?
It wasn't too long ago that a chief information security officer was a hidden resource.
Digital Government
Encryption of Predator video feeds will take time
It could take as long as five years before video feeds from Predator and Reaper drones are fully encrypted and U.S. forces are able to keep enemy forces from intercepting the information, reports Ellen Nakashima in the Washington Post.
Digital Government
Tremors generate tweets in new USGS earthquake program
The Twitter Earthquake Detector (TED) program is an exploratory effort intended to gather real-time earthquake-related messages, by having people who actually feel a tremor or observe its effects to tweet their observations.
Digital Government
The Year of the Earmark Restraint?
The final version of the 2010 Defense appropriations bill debated in the Senate on Friday contains a mere 1,720 earmarks worth $4.2 billion. The number is down 17 percent and the value dropped 14 percent from the fiscal 2009 bill, the green eyeshade folks at Taxpayers for Common Sense <a href=http://www.taxpayer.net/resources.php?category=&type=Project&proj_id=2696&action=Headlines%20By%20TCS>reported</a>.
Ideas
DHS Bumps Real ID Deadline
After months of <a href=http://www.nextgov.com/nextgov/ng_20091124_7157.php>speculation</a>, the Homeland Security Department officially moved back the compliance deadline for Real ID, which requires states to issue licenses that meet federal security standards.
Ideas
Intellectual Property: Hindering Green IT?
Intellectual property rights ensure competitiveness, but do they hinder progress? In terms of green IT, it depends on who you ask.
Ideas
NonTweeters Beware
Tom Froemski at ZDNet poses a provocative opinion about those who fail to join the social networking movement to tweet, blog, edit wikis and comment on anything digital: "You might not have much of a viable future."
People
GSA looks for input on improving USA.gov
GSA launched a new online forum in an effort to gather ideas from the public on how to improve USA.gov.
People
Medical claims database could aid research on best treatments
The Health and Human Services Department announced plans to use economic stimulus law funding to create a new database of medical claims for all payors nationwide.
Digital Government
It's Good to be IT Now
The Daily Beast's Clark Merrefield <a href="http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2009-12-02/cutting-edge-jobs/?cid=hp:beastoriginalsL3#">highlights the top 10 information technology jobs</a> that will be the most in-demand through 2016. Despite the grim outlook for jobs in the recovering economy, Merrefield notes, IT jobs remain the silver lining, with the number of openings and wages up for cutting-edge jobs like network architects, system software designers and data engineers.
People
Senators push for acquisition workforce training
Two new bills would set up a federal acquisition management fellows program and strengthen the civilian training institute.
Modernization
Laptop with personal data about thousands stolen from Army employee
A government laptop containing names and personally identifiable information of more than 42,000 patrons of childcare and recreational facilities at Fort Belvoir in Virginia since 2005 was stolen on Nov. 28.
Cybersecurity
Hackers with political agenda bring down Twitter
Twitter says attack on site's Domain Name System redirected users to a cryptic anti-American message from the "Iranian Cyber Army."
Digital Government
Verizon lab to demo the greener side of telecom
Verizon Business opens a lab to show feds how optical local-area networks can help make buildings greener by reducing the energy needs of their networks.
Digital Government