Cybersecurity

Hospitals tighten security on patient data

Federal Computer Week

Digital Government

FEMA weighs outfitting housing inspectors with smart phones

Move would allow inspectors to carry fewer pieces of equipment and work more efficiently.

Digital Government

Keep health IT standards simple, says chief technology officer

Aneesh Chopra recommends HHS design easy-to-understand criteria for more efficient patient data exchanges.

Digital Government

Medicare agency to post payment data on public Web site

Online tracker aimed at exposing wasteful spending, but sparks privacy concerns.

Digital Government

GSA pushes back Networx deadlines

Even with the extensions, agencies are unlikely to finish moving to the new contract by the time the old one expires, observer says.

Acquisition

Gordon gets Senate panel's nod for OFPP

Senate Governmental Affairs Committee chairman seems confident about Daniel Gordon getting the Senate’s approval to the the administator of the Office of Federal Procurement Policy.

Digital Government

Treating 419,000

That figure -- 419,000 vets form the Afghanistan and Iraq wars -- staggers the mind, especially when you consider that this is 61 percent above the number the Veterans Affairs Department treated in its 153 hospitals and more than 1,110 outpatient clinics in 2008, according to the report on the Senate version of the VA fiscal 2010 appropriations bill passed on Tuesday.

Ideas

Air Force Needs More PS3s?

Part of my job involves searching through , the online home for almost all procurement-related federal notices. The vast majority of the technology-related notices in <a href="http://www.fedbizopps.gov/">FedBizOps</a> are pretty standard: hardware purchases and requests for information for new security software. Occasionally you'll see a notice about a bigger upcoming project.

Ideas

Commitee Passes Cybersecurity Bill

The House Committee on Science and Technology approved a bill Wednesday to support cybersecurity research and training, and the development of clear cybersecurity standards for federal agencies to follow.

Digital Government

Feds falling behind in the race against cyber threats, GAO says

Despite increased cooperation among agencies that protect the government's information infrastructure, persistent vulnerabilities and lack of comprehensive security programs leave government IT systems vulnerable to attack.

People

Get a Life: Why feds should be thankful

Blogger Judy Welles highlights recent developments that bode well for federal workers.

Modernization

Industry would get hit in cyber war, report says

Privately owned critical infrastructure likely to be targeted in a cyber war between nations, a report says.

Digital Government

Scholarships for Federal IT Service

A bill introduced on Tuesday would create a scholarship program to fund education in mission-critical fields in exchange for a federal service commitment. The bill (S.2789), introduced by Sens. George Voinovich, R-Ohio, and Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., would create a civilian counterpart to the military's Reserve Officer Training Corps by offering scholarships in mission-critical fields like information technology, science, engineering, public health and law, in exchange for a commitment to work for the government.

People

How to defend against social-media brand thieves

Strategies businesses use for social media also work well for government organizations, a Web marketing expert said at the Web 2.0 Expo.

Digital Government

NIH preparing small business GWAC for IT services

The National Institutes of Health has released a draft RFP for a small business set-aside acquisition vehicle that will cover a broad array of IT services.

Digital Government

Hospitals tighten security on patient data

More than half of health care executives surveyed said they are buying new cybersecurity tools to comply with the economic stimulus law's requirements to protect patient data.

Digital Government

Army chief of staff outlines global security challenges

Army Chief of Staff Gen. George Casey outlines four key areas must be addressed for global security.