Digital Government

Injunction sought against E-Verify

None

Digital Government

Agencies should institute tougher policies on storing sensitive info

Security officials say the policies could reduce the No. 1 cause of data loss: stolen laptops and storage devices.

Digital Government

GAO: Technology can help secure Southwest border

Resources are distributed unevenly among checkpoints and some lower priority crossings have outdated equipment, watchdog agency finds.

Digital Government

Varied questions drawn from troops in virtual town hall meetings

While the president received questions dealing with wartime strategy, Gates dealt with nitty-gritty Defense issues and Mullen fielded more politically tinged comments.

Digital Government

Stimulus watchdog site exempted from paperwork rules

Recovery Act board cuts through the red tape of reduction act to collect stimulus reports on time.

Digital Government

NATO Wants to Go Virtual

<a href=http://www.act.nato.int/>Allied Command Transformation</a>, which does the change thing for NATO, has a <a href=https://www.fbo.gov/index?s=opportunity&mode=form&tab=core&id=45e9ec68b6f188da12279571ab64ee79&_cview=0>request for proposals</a> on the street to build a virtual headquarters to run operations in Asia.

Ideas

Is Gmail Ready for Government?

In case you've been out of pocket this afternoon (or don't have <a href="http://twitter.com/Nextgov">Twitter</a>), Google's popular free email service <a href="http://mail.google.com">Gmail</a> <a href="http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9137384/Gmail_hit_by_widespread_outage">has been down</a> for much of the afternoon. While it's fun to debate whether the outage (and the absence of the ubiquitous Gchat) has increased or decreased productivity for office workers across the country, the outage brings up a salient point about cloud computing and the wisdom of having the government rely on consumer technology.

Digital Government

Joint Forces Command to test new network encryption

Unisys's Stealth technology is intended to allow separate secure virtual communities to coexist on a single network.

Ideas

Internet Turns 40

Robert Charette, a risk management consultant and a contributor to Tech Insider and <em>Government Executive</em> magazine, <a href="http://spectrum.ieee.org/blog/computing/it/riskfactor/internet-turns-40-">noted</a> on his Risk Factor blog that Sept. 2, 2009, marks the 40th anniversary of the "official" creation of the Internet, or its predecessor, <a href="http://www.computerhistory.org/internet_history/">ARPANET</a>.

Cybersecurity

Court: Federal contractors covered by E-Verify rule

A judge upheld the Homeland Security Department's E-Verify electronic employment verification rule for federal contractors starting Sept. 8.

Digital Government

Obama Stands Firm on Pay Raise

Alyssa Rosenberg <a href="http://www.govexec.com/story_page.cfm?articleid=43512&dcn=todaysnews">writes</a> at <em>Government Executive</em> that President Obama will use his authority to set a 2 percent pay raise for federal employees in 2010, citing the economic crisis and the ballooning federal budget.

Digital Government

Electronic cargo tracking ready for early 2010

The CBP is helping importers prepare for full enforcement of a rule that will require electronic data submissions for cargoes starting in January.

Cybersecurity

Experts debate expansion of president’s cybersecurity powers

Existing laws already give the president broad discretion on how to respond to cyberattacks, despite language in a Senate bill that proposes giving the president specific powers during such events, expert says.

Modernization

A few creative options for working without Word

If a deal isn't reached in the Microsoft Word patent infrigement case, what are the alternatives?

People

Unions critical of NSPS overhaul decision

Federal employee unions have sharply criticized the recommendation of the Defense Business Board to overhaul, and not abandon, Defense Department’s controversial National Security Personnel System.