People

Rep. Towns: States need help managing stimulus money

The chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee said states need guidance on how to oversee stimulus law spending.

People

Klossner: Is "smart mob" an oxymoron?

FCW cartoonist John Klossner ponders a way to appeal to the greater humanity of the individuals who wreaked havoc at the Open Government Dialogue.

Cybersecurity

'Noisy' cyberattacks have little effect

The attacks, which spiked late July 6 and early July 7, are not particularly sophisticated and can be mitigated by organizations that are prepared for them, experts say.

Digital Government

Social media could frustrate diplomatic efforts, online researchers say

Specialists struggle to offer effective ways for State to leverage new media networks to engage citizens and officials abroad.

Digital Government

Senators, officials back mandate for contractors to use E-Verify

Companies that contract with the federal government will have to begin on Sept. 8 verifying their employees are legally allowed to work in the country, the Homeland Security Department announced today.

Digital Government

Recovery board to provide public with original stimulus data

The board,responsible for overseeing stimulus spending, said the public would have access to the same machine-readable data that updates Recovery.gov, a functionality that open government activists have been seeking. But public watchdogs and federal auditors raised concerns that the data might be flawed.

Digital Government

Cyberattacks on federal Web sites may be smokescreen

Denial-of-service attacks against can create noise that distracts network administrators so hackers can successfully infiltrate more sensitive computer systems and applications.

Cybersecurity

Senate bill would give DHS $97M above request

The Senate is considering a spending bill for DHS that would phase out Loran in 2010 and spend $97 million more than the White House requested.

Ideas

Where's the (Infected) Beef?

The administration on Tuesday announced long-desired steps that agencies will take to help repair the <a href="http://www.nextgov.com/nextgov/ng_20080611_3153.php?oref=search">beleaguered food safety system</a>, including the creation of a nationwide trace-back system to more quickly identify the food-source of an outbreak.

Digital Government

JCS Chair on Facebook, With Fans

Adm. Mike Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, launched his <a href=http://www.facebook.com/admiralmikemullen?ref=ts>Facebook page</a> on July 2 and has already managed to attract 309 fans.

Ideas

GAO Tweets and Tubes

There are few agencies that we reporters pay closer attention to than the Government Accountability Office. As the investigative arm of the legislative branch, GAO auditors are responsible for uncovering many of the largest cases of fraud or waste in the federal government. Almost everything they publish is of interest to someone out there, which is why we are thrilled to see they are making efforts to expand their audience by joining the Government 2.0 movement.