Digital Government
CSC wins refugee system contract
The State Department this month awarded a $9 million contract to Computer Sciences Corp. to develop a standardized computer system that will result in speeding up the process of moving refugees to the United States. State's Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration and CSC will develop the globa
Digital Government
Making privacy a priority
As the federal government continues to move more of its operations to the World Wide Web, privacy issues are moving front and center for federal Webmasters and agency leaders alike. Despite a governmentwide privacy memo issued by the General Services Administration last year, agencies' sensitivity
Digital Government
U.S. hosts allied simulation demo
In an effort to enhance military cooperation between allied nations and to better prepare NATO for operations like Bosnia and Kosovo, the U.S. Atlantic Command late last month hosted the first NATO computerbased battle simulation. The NATO Partnership for Peace (PFP) Simulation Network Demonstrati
Digital Government
FMS readies its upgrade program
The Financial Management Service has launched a sixyear effort to revamp how it collects accounting data from federal agencies and to modernize its systems so that it can produce government financial reports more efficiently. FMS would not begin updating or building any systems until 2001 at the e
Digital Government
Network-attached storage lines debut (Part II)
Dell Computer Corp., one of the leading direct vendors of desktops and server systems, last week launched its initial foray into the networkattached storage market, announcing a new line of systems designed to make storage systems a common appliance. Dell's new NAS systems, known as the PowerVault
Digital Government
Network-attached storage lines debut (Part I)
HewlettPackard Co. today will unveil a new line of networkedattached storage products for CD and DVDROM discs aimed at improving management of and access to agency data. The SureStore CD and DVDROM servers connect directly to localarea networks, a design that allows discs to be accessed from
Digital Government
Air Force awards BPAs for rugged portables
The Air Force last week awarded three contracts for highpowered, rugged portable computers to Cytec Corp,. Government Technology Services Inc. and Inacom Government Systems.
Digital Government
Tackling Wildlife Licensing in North Carolina
It was an oftrepeated scene: A North Carolina wildlife department officer would ask for someone's fishing or hunting license, and the answer would be, 'Well, I have one, but I just forgot to bring it with me. Can't you check in Raleigh?' At that point, the officer would be forced to issue a citati
Digital Government
GAO: AMC overstated savings from job reductions
The outsourcing of the two software centers is part of the Army Materiel Command's larger effort to free up money for modernization. But faulty accounting may have led the Army to overstate by hundreds of millions of dollars the amount of savings likely to result from instituting best business practices and eliminating government jobs, according to a report the General Accounting Office released last month.
Digital Government
New cyberterror threatens AF
The Air Force should slow its modernization plans and rethink its connections to the Internet if it wants to fight off a revolutionary, yet undeveloped, form of cyberterrorism, according to a recently released Rand Corp. report. Terrorist groups are relying increasingly on advanced communications a
Digital Government
'Melissa's' Message: Practice Protection
Municipal governments across the country probably winced when Portland, Ore.'s computers and countless other networks across the nation were jammed by the 'Melissa' virus last month. It was a network nightmare that drives home the importance of updating your antivirus software. Civic networks cert
Digital Government
DOD net overhaul to thwart hackers
The Defense Department has started an overhaul of its global unclassified network to fight off the barrage of hacker attacks the department's systems suffer and to increase capacity to handle a huge rise in traffic to and from the Internet. The Defense Information Systems Agency plans to redesign i
Digital Government
Curbing Urban Sprawl
Many of the nation's cities are enjoying the fruits of the best economy in decades, with the indicators of civic healthtax receipts, economic investment levels and employment ratesall pointing up. Yet the good times have brought some negatives: an insatiable appetite on the part of consumers and
Digital Government
Finjan offers mobile code security software
Finjan Software Inc. today announced the availability of SurfinShield Corporate 4.0, a robust desktop defense against hostile mobile code that can reside in Java, ActiveX, VisualBasic script, Internet cookies and various plugins. Major features include autolaunch blocking, enhanced centralized se
Digital Government
Philly Outsources Desktop Maintenance
When Philadelphia's chief information officer, Brian Anderson, came on board last year, one of his first goals was to breathe life into a stalled effort to centralize the upkeep of desktop computersa plan the city claims could save $800,000 annually. Under Anderson's direction, the city has becom
Digital Government
Elron debuts context-based e-mail filter
Elron Software Inc. today introduced a new tool that will help agencies protect sensitive email messages from getting into the wrong hands and will filter out messages that contain offensive language by analyzing their context. Message Inspector, which is the latest addition to the company's Comma
Digital Government
Don't expect courts to go an extra mile
A recent case at the U.S. Court of Appeals illustrates the importance of meticulously documenting any medical condition that may lead you to seek a disability retirement annuity. The case involved Kimberle Rinderle, an industrial engineering technician at Newark Air Force Base, Ohio, who left feder
Digital Government
GSA selects 12 for Millennia services pacts
The General Services Administration's Federal Technology Service last week awarded to 12 vendors its $25 billion Millennia contract for information technology services. The Millennia contract, awarded by FTS' Federal Computer Acquisition Center (Fedcac) Solutions Development Center, covers software
Digital Government
OMB Web site shakes bureaucratic design
The Office of Management and Budget has redesigned its World Wide Web site, giving a fresh look to the home page and easier paths to important documents that affect operations governmentwide. The site's new design (www.whitehouse.gov/OMB), which went live last month, did away with a look that was n
Digital Government