Digital Government
CIO Council holds first meeting
The Year 2000 problem information security and multiagency contracts are among the issues that could be on the agenda of the newly formed Chief Information Officers Council according to officials who attended the group's inaugural meeting last Wednesday. The twohour session attended by about 40 CI
Digital Government
Soldier faces court-martial in espionage case
FORT BRAGG N.C. The Army has charged Pfc. Eric Jenott assigned to the 35th Signal Brigade 18th Airborne Corps with espionage theft of computer passwords and computer crimes involving classified military networks that include unauthorized hacking of supposedly secure systems. The Army provided onl
Digital Government
Study pans fed security role as attack hits Justice site
Federal Information Technology officials caught offguard as hackers broke into the Justice Department's home page received a second wakeup call last week as an independent study was released showing how the majority of federal state and local agencies are wide open to electronic attack.Only days
Digital Government
CBD Watch
Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. Warfighter Visualization. Sol. BAA 9637. (CBD Aug. 19) DARPA is soliciting proposals for research and development of visualization technologies for warfighters. The objective of the Warfighter Visualization program is to revolutionize and accelerate the a
Digital Government
Mars find may boost IT budget
NASA's extraordinary announcement this month that primitive life may have existed on Mars could boost information technology programs at the beleaguered agency if the discovery convinces Congress and the Clinton administration to push for more funds to search for further evidence of life. Although
Digital Government
Buying boom leaves users in lurch
Federal buyers looking for highend notebook computers may find them in short supply as peak endofyear product demand tests manufacturers' capabilities.Some federal resellers are reporting ordertodelivery lags of up to 120 days on some notebook models. But availability varies by the type of not
Digital Government
Intercepts
FIRST INITIAL * Nipping at NIPRNET. MCI seems less than pleased with the Fedsim/Pulsar/Sprint trifecta that will result in DISA moving NIPRNET traffic off the AT&T DCTN net and onto a highspeed nonFTS 2000 Sprint network that could eventually sport ATM under the hood. I am picking up signals that
Acquisition
HQ, regional offices set to kick off FAST
Contracting personnel at General Services Administration headquarters hope to issue a solicitation this month for a $1 billion program to channel agencies' information technology requirements to small disadvantaged 8(a) vendors as well as contractors holding schedule and governmentwide contracts. O
Digital Government
SCO offers Unix package
The Santa Cruz Operation which already has a stake in Internet computing entered the embryonic network computer market last week with a Unixbased software package tailored for Internet access devices. The Network Client Operating System (NC/OS) combines SCO Unix software Netscape Communications Co
Digital Government
FEDERAL BYTES
The Year 2000 Interagency Committee is looking for a logo to represent Year 2000 awareness. People with ideas are invited to submit their suggestions to the General Services Administration by Aug. 30.Fax your images of exploding calendars warped clocks or other Year 2000 icons to (202) 5014066. Yo
Digital Government
Be careful with post-federal employment and annuities
Feds who retire on a disability annuity and then take a job in the private sector need to keep track of what they earn or the annuity could go out the window. Because the government lets retirees covered by a disability annuity earn up to 80 percent of their previous salaries it's also a good idea
Digital Government
System tracks time, attendance
The Commerce Department's Office of Computer Services (OCS) is using a biometric time and accounting system dubbed the Integrated Time and Accounting System that it plans to market to other agencies. ITAS integrates various systems developed by CDSI Business Applications Solutions Co. (CDSI BAS) a
Digital Government
GAO under the gun to deliver study on widespread contracts
Opening the General Services Administration's Federal Supply Service (FSS) contracts to state and local governments may not be as straightforward as it seems or at least so the General Accounting Office is finding. In eight short months as mandated under the Federal Acquisition Reform Act of 1996 G
Digital Government
PLGR explosion injures one, prompts safety measures
An Army Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver manufactured by the Collins division of Rockwell International Corp. exploded during an exercise at Fort Irwin Calif. last month injuring one soldier who required hospitalization. The blast caused the triservice GPS Joint Program Office (JPO) to rec
Digital Government
Treasury flips switch on $425M communications system
The Treasury Department switched off its 12yearold Consolidated Data Network (CDN) telecommunications system Wednesday morning completing its cutover to the new Treasury Communications System (TCS) run by TRW Inc. Immediate changes to the Treasurywide network are limited to advanced network man
Digital Government
The customer's in the driver's seat
There are hopeful signs lately that agencies are undergoing the changes needed to make acquisition reform stick. Highprofile procurements are being awarded and managed with innovative approaches. Agencies and vendors are learning that dealing with each other more openly leads to fewer disputes and
Acquisition
Shifting landscape requires training
Forget everything you know about federal procurement. Years worth of knowledge and insights have little relevancy due to the wholesale overhaul of procurement regulations over the last two years. To compete in the new world order government and industry executives are finding the need to refresh th
Digital Government
Money woes return FAA to square one
Fiscal pressures have forced the Federal Aviation Administration to scrap the more ambitious elements of its plans to modernize air traffic control in ocean airspace. The agency will look for more costeffective solutions in the global market. Less than a year ago the FAA awarded Hughes Aircraft Co
Digital Government
GSA adds IT policy division
In its latest round of reorganizations the General Services Administration last week announced the formation of an IT policy office and the consolidation of two other departments into the growing empire of telecom czar Bob Woods. The new Office of Information Technology which will operate within th
Digital Government