Modernization
As data breaches pile up, OMB cracks down
The flood of recent data breaches appears to be the product of a perfect storm of inadequate security controls, enforcement and training. As a result, the Office of Management and Budget has announced a deadline for agencies to implement data security safeguards, and Congress is watching to ensure that agencies comply.<@SM>
Modernization
Terry Pudas | Transformation on many fronts
Terry Pudas enjoys home improvement projects and cooking. He finds working with his hands a welcome contrast to his job at the Office of Force Transformation, where he serves as acting director and is known as a key strategist for Defense Department transformation.
Modernization
Symantec combines threat intell feeds, consulting
Consultants periodically tweak the Symantec Threat and Vulnerability Management Program, which allows users to remediate threats and vulnerabilities while adhering to compliance requirements.
Modernization
ManTech takes subcontract role on Army modernization
The integrator will contribute information technology and telecommunications services on the infrastructure project.
Modernization
FAA seeks to extend contract for old telecom system
Auditors from the Government Accountability Office have proposed abandoning the new system and outsourcing telecommunications services, if delays continue.
Modernization
Agencies slow in adopting IPv6, survey finds
Almost 65 percent of respondents said funding and budgets were the top challenges they face.
Modernization
LexisNexis unveils Advanced Government Solutions package
A new set of offerings uses the firm's access to archived information to provide government users with specialized capabilities.
Modernization
OMB beefs up protections for sensitive information
Johnson spells out specific steps that agencies should follow to protect data that users take off site or access from remote locations.
Modernization
Duane Andrews moves to QinetiQ
Andrews was chief operating officer at Science Applications International Corporation before QinetiQ hired him as CEO of North American operations.
Modernization
VA’s IT centralization could slow security fixes
Lawmakers and oversight authorities are expressing doubts that the way the Veterans Affairs Department is centralizing its IT organization will ensure that security is marbled throughout its agencies.<@SM>
Modernization
Oasis OKs standard
A new open IT standard, capable of facilitating data sharing across local, regional, national and international governments and organizations, has been ratified by the Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information Standards.
Modernization
OFPP gets ready to move beyond Safavian
On the same day the former chief of the Office of Federal Procurement Policy was convicted, the White House’s nominee to lead the office Safavian once ran said he will make government contracting more transparent and accountable.
Modernization
DHS Special Report | Authentication, ID are in the cards
Robert Mocny, deputy program manager for the U.S. Visitor and Immigrant Status Indicator Technology program, has a simple vision for making the borders more secure.<@SM>It doesn’t have to do with 12-foot fences, or unmanned aerial vehicles or anything fancy. It is a simple card combining two technologies that have been around for decades—biometrics and radio frequency identification.
Modernization
Veterans’ benefits agency tightens data security
The Veterans Benefits Administration is taking additional steps to ensure that veterans’ data is secure.
Modernization
Dennett promises accountability, better prices
Paul Denett, the nominee to be Office of Federal Procurement Policy administrator, promised to be vigilant in assuring that the government gets the best prices on services it procures.<@SM>
Modernization
DHS Special Report | Can DHS meet IT cybersecurity expectations?
The Homeland Security Department’s stagnant cybersecurity program stands in stark contrast to its progress in other IT areas. The job of assistant secretary for cybersecurity and telecommunications remains open, as it has been since secretary Michael Chertoff created it last October.
Modernization
DHS Special Report | Integration takes root
A modest number of IT and security initiatives are now gaining traction in the Homeland Security Department—including border screening and targeting programs, port and harbor monitoring, and the use of geospatial mapping to improve disaster response, as GCN <a href="http://www.gcn.com/print/25_16/"><b>reported last week</b></a>. In this, the second of a two-part special report on DHS, GCN looks at several fledgling and pending IT projects that form pockets of promise.
Modernization