As Federal agencies move forward with big data and infrastructure initiatives, “we really have to assume that all of our networks are compromised,” said Ann Dunkin, CIO at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). […]
MeriTalk Executive Editor Dan Verton discusses the theme of this year’s Akamai Government Forum—Safeguarding a Dynamic Government—with Akamai CEO Dr. Tom Leighton. During his keynote address, Leighton offered a unique look at the future of the Internet and security.
Food and Drug Administration CIO Todd Simpson is working toward a new tech-savvy agency by creating programs specifically aimed at technological innovation. “I created a separate, stand-alone innovations office that speeds new technologies into the CTO shop once they’re approved,” he said. These technologies include various Apple and Android phones, applications, and tablets.
Third party cloud security auditing firms are worried that new documentation requirements put in place by FedRAMP could open them to significant liability risks.
Cloud computing offers the most security for government data, argued Homeland Security CIO of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Mark Schwartz, at the Akamai Government Forum.
Speed and communication are key elements to effective threat intelligence in the government, according to panelists at the Akamai Government Forum. “It’s a team sport. We really need to work together,” said Renee Tarun of the NSA. […]
The key to data center consolidation success is communicating and committing to an aggressive plan, according to Department of Justice CIO Joseph Klimavicz.
A middle school filmmaker from New Jersey may be the next big expert in cybersecurity and cyber warfare.
Consumers comprehensively think that more needs to be done to protect their data, according to a study published by Purple Insights on behalf of ACT the App Association. But do they trust government or tech companies more? […]
The Federal Data Center Consolidation Initiative has been suspended as of March 2016, and the Office of Management and Budget is pushing forward a memorandum called the Data Center Optimization Initiative in its place.
The Defense Department likes to hit its targets. So you can imagine the frustration that the department’s chief information officer, Terry Halvorsen, must have experienced when he realized that he wasn’t even going to come close to reaching the Federal mandate to close at least 40 percent of the department’s data centers by 2015.
To dig deeper into the many factors that have contributed to the current state of affairs in the Federal Data Center Consolidation Initiative, MeriTalk spoke with some of the leading agency authorities about the many data center challenges facing chief information officers, and the plans and policies that hold the most promise of helping the government achieve its data center consolidation goals.
MeriTalk spells out the pros and cons of the Office of Management and Budget’s Data Center Optimization Initiative.
Six states–Arizona, Maryland, Michigan, North Carolina, Rhode Island, and Virginia–are participating in a learning lab on improving the use of data to drive efficient decision-making in policymaking, the National Governors Association announced. […]
The future of scientific and technological innovation is in the hands of today’s students, President Obama said in his speech at the White House Science Fair. “Some of the best moments I’ve had as president have been with science and at the science fair,” he said. “There’s nothing that makes me more hopeful than seeing the young people that are here.” […]
The National Association of State Chief Information Officers issued a “planning guide” to help states deal with a cyber disruption. Cyber disruption response planning is essential, the report said: “Ignore at your own peril.” […]
Cyber criminal attack groups have increased their skills, staff, and resources in the past year, making their capabilities close to those of nation-state attackers, according to Symantec’s 2016 Internet Security Threat Report . It provides an overview and analysis of the past year in global threat activity, including emerging trends in attacks, malicious code activity, phishing, and spam. […]
Dave Powner, director of IT issues at the Government Accountability Office, profiled the upcoming agency scorecard on FITARA and discussed the Federal government’s continuing difficulties with data center consolidation and legacy IT modernization.
Internal Revenue Service cybersecurity is woefully inadequate, and Congress is to blame, according to Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore. “Congress has sat back and watched while criminals have come in and preyed on taxpayers,” Wyden said at a Senate Finance Committee hearing.
The General Services Administration is pushing Congress to get behind a plan to establish a third service branch, known as the Technology Transformation Service, that would be centered around GSA’s 18F digital service organization and would actively help manage the $3.1 billion IT modernization fund proposed by the White House, MeriTalk has learned.
Kryptowire, a company that assesses the security of Android and iOS mobile applications, will be available to Federal agencies as a resource for vetting their mobile applications.
The Government Accountability Office released a report detailing the 10 key practices agencies should follow in creating service level agreements (SLA) with cloud service providers.
The Office of the Director of National Intelligence plans to hire its first chief information officer to take charge of IT programs across the ODNI’s 20 component offices, particularly the effort to retire legacy IT systems and migrate users to the cloud.
Secretary of Defense Ash Carter is considering recommendations for a major reorganization of the Defense Department that would make U.S. Cyber Command a full combatant command similar to the U.S. European Command or the U.S. Special Operations Command.
Cyber Command’s influence may not be as expansive as some think, according to its commander, Adm. Michael Rogers. “The Department of Defense is not resourced, nor is it tasked with defending every single computer structure in the U.S.,” he said.
If you are wondering what it’s going to take to get your agency in line with the Federal Information Technology Acquisition Reform Act, known as FITARA, look no further. Joyce Hunter, the deputy chief information officer for policy and planning at the Department of Agriculture, has been there and has done that.
Haley Van Dyck, the co-founder of the U.S. Digital Service, brought the U.S. government’s unique brand of startup to a new TED Talk. Filmed in February in Vancouver, British Columbia, and released this week, Van Dyck’s talk urged technology entrepreneurs to disrupt their government by introducing technologies most of us take for granted.
Government officials and industry leaders will try to get to the bottom of why interoperability has been so difficult to achieve, they said at the second meeting of the Joint Health IT Policy and Standards Committee Meeting Interoperability Experience Task Force. […]
The Federal Communications Commission announced new consumer broadband labels designed to give consumers better information about the price, service, and terms of different broadband services. The FCC receives more than 2,000 complaints a year about surprise Internet fees.
HID security card readers have a potentially disastrous vulnerability in their access control panels, according to Steve Povolny, senior manager for TippingPoint DVLabs at Trend Micro. TippingPoint’s Zero Day Initiative team discovered the vulnerability, and warns that the system could present a real security threat, as many are located in hospitals, airports, and government offices.