Author Archive
Ben Bain
Ben Bain is a reporter for Federal Computer Week.
Emerging Tech
Five years after Katrina, government IT still feels storm's fury
Five years after Hurricane Katrina ravaged the Gulf Coast, the region continues to rebuild and the federal government is still trying to fix information technology-related problems that the storm and its aftermath exposed.
- By Ben Bain
Cybersecurity
DHS to automate watch list feeds
The Homeland Security Department and the Terrorist Screening Center will use a program to simplify how DHS receives information from the government's centralized terrorist database.
- By Ben Bain
Cybersecurity
Government, industry fall short in sharing cyber threat data
Government and industry need to do a better job of sharing information about cybersecurity threats to U.S. critical infrastructure, according to the Government Accountability Office.
- By Ben Bain
Cybersecurity
Back to school: Meet NIST's leader for national cybersecurity education
Federal Computer Week spoke today with Ernest McDuffie, who is leading the National Institute of Standards and Technology's coordination of the National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education.
- By Ben Bain
Management
Top state-level IT projects to be honored
The National Association of State Chief Information Officers today announced 33 state-level information technology projects as finalists for that organization's annual awards.
- By Ben Bain
Cybersecurity
Senator wants cybersecurity center at NIST
Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.) is pushing to establish a new cybersecurity center of excellence at the National Institute of Standards and Technology.
- By Ben Bain
Digital Government
IT spending dashboard goes mobile
Federal Chief Information Officer Vivek Kundra has announced an updated Web site to help the public track the $80 billion the government spends annually on information technology.
- By Ben Bain
Digital Government
More feds will telework under new law
Teleworkers of the world rejoice! House lawmakers have passed a bill to expand the number of federal employees eligible to telework.
- By Ben Bain
Digital Government
NARA set to debut new Federal Register site
The Federal Register's Web site is getting a major overhaul just in time for the register's 75th anniversary on July 26.
- By Ben Bain
Cybersecurity
Spymasters in search of forecasting software to enhance intell analysis
The research organization for intelligence agencies wants organizations to propose research to develop methods that provide more accurate, precise and timely intelligence forecasts.
- By Ben Bain
Cybersecurity
'Identity ecosystem' to replace passwords, draft strategy suggests
Obama administration releases a draft plan that would radically change the standard approach to online identity authentication -- if it works.
- By Ben Bain
Digital Government
OMB tells agencies how to treat their online 'friends'
OMB today overhauled policy on using third-party Web sites and applications and Web measurement and customization technologies.
- By Ben Bain
Cybersecurity
White House plans strategy for better cyber authentication
White House Cyber Coordinator Howard Schmidt says the Obama administration will release a draft of its national strategy to improve the identification of people and systems in cyberspace.
- By Ben Bain
Emerging Tech
Wanted: A better system for intelligence collection
The Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity's Smart Collection office wants to fund research into ways to make collected intelligence more valuable.
- By Ben Bain
Digital Government
Officers to get guidelines for open-source intell
Officials are drawing up guidance and certifications for people in the country's intelligence agencies who develop open-source intelligence.
- By Ben Bain
Cybersecurity
DHS network policy puts systems at risk, IG finds
The Homeland Security Department is working to fix security vulnerabilities to its enterprise application domain identified in a new report from the department's inspector general.
- By Ben Bain
Cybersecurity
New DOD cyber commander seeks better situational awareness
Army Gen. Keith Alexander says the Defense Department needs a common, real-time, understanding of what's happening across its many computer networks.
- By Ben Bain
Cybersecurity
NASA's new FISMA approach and what it means for you
Jerry Davis, NASA's deputy CIO for IT security, discusses his agency's break from the paper-based process used to measure IT security.
- By Ben Bain
Digital Government
Eye in the sky: NOAA satellite program aids oil spill response
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's satellite organization has a test imagery program that's getting some real use in fighting the oil spill in the Gulf.
- By Ben Bain
Digital Government
Online knowledge management tool keeps FAA inspectors on same page
Federal Aviation Administration air facility inspectors centralize their information in an online resource library.
- By Ben Bain