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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.