Bombings keep security hot topic
Tightened security against terrorist attacks at federal buildings and facilities will not translate into an immediate strengthening of security in government systems, leading security experts predicted. In fact, the barricades placed around the Washington Monument to block car bombs in the wake of the embassy bombings last month in Africa have little correlation to the cyberworld, experts said.
GCN test: Agencies vary in handling of online queries
The promise of a more consumer-friendly government hinges on an important factor: e-mail. The speed with which agencies responded to e-mail messages sent to their public information links on Web sites varied widely in an informal GCN test. GCN sent messages to 26 agencies seeking information on fiscal 1999 budget requests. A dozen agencies responded almost immediately, but 10 agencies had not responded after two weeks.
GAO exec: Feds must get it together on 2000
Independent reviews are the key to accurate date code data, GAO's Joel C. Willemssen says. The government still must establish priorities for year 2000 work, a General Accounting Office auditor told a House panel this month. Agencies also have not yet tackled the issues of ensuring that data exchange points are ready or developing adequate contingency plans, said Joel C. Willemssen, director of GAO's Civil Agencies Information Systems Division.
Squabbles over date code funding threaten fixes, year 2000 czar says
A budget battle could doom code work, says John A. Koskinen, chairman of the president's year 2000 conversion council. The budget battle between the Clinton administration and Congress could doom the government's year 2000 efforts, the administration's year 2000 czar said this month. "If this money gets tied up in the endgame, that's a real problem," said John A. Koskinen, chairman of the President's Council on the Year 2000 Conversion.
GSA sustains Boeing protest of Seat Management awards
The General Services Administration last week upheld Boeing Information Services Inc.'s protest of the agency's Seat Management Program contract awards. It is unclear, however, what the ruling will mean for the company, the PC outsourcing program or the eight winning Seat Management vendors. In agreeing that the Vienna, Va., company's protest had merit, a senior GSA procurement official did not opt to halt work on Seat Management, award the company a contract or nix the contract
NIST lists 15 algorithms to compete for standard
The National Institute of Standards and Technology has selected 15 algorithms to compete for the honor of being the federal government's next encryption standard. The Advanced Encryption Standard submissions from companies, scientific organizations and individuals meet requirements the institute outlined in its September request for proposals, NIST officials said. NIST unveiled the candidate algorithms at its First Advanced Encryption Standard Candidate Conference in Ventura, Calif., this month.
Senate bill would give GPO new name, power over govt. data
Some call the bill a step backward for procurement reform. The Senate Rules Committee is considering a bill that would make the Government Printing Office responsible for ensuring public access to government data, even Web postings. But the administration, which opposes the bill, contends it would be a step backward for procurement reform and would give GPO too much power over government information.
Gore proposes an Electronic Bill of Rights to protect the privacy of personal data
Vice President Gore last month announced steps to create an Electronic Bill of Rights to protect citizen privacy in an increasingly electronic world. The administration plans to discuss its plans with state and local governments to find a balance among the protection of personal information collected by governments, the right of access to public records and First Amendment protections.
Agency vows to be 2000-ready
Date code problems could cripple the health care system by delaying reimbursement payments, Sen. Robert Bennett says. The Health Care Financing Administration last month tried to reassure lawmakers that its systems will be ready for the year 2000, despite the daunting task facing the agency.
Feds plan Web
The Clinton administration wants to present a single face to the public on the Web and has asked a group in the White House to make it happen. WebGov is still in the concept phase, said Greg Woods, deputy director of the White House's National Partnership for Reinventing Government. Woods and other federal managers want to create a Web site of Web sites—a site where the public can search, based on subject matter and other key words,
GSA sets up Office of Smart Card Initiatives
The General Services Administration will create a smart card office to promote the technology and a test center where agencies can evaluate and develop applications. The Office of Smart Card Initiatives will spearhead the use of smart card technology governmentwide, GSA Administrator David J. Barram said in a June memo to GSA managers and department heads.
GSA pushes Seat Management
The General Services Administration is launching an all-out marketing push for its Seat Management Program. "We will do whatever it takes to sell this concept," said Charles Self, assistant commissioner for information technology integration at GSA's Federal Technology Service, during a speech at a Federal Sources Inc. monthly breakfast meeting in McLean, Va. "There is some confusion today. That is our challenge—to unconfuse."
FMSS Schedule vendors resist shift to IT Schedule
Financial Management System Software Schedule contract holders are fighting plans to consolidate the mandatory financial systems schedule into the broader Information Technology Schedule. The General Services Administration is expected to shift the administration of FMSS Schedule contracts from the Federal Technology Service to the Federal Supply Service. As part of the change, use of the financial systems product contracts would no longer be mandatory, federal officials said.
GAO: Beware data exchanges
Bad date code in government systems seems less a threat come 2000 than flawed data that agencies might receive from other government and private-sector systems, the General Accounting Office reported last week. In its report, Year 2000 Computing Crisis: Actions Needed on Electronic Data Exchanges, GAO warned that some mission-critical systems may not be ready if federal agencies don't agree on date formats with all their data exchange partners.
GSA tells agencies: Boost privacy measures on Web sites
GSA recommends privacy guidelines Stay up-to-date on Web technology changes and their effect on privacy. Notify the public whenever you are collecting data on the Internet. Use information only for the sole purpose for which it was gathered and as was disclosed in the privacy notice. Protect privacy in all forms of data, including text, graphics, sound and video. Balance Freedom of Information Act and Privacy Act requirements.
Has Indian Affairs found a silver date code bullet?
BIA computer specialists Rick Namm and Susan Ellison use Millennium Solution to fix bureau date code. There may not be a silver bullet with which to slay the year 2000 problem, but at least one agency official believes a small company's remediation software comes close.
Lew: Don't overdo oversight
Agencies shouldn't have to report their year 2000 progress as often as Congress might like, said the man nominated to be the next head of the Office of Management and Budget. "The greatest immediate challenge is the year 2000 computer problem," OMB deputy director Jacob J. Lew told the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee during his confirmation hearing June 22.
Agencies are behind in ITMRA conformance
+ Most agencies include staff from program, IT and financial offices in the capital planning process. – Few agencies have procedures for ensuring senior management participation. Executive-level investment review boards: + Most agencies have adopted investment review boards. – Few have procedures for senior management to monitor approved projects. + Most agencies link capital planning and budgeting. – Only a few agencies have completed reviews of this process. Cost-benefit and risk analyses: + Virtually all of
GSA to decide soon on PC outsourcing protest
The General Services Administration plans to make a decision tomorrow on an agency-level protest of its Seat Management Program awards. Boeing Information Service Inc. filed the protest July 15. In its protest, the Vienna, Va., company claimed that GSA misled vendors about the criteria it would use in evaluating the Seat Management bids.
Sen. Bennett lauds Clinton's 'call to arms' for 2000
Sen. Robert Bennett praised President Clinton's speech, but warns that agencies must hunker down for the next 17 months. The chairman of the Senate's year 2000 committee praised President Clinton for speaking out on the date code issue but warned that the next coming months are critical.
Do Not Sell My Personal Information
When you visit our website, we store cookies on your browser to collect information. The information collected might relate to you, your preferences or your device, and is mostly used to make the site work as you expect it to and to provide a more personalized web experience. However, you can choose not to allow certain types of cookies, which may impact your experience of the site and the services we are able to offer. Click on the different category headings to find out more and change our default settings according to your preference. You cannot opt-out of our First Party Strictly Necessary Cookies as they are deployed in order to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting the cookie banner and remembering your settings, to log into your account, to redirect you when you log out, etc.). For more information about the First and Third Party Cookies used please follow this link.
Manage Consent Preferences
Strictly Necessary Cookies - Always Active
We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.
Sale of Personal Data, Targeting & Social Media Cookies
Under the California Consumer Privacy Act, you have the right to opt-out of the sale of your personal information to third parties. These cookies collect information for analytics and to personalize your experience with targeted ads. You may exercise your right to opt out of the sale of personal information by using this toggle switch. If you opt out we will not be able to offer you personalised ads and will not hand over your personal information to any third parties. Additionally, you may contact our legal department for further clarification about your rights as a California consumer by using this Exercise My Rights link
If you have enabled privacy controls on your browser (such as a plugin), we have to take that as a valid request to opt-out. Therefore we would not be able to track your activity through the web. This may affect our ability to personalize ads according to your preferences.
Targeting cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.
Social media cookies are set by a range of social media services that we have added to the site to enable you to share our content with your friends and networks. They are capable of tracking your browser across other sites and building up a profile of your interests. This may impact the content and messages you see on other websites you visit. If you do not allow these cookies you may not be able to use or see these sharing tools.
If you want to opt out of all of our lead reports and lists, please submit a privacy request at our Do Not Sell page.
Cookie List
A cookie is a small piece of data (text file) that a website – when visited by a user – asks your browser to store on your device in order to remember information about you, such as your language preference or login information. Those cookies are set by us and called first-party cookies. We also use third-party cookies – which are cookies from a domain different than the domain of the website you are visiting – for our advertising and marketing efforts. More specifically, we use cookies and other tracking technologies for the following purposes:
Strictly Necessary Cookies
We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.
Functional Cookies
We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.
Performance Cookies
We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.
Sale of Personal Data
We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.
Social Media Cookies
We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.
Targeting Cookies
We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.
Help us tailor content specifically for you: