Author Archive

Mark Rockwell

Mark Rockwell is the senior editor for custom content with Public Sector 360. Prior to that, he was a senior staff writer at FCW, whose beat focuses on acquisition, the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Energy.

Before joining FCW, Rockwell was Washington correspondent for Government Security News, where he covered all aspects of homeland security from IT to detection dogs and border security. Over the last 25 years in Washington as a reporter, editor and correspondent, he has covered an increasingly wide array of high-tech issues for publications like Communications Week, Internet Week, Fiber Optics News, tele.com magazine and Wireless Week.

Rockwell received a Jesse H. Neal Award for his work covering telecommunications issues, and is a graduate of James Madison University.

Click here for previous articles by Rockwell. Contact him at mrockwell@fcw.com or follow him on Twitter at @MRockwell4.

Digital Government

Army looks to machine learning to predict, prevent injuries

Hoping to reduce costly non-combat muscle and bone injuries to warfighters, the Army turns to a machine learning-based tool used in professional sports.

  • By Mark Rockwell
Infrastructure

GSA eyes SDN for post-pandemic telecom flexibility

The General Services Administration is counting on software-defined networking to help it manage demand for connectivity in offices nationwide, according to one of the agency's key IT managers.

  • By Mark Rockwell
Emerging Tech

Anti-drone tech tests lined up for local airports

The Federal Aviation Administration plans to test anti-drone technologies to see how they perform in real-world environments.

  • By Mark Rockwell
Cybersecurity

Lawmakers call for red team testing of legacy electric grids

The nation’s energy grid should be tested for cyber vulnerabilities, lawmakers say, especially in light of the new challenges posed by the COVID-19 outbreak and reports of foreign adversaries targeting the nation’s critical infrastructure.

  • By Mark Rockwell
Emerging Tech

DHS tests counter-drone tech

The Department of Homeland Security is testing counter-drone systems near agency facilities and ports, according to a recently released privacy impact assessment.

  • By Mark Rockwell
Infrastructure

FDA, DHS move on IT infrastructure modernization

The Food and Drug Administration is considering new approaches for delivering IT infrastructure, and the Department of Homeland Security is inching closer to making good on a long promised data center consolidation plan.

  • By Mark Rockwell
Cybersecurity

Border tech bypassed to push ‘outdated’ solutions for wall, IG says

Rather than assess technology systems and manpower alternatives to securing the border, Customs and Border Protection pushed construction of physical barriers, according to a new report from the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General.

  • By Mark Rockwell
Emerging Tech

FCC makes next move on T-band auction

The Federal Communications Commission reluctantly moves ahead with plans to reallocate and auction public-safety spectrum.

  • By Mark Rockwell
Emerging Tech

NTIA looks at spectrum-sharing feasibility

A new report from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration said the spectrum currently used for government coastal and spot radar applications could be shared between federal and commercial applications.

  • By Mark Rockwell
Emerging Tech

CBP expands border surveillance tower network

Customs and Border Protection will add up to 200 autonomous surveillance towers.

  • By Mark Rockwell
Cybersecurity

Feds gear up to lock down electric grid supply chain

The Department of Energy is gearing up to lock down the nation’s electric grid by prequalifying vendors of bulk power equipment.

  • By Mark Rockwell
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Infrastructure

Cloud powers newly mission-critical teleconferencing apps

The Defense Information Systems Agency and the Government Accountability Office have both ramped up videoconferencing apps for their remote workers.

  • By Mark Rockwell
Infrastructure

NIH opens COVID-19 big data hub to researchers

The National Institutes of Health launched a secure, cloud-based research hub that will apply machine learning to a massive clinical COVID-19 dataset to inform best practices for resource allocation, drug discovery and treatment options.

  • By Mark Rockwell
Infrastructure

Cloud strategy smoothed State Department’s shift to remote work

The State Department began moving its operations to the cloud in 2019, so it wasn’t caught flat-footed when the pandemic forced a sudden shift to remote work.

  • By Mark Rockwell
Digital Government

GSA steps from automation to AI

Now that the General Services Administration has experience with robotic process automation, it’s looking to artificial intelligence to inject more efficiency into complex processes like contracting.

  • By Mark Rockwell
Digital Government

What did agencies learn from telework’s high-speed rollout?

The Government Accountability Office plans to review how agencies implemented remote work solutions.

  • By Mark Rockwell
Emerging Tech

NTIA weighs in against Ligado 5G license

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration is opposing the Federal Communications Commission’s plan to permit a commercial 5G provider to set up shop in spectrum adjacent to that used by the government for GPS.

  • By Mark Rockwell
Infrastructure

Adapting to the new network normal

Pandemic response has accelerated IT modernization as agencies are now focusing on network infrastructure agility and scalability.

  • By Mark Rockwell
Infrastructure

In a pandemic, the cloud looks less risky

The crucible of the COVID-19 pandemic may burn off some long-standing resistance to cloud services.

  • By Mark Rockwell