People

Gregory Giddens: Leading under scrutiny

Giddens, put in charge of SBInet six months before the award, had to contend with investigations by various congressional committees, GAO and the DHS IG.

People

GAO, DHS disagree on need for privacy study

DHS officials say an emerging data-mining program does not require such a privacy assessment because the software itself contains no personal data.

People

GAO: DHS still behind on US-VISIT program

Fundamental questions persist about the program’s direction, how it fits into the larger context of other homeland security programs, and what the ultimate return on investment will be.

Cybersecurity

DHS launches national center for computer forensics training

The curriculum will include basic electronic crimes investigation, network-intrusion investigation and computer forensics.

People

GAO urges DOD to better regulate inventory lead times

Defense Department agencies regularly miss estimates on the lead times needed for acquiring spare parts, needlessly tying up billions of dollars, GAO found.

People

Unattended hazards

Homeland security officials want better status and tracking information about hazardous rail freight.

People

GAO: DHS fails to deliver plan for Congress' oversight of US-VISIT

Despite improvements in compliance with the DHS Appropriations Act of 2006, the department has not yet provided a sufficient spending plan and supporting data, GAO said.

People

Outsourcing will grow, Input predicts

The research firm cites the impending federal information technology workforce shortage as workers retire, the demands of the war in Iraq and a slowdown in federal contract spending as reasons for the increase.

People

GPO requests enhanced technology information for FDsys project

GPO intends to create a system to allow government content to be created and managed in perpetuity, using technologies that are independent of specific hardware and software platforms.

Digital Government

Bush budget would fund high-tech solutions for traffic woes

The $175-million proposal includes grants to state and local authorities for testing the use of innovative intelligent transportation technologies.

People

DHS to test comms strategy in TopOff 4

DHS wants to know the extent to which the public will trust the information it receives in two formats: a live video feed and a Web site.

Digital Government

Senators introduce sweeping data protection bill

The Personal Data Privacy and Security Act of 2007 puts a heavy onus on government to ensure the protection of the the commercial data it collects.

Digital Government

Adobe pushes PDF specification for ISO adoption

Specialized subsets are already ISO standards, but this will take the full PDF specification into the open standards process for the first time.

Acquisition

European group chooses UBL for cross-border procurement standard

The Northern European Subset said UBL is the only specification that fits the need for an XML-based standard that covers the entire range of online procurement needs.

Cybersecurity

NIST stages competition to improve cryptographic standard

Researchers have proven the vulnerability of the widely used Secure Hash Algorithm-1 standard, which is the basis for Secure Sockets Layer technology.

People

Immigration service sets rules for online system

Workers outside DHS must still appear in person to access immigration files, according to a new rule.

People

IGs fault Interior for handling of DOD business

Two Interior contracting centers have failed in their responsibilities to act as “good stewards” of federal resources, according to a joint report of the DOD, DOI inspectors general.

People

EU aims to link members' police databases

The goal is for countries to more closely collaborate on anti-terrorism measures and tackle burgeoning cross-border crime.

Cybersecurity

IG: Coast Guard IT controls leave TSA data vulnerable

The Coast Guard, which hosts key TSA applications, needs to address continuing weaknesses in access controls, according to a new report.

People

U.K. streamlines e-gov access

The British government plans to radically reduce the number of government Web sites and to broadly expand information sharing between departments.