Government

How big is the U.S. government? It's big enough that federal agencies transmit 1.89 billion email messages every day -- an average of 47.3 million daily emails per agency. How confident are the agencies about protecting the sensitive content of those messages? In a recent survey, federal email manag...

One of the classic items on the agenda for all presidential candidates, including incumbent Barack Obama and challenger Mitt Romney, is to cut federal government waste. In fact, the Obama administration has been campaigning for nearly the past two years to reduce waste and improve the efficiency of ...

In a wide-ranging speech on cybersecurity, U.S. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta on Thursday warned about a cyber Pearl Harbor, indicated the Department of Defense would respond in such a situation, called for greater public-private cooperation in cybersecurity, and talked about the need for a pres...

The FCC has weighed in on the looming wireless spectrum shortage. The good news is it looks like it is going to step in with a plan for auctioning off unused television spectrum to various wireless carriers in the United States. The bad news is that even though it's only a bandage, it will take year...

The debate in the U.S. Congress over a comprehensive national cybersecurity program is wearing on, largely because of differences over the roles of government and business in protecting information technology. Elsewhere, however, cybersecurity awareness and research projects are being launched throu...

The U.S. Federal Communications Commission has approved a notice of proposed rulemaking that will lay the groundwork for the agency to auction television spectrum to mobile carriers. The NPRM establishes proposed rules and asks for public comment on the auctions. This would be no ordinary FCC auctio...

The European Union has announced a strategy to boost the use of cloud computing among its members in the private and public sectors. This includes establishing standards for interoperability, data portability and reversibility, the development of model contracts, government spending on cloud computi...

The U.S. government is worried about the improper release of federal information that finds its way into the electronic IT systems of all federal contractors. In a recent notice, the government said it was seeking comment from the business community on a proposal to tighten security related to the t...

As IT innovation comes in rapidly evolving cycles, continuity and consistency remain important factors in managing change. The adoption of innovative IT calls for a certain amount of management stability to transition from old to new methods in productive ways. In turn, that stability depends on an ...

Who doesn't stop twice to check out a letter from the Internal Revenue Service delivered in traditional snail mail paper form? Communications from the IRS or other federal agencies -- such as health information from the Centers for Disease Control, or consumer alerts from the Federal Trade Commissi...

Many U.S. government agencies seeking to utilize cloud-based information technology have tilted to one of the most common IT functions as a beginning step -- email systems. Converting existing email operations to cloud-based platforms became much easier for all federal agencies on Aug. 30, when GSA ...

What is the best way to market cloud IT services to the federal government? Any way you can. U.S. government agencies share the same goal: Under a White House mandate, all agencies must give priority to cloud configurations for IT projects. With all agencies pursuing the same "cloud first" goal, mar...

It seems so easy and so simple. Federal agencies should put most of their efforts into their missions and use management tools which enable them to meet mission goals. One such tool is cloud technology -- an "on demand" option for information technology services. In concept, the simplicity of using ...

Information technology security is an unending challenge for both the private and public sectors. Private sector firms have their own security protocols and commercial motivations to ensure security -- as well as the obligation to meet appropriate government regulations. Federal agencies not only ha...

Cloud technology appears to have taken the world by storm. The U.S. government is among those moving aggressively to the cloud, as federal agencies implement a White House generated "cloud first" policy that instructs agencies to give primary consideration to using the cloud for IT solutions. Adopt...