State Department

A new narrative is emerging in government innovation and it goes something like this: Truly great leaps in innovation are almost never possible with monolithic, proprietary approaches to software development, and many small innovations, when taken together, often lead to large, game-changing paradigms.

That was the message delivered by both government and private sector IT professionals at the Red Hat Government Symposium on Oct. 23. The event, sponsored by Red Hat Inc. focused on the importance of transparency, open sharing, and collaboration to the success of the Obama Administration’s Open Government Initiative, as well as how open source software can help agencies accomplish their missions in a time of dwindling resources. Keep reading →

For several days, Bank of America’s systems had problems. The problems – primarily denial of service disruptions – hit their web site and reportedly their mobile banking services.

For BofA, the nation’s largest bank based on assets, this was not the first issue or attack they experienced in the past year. Nor in fact, was BofA the only U.S. financial institution that has been experiencing what appears to be a series of directed cyber attacks. JPMorgan Chase and Citigroup also are reported to have been struck by similar related aggressive cyber activities, beginning last year. Keep reading →


This is one in a series of profiles on the 2012 Samuel J. Heyman Service to America Medal finalists. The awards, presented by the nonprofit Partnership for Public Service, recognize outstanding federal employees whose important, behind-the-scenes work is advancing the health, safety and well-being of Americans and are among the most prestigious honors given to civil servants. This profile features a finalist for the National Security and International Affairs medal Richard Boly, director of the Office of eDiplomacy at the Department of State in Washington, D.C.

The State Department is making innovative use of social media and online platforms to change the way employees communicate, share information and reach outside their own boundaries. Keep reading →

Federal agencies are steadily moving to adopt cloud computing architectures for their IT services. But their progress is still spotty, and there is still a large amount of uncertainty about the technology in the public and private sectors, said Dave McClure, assistant administrator, Office of Citizen Services and Innovative Technologies, General Services Administration.

McClure has a bird’s eye view of that progress. His office is responsible for overseeing and managing the GSA’s Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP), which is a government-wide effort providing standardized assessment, security and continuous monitoring of cloud products and services. Keep reading →


Turns out, paying back student loans can result in more and better candidates for job openings within the federal workforce and better retention and satisfaction once they’re hired.

As the No. 1 federal department in helping employees pay back their student loans, the Department of Defense cities the program designed for doing so as a major factor in recruiting and retaining civilian personnel. Keep reading →


This is one in a series of profiles on the 2012 Samuel J. Heyman Service to America Medalfinalists. The awards, presented by the nonprofit Partnership for Public Service, recognize outstanding federal employees whose important, behind-the-scenes work is advancing the health, safety and well-being of Americans and are among the most prestigious honors given to civil servants. This profile features a finalist for the Call to Service Medal, Shane Morris, Supervisor for the Diplomatic Courier Serviceat the Department of Statein Germany.

Shane Morris played a crucial behind-the-scenes role for the State Department during the Arab Spring uprisings in 2011, ensuring that U.S. embassies were able to dispatch and receive critical classified documents and equipment to fully carry out their diplomatic missions. Keep reading →


From tinkering with an old Amiga computer in college to prosecuting one of the first computer hacking cases in the country, Chris Painter’s life has always revolved around computers and technology.

Painter has even adorned his office walls with posters from science fiction movies that involve hackers on the run, espionage and computers taking over the world. He said the posters “highlight for visiting diplomats and industry leaders the popular misperceptions of computers.” Keep reading →


At the beginning of his administration, President Obama created a minor controversy by insisting on using a personal mobile device. But much of that debate, such that it was, revolved around presidential records. Little was said, at least publicly, about the profound security implications of the commander in chief sending and receiving important, possibly vital, information through cyberspace.

Appropriately, even less was known about the type of data President Obama accesses, creates, and stores on the device, and the degree to which any such data is stored in “the cloud,” particularly in non-government-controlled cloud storage. What is known, however, is that mobile devices are the most prevalent, and most rapidly expanding, gateways to all types of cloud services. Keep reading →

Social media and Internet freedom have become an increasingly important part of the State Department’s agenda, a senior adviser to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said today during an international video Web chat with journalists and bloggers.

Alec Ross, senior adviser for innovation at the State Department, said social media has become both an essential communication tool for diplomats as well as an barometer of broader social freedoms across the globe. Keep reading →


The State Department is eliminating 21,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions annually– and looking for more — as part of its worldwide power and systems management initiative to eliminate power waste across 100 percent of its workstation computers.

Projected to save millions annually when fully implemented, the initiative is designed to comply with OMB sustainability and energy management mandates, plus support the Department’s Greening Diplomacy Initiative. Currently State has 88,986 desktops at 468 worldwide sites – comprised of domestic facilities, embassies, consulates, and passport agencies. Keep reading →

Page 1 of 212