department of defense

Defense Department Juggles Multiple Mobile Pilot Programs

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The Defense Department has launched a barrage of programs across the services to provide its civilian and uniformed personnel with mobile devices. Overseeing this vast and varied process is the Defense Information Systems Agency, which is responsible for running many of the department’s mobile pilot programs and setting up the infrastructure to provide applications and services to warfighters.

The head of DISA and top technology officers outlined how individual agencies fit into those efforts at the Defense & Security Mobile Technologies Symposium in Washington, D.C. last week. Keep reading →

 /  Published July 23, 2012 at 10:30 AM

GAO Finds Costly IT Delays At Federal Health Center

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While officials are making progress implementing upgrades at the Captain James A. Lovell Federal Health Care Center (FHCC), a GAO report has cited costly IT delays for the VA and DoD.

Despite an investment of more than $122 million for IT capabilities at the FHCC (pictured above), the Department of Veterans Affairs and Department of Defense have not completed work on all components required by an Executive Agreement, which were to have been in place in time for the FHCC’s opening in October 2010. Keep reading →

 /  Published June 27, 2012 at 4:31 PM

New Energy CIO Stresses Need For Stronger Cyber Response

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In one of his first public appearances since being officially named CIO at the Department of Energy, Robert Brese called for greater efforts to develop a skilled cybersecurity workforce, and stressed the importance of responding to cyber threats, not merely being prepared to prevent and recover from them.

In a series of wide-ranging remarks on the state of cybersecurity in the federal government, Brese highlighted six factors shaping the evolution of federal cybersecurity policy, but concluded that despite many challenges, the federal government is “doing a better job than a majority of the private sector” in defending its networks. Keep reading →

 /  Published June 26, 2012 at 8:11 AM

Clear Skies for Cloud Security: FedRAMP To Bring Service Era

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The benefits of cloud computing are too compelling and numerous for agencies not to take serious adoption steps in this budget-constrained fiscal environment. Some estimate the government can save as much as $14.4 billion through cloud adoption.

Looking ahead, cloud will provide a platform for integrating mobility and BYOD into agencies’ day-to-day operations. The benefits of an increasingly commoditized IT world will be passed along quickly to taxpayers in the form of better and more cost-effective government services delivery. Sooner than expected, the government will be in the “Everything as a Service Era” with the vast majority of IT services being provided virtually via the cloud. Keep reading →

 /  Published June 14, 2012 at 11:00 AM

Feds@Work: How Joint Effort Helped Curb Preventable Medical Errors

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This is the second 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 Citizen Services Medal finalists Heidi King, director of the Patient Safety Solutions Center, TRICARE Management Activity at the Department of Defense, and James Battles, social science analyst at the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Department of Health and Human Services.

Every year, tens of thousands of patients die or are harmed by preventable medical errors such as pharmaceutical prescription mistakes, hospital acquired infections and surgical missteps. Breakdowns in communication among doctors, nurses and other care providers are a leading cause of these tragic errors. Keep reading →

 /  Published June 5, 2012 at 8:37 AM

The Age Of Tactical Mobility Arrives At Last

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Perhaps it was inevitable. With all the computing power in the palms of a critical mass of end users, commercial off the shelf (COTS) mobile devices – smartphones, tablets and small factor computing devices of various hues and types – are now also getting into the hands of warfighters, first responders, federal law enforcement personnel, covert operators, command and control operation center staffs, and many other government workers.

And as a result, the age of tactical mobility may very well be upon us – finally. Keep reading →

 /  Published May 30, 2012 at 2:33 PM

Get Stupid: Dumb Devices Can Stop Cyberattacks – If The People Are Smart

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On a fine spring day in the nation’s capital, I’m not the only one to succumb to the temptation to work from home instead of heading into an airless office building. But cybersecurity experts warn that when I log into the AOL server to upload this article, I’m also opening a door for malware and hackers.

With more and more federal workers working from home or on the road all the time, including in the Department of Defense, even as cyberattacks from foreign powers are on the rise, telecommuting has become a national security issue. The solution? Smarter people – using stupider computers. Keep reading →

 /  Published May 17, 2012 at 1:00 PM

Verizon Chief Calls On DoD To Explore Sharing Wireless Spectrum

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Verizon Chairman and CEO Lowell McAdam urged the federal government and the Defense Department to explore options for the sharing of wireless spectrum by the public and private sectors to meet the needs of mobile consumers.

“Government and industry must work together to find ways to use spectrum more efficiently so that we are all truly connected, especially in times of need,” McAdam stated, speaking at the Defense Information Systems Agency’s annual Mission Partner Conference, held in Tampa last week. Keep reading →

 /  Published May 14, 2012 at 2:49 PM

IT Forum: ‘Shared First’ Gets Legs, Agencies Report Progress

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Federal CIO Steven VanRoekel speaks with InformationWeek Government Editor John Foley at Thursday’s event.

Having launched a formal strategy on the concept yesterday, federal CIO Steven VanRoekel offered examples Thursday morning of how shared IT services will free up valuable resources across government agencies. Keep reading →

 /  Published May 3, 2012 at 3:25 PM

VA To Unplug Employees Who Skip Cybersecurity Training

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The Department of Veterans Affairs will lock employees out of its networks if they fail to take the required yearly cybersecurity and privacy training on time – 365 days after their last refresher course.

VA CIO Roger Baker announced the policy last week to button down security and privacy on the VA’s internal and external internet sites that have been hit by security breaches and privacy violations – both internal and external – on a regular basis. An employee who doesn’t meet the yearly deadline will be blocked out on Day 366. Keep reading →

 /  Published April 2, 2012 at 10:00 AM
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