Department of Homeland Security

Warning To Agencies: The Cloud Is Not Faith-Based Computing

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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 →

 /  Published July 19, 2012 at 4:08 PM

App Aids Bomb Threat First Responders

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In the first chaotic moments after a reported bomb threat, first responders have myriad questions, assessments, and decisions to make amid rapidly changing circumstances.

How large is the potential blast radius? Where will we evacuate people? Any schools, hospitals nearby? What roads should be closed? And on and on…. Keep reading →

 /  Published June 27, 2012 at 3:00 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

Cyber Intelligence: Sharing Intelligence With Infrastructure Providers

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The spirit of necessity has taken hold and U.S. Cyber Command, the National Security Agency (NSA) and even the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) along with the office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) are sharing cyber intelligence with critical infrastructure providers and technology companies in the private sector.

Of course this is done on a case by case basis and there clearly needs to be an identified threat and of course a need to know. Keep reading →

 /  Published May 14, 2012 at 11:33 AM

A Different Approach: Doing More (Work) With More (Talent)

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Recognizing the importance of small businesses to the government IT community, ACT-IAC sponsored the 6th annual Small Business Conference called ConnectSB: Accelerate and Achive earlier this week. The event focused on the unique needs and benefits of small businesses and also tried to promote the value of small businesses to the government and large corporations seeking small business partners.


A frequent theme of government conferences like these is innovation, which has come to mean doing more (work) with less (federal employees).

But I decided what this conference should actually be called is “doing more (work) with more (talent).”

The idea for the suggestion came during the federal agency workshops part of the conference where attendees got to hear from three of nine leading agencies. I elected to listen to the Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Homeland Security – ICE , and Department of Veterans Affairs. During those sessions individuals from the CIO office, the program office, the acquisition office and the small business office, provided a panel that presented their experience and then answered questions.

Keep reading →

 /  Published May 9, 2012 at 4:49 PM

Emerging Technologies Point To New Potential For Innovation

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The convergence of several rapidly evolving technologies is creating new potential for innovation at federal agencies, a group of senior government officials said at a technology and innovation forum held in Washington, D.C., April 24.

The accelerating adoption of cloud computing strategies, the consumerization and commoditization of IT, the integration of mobile devices and applications in the workplace, the rise of social media, and the need to process exponentially greater volumes of data are each unleashing new and more cost effective ways to work, the officials said. Keep reading →

 /  Published April 26, 2012 at 1:33 PM

Spires Foresees Back Office Computing As A Service Within Next 5 Years

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One of the nation’s top government chief information officers predicted within the next five years, federal agencies will be able to begin procuring enterprise level back office information systems as a service rather than having to develop or maintain their own systems.

Richard Spires, CIO for the Department of Homeland Security, and vice chairman of the Federal CIO Council, said federal agencies–including DHS–are actively trying to reduce and standardize the number of commonly used information systems. Keep reading →

 /  Published April 16, 2012 at 6:32 PM

Top Government IT Programs Recognized

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The American Council for Technology-Industry Advisory Council (ACT-IAC) recently honored the most effective, efficient and innovative solutions in government at its 12th annual Excellence.gov Awards luncheon in Washington, D.C.

The event honors exceptional government programs and projects that use information technology (IT) in an innovative way to improve services to citizens, enhance government operations, and provide a more open and transparent government. Thirty finalists in six winning government information technology (IT) programs were recognized. Keep reading →

 /  Published March 23, 2012 at 11:30 AM

DHS Cybersecurity Leader Helps Secure Federal Systems, National Infrastructure

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It used to be relatively easy for Greg Schaffer to carve out some time in his week to kayak or row and enjoy some time on the water. These days, however, most of his time is spent helping organizations navigate the choppy waters of cybersecurity.

As assistant secretary for cyber-security and communications at the Department of Homeland Security, Schaffer helps organizations safeguard and secure cyberspace at a time when cyberattacks are increasing and the use of new technology such as mobile devices is on the rise. Keep reading →

 /  Published March 20, 2012 at 2:12 PM
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