NIST

Obama Gives First Responders More Broadband Spectrum

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President Barack Obama signed into law today a tax cut extension bill that includes long-awaited provisions for setting aside wireless communications spectrum to help build a nationwide public safety network for first responder organizations.

The allocation to public safety organizations of the much-needed wireless spectrum, known as the 700 MHz D-Block, comes exactly 10 years, 23 weeks and 4 days after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 – the event that highlighted in agonizing detail the inability of firemen, police and emergency responders to communicate in a timely, effective manner. Keep reading →

 /  Published February 24, 2012 at 3:58 PM

Why Cloud Computing Will Drift In Under FedRAMP CONOPS

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Not only has cybersecurity started to take shape legislatively, cloud computing security has started to take shape administratively in a meaningful way.

You won’t find huge surprises in the grandly named Concept of Operations (CONOPS) for the Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program, or FedRAMP. The 47-page document does fill out the plan, long promised by The Office of Management and Budget and the General Services Administration. What might be surprising is how elaborate the procedures and project plan turn out to be. Keep reading →

 /  Published February 22, 2012 at 1:59 PM

Obama Proposes Big Budget Boost For NIST To Drive Advanced Research

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President Obama’s fiscal year 2013 budget proposal calls for a significant boost in funding for the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) with the aim of supporting advanced manufacturing research and help reignite a crippled industry with technology support.

The budget proposal, released Monday, calls for $857 million, an increase of $106.2 million, or 14.1%, compared to FY 2012–an increase that is considered unusual given the cutbacks that most agencies have had to embrace in the coming fiscal year. Keep reading →

 /  Published February 13, 2012 at 4:46 PM

NOAA, NIST, NTIA Also Targeted For White House Reorganization

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The proposed realignment of federal agencies announced by the Obama administration would be more extensive than first announced last Friday, affecting the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the National Institute of Standards and Technology among other agencies, according to a report today by Federal Computer Week.

Office of Management and Budget’s Jeffrey Zients, who earlier today was named OMB acting director, told reporters during a briefing Jan. 13, that there would be a second phase of the proposed reorganization. In the initial announcement, the White House proposed a realignment that called for merging six trade agencies into a new, cabinet-level agency to promote export and business development. Keep reading →

 /  Published January 17, 2012 at 4:43 PM

Beyond Data Center Consolidation: Reducing Government’s Digital Footprint

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The Federal government is now on track to close 1,080 data centers by 2015 among 3,133 in operation as part of a broader administration effort to reduce duplicative spending and to do more with less.

Federal CIO Steven VanRoekel, however, has signaled a new emphasis on doing “more” — by investing in technology creatively–rather than focusing primarily “on the less” that is typically associated with cuts, including data center closures. Keep reading →

 /  Published January 5, 2012 at 12:30 PM

GSA To Accept First FedRAMP Third Party Assessment Applications

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The General Services Administration will begin accepting applications Jan. 9, 2012, for the first group of companies to be chosen as Third Party Assessment Organizations (3PAO) for the newly launched FedRAMP initiative, also known as the Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program program.

Officials for GSA and the National Institute of Standards and Technology made the joint announcement during the “Industry Forum on FedRAMP and Third Party Assessment Organizations”, held December 16 at GSA headquarters in Washington, DC. The half-day session presented the most up-to-date guidance for industry representatives on the FedRAMP Third Party Assessment Organization (3PAO) application process. Keep reading →

 /  Published December 16, 2011 at 5:08 PM

Cloud Computing: Blasting Myths And Building Trust

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Back in the 1830s, most Americans lived on farms. Many probably secured their life savings in their trusty mattress. Then a new local bank opens in town promising more security, but has no track record to prove it. People didn’t trust the bank at first; it was new to the area and skeptical farmers felt it was not intrinsically secure.

“Now fast forward to the cloud,” cloud expert and blogger Kevin Jackson said last week as a panelist at the National Institutes of Standards and Technology (NIST) Cloud Computing Forum IV. Keep reading →

 /  Published November 18, 2011 at 11:00 AM

VanRoekel Reemphasizes FedRAMP in Federal Cloud Strategy

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This week the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) marked another milestone in the US Federal Government’s march to the cloud with Cloud Computing Workshop IV. Held at the NIST Gaithersburg campus, November 1-3, attendees had the pleasure of hearing Federal CIO Seven Van Roekel as the first day’s keynote speaker.

Mr. Van Roekel highlighted the great partnership that has been establish between government and industry around cloud computing. He also reaffirmed the administration’s support for cloud computing, praising NIST for their effectiveness in fulfilling a unique leadership role. Keep reading →

 /  Published November 4, 2011 at 12:00 PM

Federal Cloud Adoption Strategy Enters Phase 2

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The National Institute of Standards and Technology launched Phase 2 of its efforts to guide the adoption of cloud computing in the federal government with the release this week of the first two volumes of the U.S. Government Cloud Computing Technology Roadmap, Release 1.0.

Release 1.0 of the roadmap, is “designed to support the secure and effective adoption of the cloud computing model by federal agencies to reduce costs and improve services,” according to authors of the NIST document. Keep reading →

 /  Published November 4, 2011 at 10:06 AM
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