CBS Interactive's Distinguished Lecturer David Gewirtz hosts ZDNet Government -- ZDNet's politics and policy coffeehouse -- where civics lessons meet technology, nothing is sacred, and everything is fair game.
David Gewirtz, Distinguished Lecturer at CBS Interactive, is an author, U.S. policy advisor, and computer scientist. He is featured in The History Channel special The President's Book of Secrets.
Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff underscored the department's emphasis on cybersecurity, speaking at the InfraGard National Conference in Washington on Wednesday, according to PC World. Chertoff called for a "21st century style of organization" with government agencies working closely with private companies.
I've been hearing about Xythos Software for months--a neighbor, Ed Miller, is the CEO. The company recently issued a press release that caught my attention, claiming two million users of its document and file management software.
Companies offering voice services over the Internet are likely to fight the FCC’s recent ruling that VoIP services are subject to wiretaps (PDF), just like traditional phone providers. Kurt Opsahl, an attorney for the Electronic Frontier Foundation, told TopTechNews, "It's likely, because it really stretches the [Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act (CALEA)] statute to the breaking point," he told TopTechNews.
The National Institute of Standards and Technology has launched the National Vulnerabilities Database (NVD), a comprehensive collection of computer security weaknesses. NVD collates cybersecurity warnings from various US government sources, including the Computer Emergency Readiness Team (CERT).
West Virginia has become the second state to enable SMS messaging for AMBER alerts. Florida was the first.
The Dept. of Homeland Security is moving forward with the next phase of testing of its US-VISIT program, a battery of security measures to collect biometric and biographic information from visitors crossing US border ports.
Manufacturers of e-voting machines will have to bear the cost of meeting the requirements of the Help America Vote Act (HAVA), California Secretary of State Bruce McPherson said last week. Vendors will have to sign contracts agreeing to the stipulation.
The Department of Homeland Security today announed two new programs for how DHS acquires technology, one for services and one for commodities, according to a DHS press release. “These programs, when fully in place, will satisfy the vast majority of DHS information task requirements,” said press officer Scott Charbo.
Wisconsin IT officials are feeling a little heat after appearing in HP's latest Government Solutions catalog (PDF). Department of Administration Marc Marotta appears on the cover and several other IT personnel are shown in a spread profiling Wisconsin's streamlined computer operations, according to a report in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Government Technology has a long piece explaining ITIL, the framework of IT best practices created in the UK, and why it's only just now catching on in the US. ITIL, or the IT Information Library, is a series of 10 volumes that address service delivery and support across numerous disciplines.