TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 2009 NEXTGOV TODAY Technology and Business of Government Publication of GOVERNMENT EXECUTIVE MEDIA GROUP SUBSCRIBE: http://gove-media.com/portal/wts/cgmcfObP6Taq7Urqk76NicjSEhfua NEXTGOV HOME: http://gove-media.com/portal/wts/cgmcfObP6Taq7Urqk76NmcjSEhfua CONTACT US: http://gove-media.com/portal/wts/cgmcfObP6Taq7Urqk76NqcjSEhfua VIEW AS WEB PAGE: http://gove-media.com/portal/wts/cgmcfObP6Taq7Urqk76NucjSEhfua ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** Brought to you by Sprint  { _link_: http://gove-media.com/portal/wts/cgmcfObP6Taq7Urqk76NycjSEhfua }  Brought to you by Sprint  { _link_: http://gove-media.com/portal/wts/cgmcfObP6Taq7Urqk76N2cjSEhfua } Now government agents can keep it all small and secure with the Palm®PreTM from Sprint®. The Palm®PreTM could be considered the world's tiniest briefcase. It's dark, shiny and provides access to volumes of data instantly — more than any briefcase could hole — from virtually anywhere. And best of all, any information you send, receive or access is secure with SSL encryption. Like handcuffing your briefcase to your bodyguard. ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ======================= ARTICLES ======================= a1. Los Alamos National Lab again under fire for weak computer security a2. Senators concerned SSA can't manage increasing number of retirees a3. Broadband stimulus program: Faster Internet, slower bureaucracy =======================  { _link_: #whatsbrewin } WHAT'S BREWIN'  Bob Brewin's Take on Defense Information Technology =======================  wb1. The Checks Aren't in the Mail =======================  { _link_: #techinsider } TECH INSIDER  An Expert Blog on the State of Federal Technology =======================  ti1. Data.gov: Where's the Beef? =======================  { _link_: #wiredworkplace } WIRED WORKPLACE  A Look at Issues Facing Federal IT Workers =======================  ww1. A Seat at the Telework Table  ww2. Tech Jobs on the Upswing =======================  { _link_: #webheadlines } WEB HEADLINES  Today's IT news from around the Web ======================= ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** *****  The 2009 Open Season is almost here! Now is the time to get updated on health, dental, vision and flexible spending account benefits. Our guide will help federal managers, employees, and their families navigate the Open Season. Sign up now for news, updates and tips published every Monday from October 26 through December 14. ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ======================= ARTICLES ======================= ______ _a1. Los Alamos National Lab again under fire for weak computer security    BY JILL R. AITORO Information security weaknesses continue to plague Los Alamos National Laboratory, according to the Government Accountability Office, which reported on Friday that the lab failed to allow only authorized users access to the network. Full story:     { _link_: http://gove-media.com/portal/wts/cgmcfObP6Taq7Urqk76N6cjSEhfua } http://gove-media.com/portal/wts/cgmcfObP6Taq7Urqk76N-cjSEhfua ______ _a2. Senators concerned SSA can't manage increasing number of retirees    BY ALIYA STERNSTEIN Sen. Charles E. Grassley's staff met with the inspector general to discuss the latest report last week.J. Scott Applewhite/AP Full story:     { _link_: http://gove-media.com/portal/wts/cgmcfObP6Taq7Urqk76NDcjSEhfua } http://gove-media.com/portal/wts/cgmcfObP6Taq7Urqk76OecjSEhfua ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** Brought to you by Sprint  { _link_: http://gove-media.com/portal/wts/cgmcfObP6Taq7Urqk76OicjSEhfua }  Brought to you by Sprint  { _link_: http://gove-media.com/portal/wts/cgmcfObP6Taq7Urqk76OmcjSEhfua } Now government agents can keep it all small and secure with the Palm®PreTM from Sprint®. The Palm®PreTM could be considered the world's tiniest briefcase. It's dark, shiny and provides access to volumes of data instantly — more than any briefcase could hole — from virtually anywhere. And best of all, any information you send, receive or access is secure with SSL encryption. Like handcuffing your briefcase to your bodyguard. ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ______ _a3. Broadband stimulus program: Faster Internet, slower bureaucracy    BY DAVID HATCH, CONGRESSDAILY NewWave Communications of Sikeston, Mo., is not a deep-pocketed technology giant that can afford to throw money around in Washington. The cable television operator serves 115,000 customers in rural portions of the Midwest and South and keeps a tight budget. Full story:     { _link_: http://gove-media.com/portal/wts/cgmcfObP6Taq7Urqk76OqcjSEhfua } http://gove-media.com/portal/wts/cgmcfObP6Taq7Urqk76OucjSEhfua ======================= WHAT'S BREWIN'  Bob Brewin's Take on Defense Information Technology ======================= ______ _wb1. The Checks Aren't in the Mail    BY BOB BREWIN | 11/16/09 | 5:02 P.M. ET  Last week, when we celebrated Veterans Day, I heard from student veterans at Boston College, George Mason University and George Washington University that they had not yet received their post-9/11 GI bill stipend checks from the Veterans Affairs Department. Read More:     { _link_: http://gove-media.com/portal/wts/cgmcfObP6Taq7Urqk76OycjSEhfua } http://gove-media.com/portal/wts/cgmcfObP6Taq7Urqk76O2cjSEhfua ======================= TECH INSIDER  An Expert Blog on the State of Federal Technology ======================= ______ _ti1. Data.gov: Where's the Beef?    BY GAUTHAM NAGESH | 11/16/09 | 4:20 P.M. ET Considering the amount of resistance the White House has faced recently on everything from health care reform to the ballooning deficit, it would appear that President Obama's honeymoon is officially over. That means it may be time to start questioning how successful his administration has been in terms of delivering on promises to bring unprecedented transparency to the executive branch by publishing government data online. Read More:     { _link_: http://gove-media.com/portal/wts/cgmcfObP6Taq7Urqk76O6cjSEhfua } http://gove-media.com/portal/wts/cgmcfObP6Taq7Urqk76O-cjSEhfua ======================= WIRED WORKPLACE  A Look at Issues Facing Federal IT Workers ======================= ______ _ww1. A Seat at the Telework Table    BY BRITTANY BALLENSTEDT | 11/16/09 | 11:16 A.M. ET Seven federal labor unions sent a letter to Office of Personnel Management Director John Berry on Nov. 10, requesting a seat at the table as the government develops new policies that would expand federal telework opportunities. Read More:     { _link_: http://gove-media.com/portal/wts/cgmcfObP6Taq7Urqk76ODcjSEhfua } http://gove-media.com/portal/wts/cgmcfObP6Taq7Urqk76PecjSEhfua ______ _ww2. Tech Jobs on the Upswing    BY BRITTANY BALLENSTEDT | 11/16/09 | 10:11 A.M. ET November's issue of the Dice Report suggests some subtle signs that jobs in the technology sector are on the upswing. For example, available jobs have risen in two of the largest technology locations: New York and Silicon Valley, and customers are searching Dice's resume data_base_ more frequently than they have at any time this year. Similarly, smaller technology markets such as Charlotte and Austin are gaining ground, with increases in job postings of 45 percent and 31 percent, respectively, from the beginning of the year. The number of available technology jobs stands at 52,084 since Nov. 2, with the most jobs concentrated in the Washington, D.C., metro area. Read More:     { _link_: http://gove-media.com/portal/wts/cgmcfObP6Taq7Urqk76PicjSEhfua } http://gove-media.com/portal/wts/cgmcfObP6Taq7Urqk76PmcjSEhfua ======================= WEB HEADLINES  Today's IT news from around the Web ======================= Monday, November 16, 2009  Compiled by Melanie Bender A work-study program for U.S. tech students   Many within techdom complain about U.S. companies that use cheap, offshore labor or guest foreign workers in place of domestic employees. Few are doing much about it. A noteworthy exception is Arthur Langer. His New York nonprofit organization, Workforce Outsource Services, is trying to provide alternatives to foreign tech workers, including those on H-1B visas, by granting scholarships to low-income students and placing them in multiyear work-study programs in companies while they work toward undergraduate degrees. Medpedia to best the more democratic Wikipedia?   Medpedia, a collaborative project for medical information launched in February, is getting beyond the medical-data basics as it adds answers, alerts, and analysis. While Medpedia uses the open-source software Mediawiki (also used by Wikipedia), it is less collaborative than the vast encyclopedia site, allowing only physicians and Ph.D.s approved by an editor to contribute to and edit articles. At State, more IT security, less cost   Every three years, agencies submit reports to the Office of Management and Budget documenting their inventory of network security vulnerabilities and the steps they're taking to fix them. State is one of the first federal agencies to implement the Consensus Audit Guidelines, a list of 20 critical security controls that protect against common cyber attacks. The CAG controls are a subset of the hundreds of controls agencies are required to implement; CAG prioritizes the controls with the biggest impact on security. Obama likely to name 'cyber czar' soon   The Obama administration will likely name a White House cybersecurity coordinator within the next few weeks, sources say, after more than five months of delay. Two people are reportedly in the running. One is Frank Kramer, a former assistant secretary of Defense during the Clinton administration. The other is Howard Schmidt, the president of the International Security Forum and an Air Force veteran. A final announcement is expected later this month. Open-source tools could make it easier to build a hybrid cloud   Government agencies interested in building out privately-run internal clouds , will find that there are a growing number of open-source tools to help them. Two such tools are Eucalyptus and Deltacloud. Both platforms offer a set of application programming interfaces that can serve as a front end, or a broker, to a private cloud or even a set of clouds, which would allow users to pick the best cloud service for the job. DHS considers contracts for collecting disaster-related imagery   The Homeland Security Department is considering awarding multiple contracts to ensure that emergency officials can quickly get aerial images of disaster areas in a format that can easily be integrated into geographic information systems, according to a recently published request for information from the department. DHS wants its Federal Emergency Management Agency to have a streamlined, flexible way to quickly retrieve that imagery after a disaster, according to the notice. Is a legislative fix in FISMA's future?   Even without an overhaul of the Federal Information Security Management Act, some experts say departments and agencies can dramatically improve their cybersecurity by using more focused, automated and continuous approaches to security. Some members of Congress, government officials and security experts have argued that agencies' efforts to comply with FISMA amount to little more than filling out paperwork exercises and the situation requires a legislative fix. Work force mobility on the rise, survey says   A survey of 500 U.S.- and U.K.-_base_d small and midsize businesses by market research consultancy Kelton found midmarket companies are increasingly valuing mobility and 96 percent said they view their information technology departments as a strategic part of their business. Sixty-three percent of non-IT managers say remote access services make their staff more productive, and a majority said IT is not just for business devices anymore, with 68 percent of IT managers saying they provide support for personal technology, including computers and smartphones. Outsourcing myths have no grounds, says Deloitte CIO   Outsourcing continues to present advantages to companies looking to streamline and save costs, the CIO of professional-services provider Deloitte LLP insisted during the Global Sourcing Forum and Expo in New York City. While working to dispel some of the myths that have evidently become attached to outsourcing, he also noted arguments about off-shoring being ultimately bad for the U.S. economy. A combination of anemic business spending and possible anti-offshoring government policies could put pressure on traditional offshoring destinations such as India. IBM outsourcing deal with Texas still worth it, consultants say   Texas' massive computer outsourcing contract with IBM is mired in delays, server meltdowns and disputes, but it can still be salvaged, two independent consultants said Friday. But low morale among IBM employees, poor service and billing disputes remain chronic problems, and if the state is to rescue the troubled privatization push, it must let IBM concentrate first on the most critical needs of agencies, the report said. Senate bill would help family doctors fund EHRs   Senator John Kerry introduced a bill designed to help family doctors fund conversion to electronic health records. Kerry, D-Mass., a senior member of the Finance Committee, introduced the Small Business Health Information Technology Financing Act of 2009 Tuesday. It would make family doctors and other small medical practices eligible for Small Business Administration loans to cover the cost of health information technology to create electronic health records and pre_script_ions. Real ID program in deep trouble   A decision by lawmakers to slash funding for the unpopular Real ID national driver's license program has put an already struggling initiative on life support. The U.S. Senate recently approved a $43 billion budget for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security for the federal government's 2010 fiscal year, which began Oct. 1. The appropriation called for substantial increases in DHS spending in several key technology areas but slashed Real ID funding by 40 percent, from $100 million to $60 million. ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** Brought to you by Sprint  { _link_: http://gove-media.com/portal/wts/cgmcfObP6Taq7Urqk76PqcjSEhfua }  Brought to you by Sprint  { _link_: http://gove-media.com/portal/wts/cgmcfObP6Taq7Urqk76PucjSEhfua } Now government agents can keep it all small and secure with the Palm®PreTM from Sprint®. The Palm®PreTM could be considered the world's tiniest briefcase. It's dark, shiny and provides access to volumes of data instantly — more than any briefcase could hole — from virtually anywhere. And best of all, any information you send, receive or access is secure with SSL encryption. Like handcuffing your briefcase to your bodyguard. ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< This message was sent from GovExec.com to This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it You have been sent Nextgov Today because you have opted in to receive it. Note: It may take our system up to two business days to process your unsubscribe request and during that time you may receive one or two more newsletters. Thank you for reading Nextgov Today. SUBSCRIBE: http://gove-media.com/portal/wts/cgmcfObP6Taq7Urqk76PycjSEhfua CUSTOMER SERVICE: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it CONTACT US: http://gove-media.com/portal/wts/cgmcfObP6Taq7Urqk76P2cjSEhfua PRIVACY POLICY: http://gove-media.com/portal/wts/cgmcfObP6Taq7Urqk76P6cjSEhfua UNSUBSCRIBE: http://gove-media.com/portal/unsubscribeconfirm/?xDw%2F8dIkauV4vWiFTq... 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