FBI computer upgrade drags further

A Justice Department audit has found the FBI’s long-delayed computer upgrade is getting slower and costing more. The FBI’s Sentinel program was launched to build a paperless case management system, costing $425 million. It was supposed to be completed by last December. The system has faced numerous delays and extra costs since. An audit released Wednesday by the Justice Department inspector general said the bureau will not even guess at when it will be done or how much it will cost, though they say it will be more than $451 million. The FBI has struggled for years to modernize its computer systems. The Bureau director recently told Congress he personally works on the Sentinel project every week, but that has not gotten it back on schedule. The FBI said in a statement that the issues with Sentinel have not hampered investigations, and said the bureau is in talks with the contractor about how to fix the problems.

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first published week of:   04/05/2010

FCC chooses a middle ground in enforcing net neutrality

The Federal Communications Commission has come up with a new way to apply some net neutrality rules that would force Comcast Corp., AT&T Inc. and other broadband Internet service providers to handle all Web traffic the same, without imposing limits on users or blocking websites. Its proposal released May 6 is aimed at blunting an April federal appeals court ruling involving Comcast that found the agency had limited authority to regulate broadband Internet service. FCC Chairman said in a statement that the Comcast decision had created a “serious problem” and that his agency believes more regulation of broadband Internet service is needed, though not the heavier restrictions that apply to telephone companies.The Democratic appointee to the commission said existing law allows the agency to apply a “narrowly tailored broadband framework” to regulate Internet traffic. His proposal seeks to give the agency direct authority over broadband service.

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first published week of:   05/10/2010

FEMA faces challenges integrating community preparedness programs into its strategic approach

By law, FEMA is to develop a National Preparedness System (NPS) that includes community preparedness programs. These programs account for less than 0.5 percent of FEMA’s budget. They include the Citizen Corps Program (CCP) and partner programs, e.g., Fire Corps, which provide volunteers to assist first responders. FEMA’s Ready Campaign promotes preparedness through mass media. GAO was asked to review federal efforts to promote community preparedness. GAO was asked to address challenges, if any, FEMA faces in measuring the performance of CCP, its partner programs, and the Ready Campaign, and actions, if any, FEMA has taken to develop a strategy to encompass how these programs are to operate within the context of the NPS. GAO analyzed documents on preparedness plans and strategies and compared reported performance data with observations during 12 site visits, selected primarily on the basis of major disasters. While not projectable, the results add insight. GAO found that FEMA faces challenges measuring performance for CCP, its partner programs, and the Ready Campaign because it relies on states to verify data for local program units and it is unable to control the distribution of the Ready Campaign messages or measure whether the messages are changing the behavior of individuals.

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first published week of:   03/08/2010

First Responders Looking Forward to New 4G Network

For public safety agencies across the country, an interoperable high-speed wireless network couldn’t come fast enough.

First responders want to be able to download and upload large data files from the field and communicate on a network without delays and patchy coverage. Fortunately ultra-fast fourth-generation (4G) wireless technology has been building momentum in 2010, with the latest boost coming from Verizon Wireless.

By the end of the year, Verizon plans to launch a massive long term evolution (LTE) network, reaching 110 million Americans in 38 major markets across the country, company officials announced Wednesday, Oct. 6, at the CTIA Enterprise and Applications conference.

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first published week of:   10/04/2010

Fiscal cancer threatens government market
By Nick Wakeman

It is hard to imagine a gloomier outlook for our country than the one presented by the co-chairmen of President Barack Obama’s debt and deficit commission.

They described the situation to the nation’ s governors as a “fiscal cancer” that has the potential to destroy the country from within unless tough action is taken.

The government is only taking in enough revenue to cover Medicaid, Medicare and Social Security.

“The rest of the federal government, including fighting two wars, homeland security, education, art, culture, you name it, veterans -- the whole rest of the discretionary budget is being financed by China and other countries,” the Washington Post quoted former Republican Sen. Alan Simpson as saying.

“We can’t grow our way out of this,” Erskine Bowles told the National Governor’s Association. Bowles, a former White House chief of staff under President Clinton, and Simpson are co-chairman of the commission

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first published week of:   07/19/2010

Five indicted in cybertheft of city's bank accounts

Five people were indicted this week on wire fraud and other criminal charges stemming from a 2007 cybertheft in which nearly $450,000 was stolen from the bank accounts of the city of Carson, California. The federal indictment, handed down in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina, charges two suspects with allowing their bank accounts in North Carolina to be used as conduits for accepting stolen money, and for sending it to bank accounts belonging to three other suspects. The treasurer for Carson said the money was siphoned out of the city’s coffers via two unauthorized money transfers in May 2007.

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first published week of:   05/31/2010

Volume 31

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