Archived Government Notes
Published in 2013
Permanent URLBudget Constraints, Cyber attacks Biggest Threats to IT Organizations, Survey Says
by sarah rich
IT decision-makers in state and local government think budget constraints are the biggest threat to their respective IT organizations and federal-level IT leaders claim cyber attacks are their biggest threat, according to a new survey released by Cisco.
The survey, released on Thursday, Oct. 3, was conducted by nonpartisan research firm Clarus Research Group, and consisted of responses gathered from 400 federal, state and local government decision-makers through online and telephone interviews, according to Cisco.
According to Cisco executives, this is their most comprehensive survey to date pertaining to public-sector IT. Questions covered an array of topics including broadband, software defined networking and law enforcement technologies.
But results showed a heavy focus on cyber security matters in government. Although 35 percent of respondents said budget constraints were the biggest threat to their IT infrastructure, 17 percent said that cyber attacks were the biggest threat, and 22 percent of respondents volunteered that all options offered on the survey (budget constraints, cyber attacks, limited bandwidth, increased demand for constituent services and employee personal devices) are collectively considered the greatest threat to IT organization. continued…
first published week of: 10/07/2013
Permanent URLSocial media is the new town hall where government leaders join residents in the constant digital conversation that occurs on Twitter and other sites. However, in addition to straightforward communication, social media offers much more in transforming how government works and listens. The use of social media is now evolving through four stages.
Social media tools, now widely used for communications, can harness the wisdom of crowds, improving government and involving citizens in a renewed democratic confidence. continued…
first published week of: 09/02/2013
Permanent URLCalifornia DMV Cancels IT Modernization Project Contract
by colin wood
An IT upgrade in progress for seven years at the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) -- dubbed the IT Modernization project -- was canceled Jan. 31.
The $208 million, two-system project was created to upgrade legacy hardware systems for the DMV's driver's license system and vehicle registration system. While upgrades to the driver's license system are “nearly finished,” according to Christine Lally, assistant secretary for communications and legislation at the California Technology Agency, “minimal work” has been done to upgrade the vehicle registration system.
Electronic Data Systems, now owned by Hewlett-Packard (HP), was contracted to assist in the project for about $76 million, approximately $50 million of which was paid out before the agency canceled the contract on Jan. 31.
“We appreciate the work of Hewlett-Packard in helping us complete important upgrades to the state’s driver license system,” said acting DMV director Jean Shiomoto via email. “Minimal work has begun on the vehicle registration portion, so this is a natural breaking point for the project. We will now work with the Technology Agency to develop a new plan for finishing the last remaining part of this project.”
Details Here
first published week of: 02/18/2013
Permanent URLCalifornia GIS Office Produces Legislator Locator App
by hilton collins, govtech.com
Earlier this month, the California Technology Agency’s Office of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) launched the state’s "Who is My State Legislator" Web app, a simple tool that lets taxpayers find out who their local political representatives are. The GIS office partnered with the Legislative Data Center to develop the app, which is a small piece of California’s larger GIS strategy.
The app presents a Web page with three input fields and a dynamic map. Users enter their address, city and ZIP code in the fields, click the “Locate” button on the screen, and the map zeros in on their location. The app then generates the corresponding representatives in the state Assembly and the state Senate.
According to Scott Gregory, the state’s geographic information officer, his staff took a responsive design approach to the app, so desktop and mobile users should be able to use it, regardless of platform.
“Everything that we’re building is really going to have a slant toward the Web because we know that with the proliferation of smartphones, mobile devices [and] tablets — that’s the next computing paradigm,” Gregory said.
The "Who is My State Legislator" Web app, embedded above, lets taxpayers find out who their local political representatives are.
Details Here
first published week of: 01/21/2013
Permanent URLCalifornia High Court Boosts Public-Records Law With Ruling on Mapping Data
by david kravets
California’s public-records law received a major boost Monday when the state Supreme Court decided local government must turn over mapping data without charging excessive fees.
The decision (.pdf) concerned an appeal by the Sierra Club, which was charged $375,000 by Orange County for a mapping database of 640,000 land parcels that were in the GIS format, which stands for geographic information system, and can be read by most mapping software.
The case, which took six years to meander through the courts, included a friend-of-the-court brief by Wired and other news outlets who argued that only the cost of the duplication was required to obtain the database.
Orange, one of 58 counties in California, said it housed the mapping data on its own proprietary software, and that it would only release the data if the Sierra Club paid a licensing fee. continued…
first published week of: 07/15/2013
Permanent URLCan Researchers Influence Government's Cybersecurity Agenda?
by hilton collins
Government, academic and private sector cybersecurity experts met last month at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) headquarters to establish a research agenda that may affect America’s developing cybersecurity research approach.
The Cyber Security Research Alliance (CSRA) and NIST hosted a two-day workshop on April 4th and 5th in Gaithersburg, Md., focused on addressing the threats and vulnerabilities in technology that supports critical infrastructure operations like the country’s food, power and communications networks. continued…
first published week of: 05/06/2013
Permanent URLChicago Announces New CIO
by colin wood
Brenna Berman
The city of Chicago has hired a new CIO to replace Brett Goldstein, who announced his departure in May.
Mayor Rahm Emanuel nominated Brenna Berman, who will assume the roles of CIO and commissioner of the Chicago Department of Innovation and Technology (DoIT). Berman has worked for DoIT for more than 10 years, working most recently as acting commissioner for the agency. The skill sets and goals of DoIT have changed in recent years, Berman said, and in her new position, she will continue with those changes as she looks to make Chicago a city that meets the high expectations of its citizens.
“Throughout her career, Brenna has been a champion for leveraging data and technology to ensure that governments provide the best service possible for their residents, and I am proud to nominate her to lead our Department of Innovation and Technology,” Emanuel said in a statement. “Under her leadership, we will continue to be a leader in innovation and become an even more data-driven and nimble city, making Chicago a better place live.” continued…
first published week of: 07/01/2013
Permanent URLCommission introducing interactive web maps and date resources
by daytondailynews.com
The Miami [Ohio] Valley Regional Planning Commission (MVRPC) is introducing additional interactive web maps and data resources to its MVRPC Online Map Gallery. More mapping layers also have been added to its Online Planning Support System (OPSS) mapping application.
MVRPC’s Online Map Gallery, available at http://www.mvrpc.org/mapgallery/, was first launched in October 2012 as part of the agency’s on-going efforts to share data and information using the latest Geographic Information Systems (GIS) web technologies.
New web maps and data added to the Map Gallery are available in two new categories: transportation and environment. continued…
first published week of: 10/28/2013
Permanent URLControversial CISPA “cyber-security” bill is DOA in the Senate
by timothy b. lee
Last week the House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act despite opposition from civil liberties groups and a threatened White House veto. But a powerful Democratic Senator has signaled his opposition to the measure, making passage in the upper chamber unlikely.
Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) chairs the Senate Commerce Committee and also holds a seat on the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. He called the bill's goals "important" but said its "privacy protections are insufficient," according to US News and World Report.
CISPA is controversial because it would grant companies that share information related to online threats broad immunity from liability. Critics fear that it would gut other laws, such as the Wiretap Act and the Stored Communications Act, that protect consumers' privacy. Opponents argue that Congress should take a more targeted approach, revising individual laws that hamper information sharing rather than granting companies broad immunity for violating any of them. continued…
first published week of: 04/29/2013
Permanent URLCould New Software Help Cops Track Social Media?
by colin wood
Nationwide, police departments are using predictive analytics to strategically deploy officers around their respective cities. A mobile app for citizens in Baltimore called SpotAgent, for instance, predicts whether a given parking spot might be safe from roaming parking enforcement officers at a given hour. And since 2006, Memphis, Tenn, has used the technology to evaluate incident patterns citywide and forecast criminal hot spots.
But security firm Raytheon is taking predictive analytics to the next level. While current technology, such as IBM’s predictive analytics solution, uses statistics and analytical data to predict criminal activity, Raytheon’s Rapid Information Overlay Technology (RIOT) software monitors public information on social media websites to predict what people will do next.
Details Here
first published week of: 03/11/2013
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