A senior White House official said cyberthreats are figuring more prominently in President Barack Obama's daily briefing on intelligence and national security concerns.
"What I have found in the three-and-a-half years I have been in this position is that cyberthreats have consumed a greater and greater portion of the piece of the briefing that I do," said Lisa Monaco, assistant to the president for homeland security and counterterrorism.
Speaking at the Washington Post Cybersecurity Summit, Monaco said that almost on a daily basis now, she has to brief the president on some variety of cyberthreat.
"I've been struck by the breadth of the threats that we're facing, certainly against the U.S. government, against the private sector," she said.
Monaco added that cyberthreats are coming from an increasing range of actors --countries such as Russia, China, Iran and North Korea; criminal entities; and individual hackers. continued…
first published week of: 10/10/2016
The public sector serves a population more technologically savvy and advanced than ever before. The use of mobile phones, acceleration of social media and overall speed at which technology continues to evolve have set the bar high for local and federal governments to keep up with these changes.
Couple this with a strong legislative environment that continues to introduce new programs and services that require 21st-century technology, and we can see a clear transformation on the horizon in the way governments operate on a fundamental level.
It has been three years since the federal government issued the Digital Government Strategy, which put smart, secure and affordable technology at the forefront of moving toward a more digital, data-centric government. Still, government entities, both federal and local, are just now beginning to see the value in making public services more accessible in the cloud and via mobile devices. continued…
first published week of: 02/08/2016
The public sector serves a population more technologically savvy and advanced than ever before. The use of mobile phones, acceleration of social media and overall speed at which technology continues to evolve have set the bar high for local and federal governments to keep up with these changes.
Couple this with a strong legislative environment that continues to introduce new programs and services that require 21st-century technology, and we can see a clear transformation on the horizon in the way governments operate on a fundamental level.
It has been three years since the federal government issued the Digital Government Strategy, which put smart, secure and affordable technology at the forefront of moving toward a more digital, data-centric government. Still, government entities, both federal and local, are just now beginning to see the value in making public services more accessible in the cloud and via mobile devices. continued…
first published week of: 01/11/2016
From unexpected costs to unplanned exit strategies, government and industry experts discussed the major concerns impacting a move to the cloud at the Florida Digital Government Summit.
How well do you know the cloud? What are the roles and responsibilities of the companies that provide cloud services? What part does the state or local government IT organization play when it comes to cloud technology?
These questions and others were at the center of a panel discussion at the Florida Digital Government Summit held May 12 in Tallahassee. During the 90-minute session, Florida’s Chief Technology Officer Eric Larson and two private-sector representatives weighed in on the four most important considerations and steps that need to be made before diving headlong into cloud migration. continued…
first published week of: 06/20/2016
Uber fares are to be subsidized by up to 25 percent by four Florida cities together with Altamonte Springs which launched the pilot project in March.
Since the launch, Uber utilization in Altamonte Springs has increased tenfold. In an attempt to boost public transit use, in particular the SunRail system, the city pays 20 percent of any ride beginning or ending in Altamonte Springs, increasing to 25 percent for rides to or from the rail station. Longwood and Lake Mary have signed–up to the pilot while Sanford and Maitland voted Tuesday [24 May] to also join. The cities have also formed a working group to share results and mobility strategies for the future.
We all know that if multimodal options are not convenient, people will not use them. This is the ultimate in convenience, because the user is literally in control of their own trip. Frank Martz, City Manager, Altamonte Springs, Florida
“We have received calls from 51 different cities across North America, who want to explore this and understand our thinking,“ said Frank Martz, City Manager, Altamonte Springs.
Martz explains that if one Uber car takes one rider then it is equal to a private car journey but as soon as the Uber car takes a second rider, it has eliminated a private car trip, thereby helping to reduce congestion and also offer more flexible transport options.
“Our initial indications are that Uber utilization has increased tenfold,” said Martz. “What we are seeing anecdotally is an increase in the enjoyment of people who live here that they have more options. They are in control. That will encourage long-term increases in transit utilization if we can make them happy and comfortable and convenient in doing this.”
“We all know that if multimodal options are not convenient, people will not use them. This is the ultimate in convenience, because the user is literally in control of their own trip.”
Martz explained that one bus costs in the region of US$400,000. Then you need the bus driver and the fuel. Before you can pick up one person, it has already cost the public almost US$500,000. continued…
first published week of: 05/30/2016
A selection of last year's best federal news and analysis blogs for public sector leaders.
So much has changed in the federal IT space since our last must-read blog list. Innovation is happening at a breakneck pace, and a number of new publications have popped up to cover the lean government trend.
We’re really excited about this year’s list, which is evenly split between FedTech staples and new friends. On this list, you’ll find traditional publications, agency sites, upstart Medium blogs and many things in between. It’s well-rounded and representative of all the change happening in government today.
We hope you enjoy it. If you believe we’ve missed a resource, don’t hesitate to comment. And if your blog has been chosen, grab a badge to display to your readers — you’ve earned it! continued…
first published week of: 02/01/2016
Government entities appear to be using maps more and more as a tool for creating useful applications. Here are seven ways they're doing it.
As snow pounded the east coast of the United States this weekend, government entities rushed to do their part in helping citizens cope with the effects of the storm. And amid all those efforts were several jurisdictions that turned to a tool becoming more common in state and local government: maps.
“Unfortunately a lot of the best technology comes out of disasters or major events,” said Christopher Thomas, director of government markets for the geographic information systems (GIS) company Esri.
Among the mapping applications were internal dashboards, which government agencies used to coordinate snow plows and other crews and public-facing informational maps. Thomas said he sees increasing interest in use of GIS at all levels of government. In fact, he said, that's one of the biggest shifts in the field -- in the past, it used to be cities like Chicago and Los Angeles that paid attention to the latest trends in GIS. continued…
first published week of: 02/01/2016
New Hanover County Telecommunicator Jami Adams pulls up the location of a caller on a Google map in real time as she gathers more information about the emergency. ASHLEY MORRIS/STARNEWS
The key to successful 911 call location for local agencies is the incorporation of several new technologies including phones with better GPS locating capabilities and the 911 center's adoption of CAD systems synced with Google Maps.
Across the country 911 centers in some states still have trouble locating the people calling into 911.
According to USA Today more than 70 percent of calls to 911 centers in 2014 came from cellphones and that number is only growing. The problem is cellphones can be trickier to locate than landlines, which give dispatchers an immediate and accountable location.
However local dispatchers say they are confident in their abilities to locate someone calling into 911 with their system technology. Brunswick County analyst Brian Ross said dispatchers in the county are required to locate someone calling within six minutes, but they can usually find someone in one.
The key to successful 911 call location for local agencies is the incorporation of several new technologies including phones with better GPS locating capabilities and the 911 center's adoption of CAD systems synced with Google Maps.
"Here in New Hanover County we don't have too much difficulty in locating someone," said 911 dispatch trainer Matt Langley. continued…
first published week of: 06/13/2016
Companies like Box want to achieve a ‘zero-knowledge’ state where they can’t access customer data.
The legal showdown between Apple and U.S. law enforcement over encryption, no matter the outcome, will likely accelerate tech company efforts to engineer safeguards against government intrusion, tech industry executives say.
Already, an emerging industry is marketing super-secure phones and mobile applications.
An Apple executive said the company will strengthen its encryption if it wins its court battle with the federal government, which last week secured a court order requiring Apple engineers to help extract data from a phone associated with the mass shootings in San Bernardino.
The executive spoke on condition of anonymity. An Apple spokesperson declined to comment publicly.
If Apple loses the court case, the legal precedent could give the U.S. government broad authority to order companies to assist in breaking into encrypted products. continued…
first published week of: 02/29/2016
As the first voting nears in the presidential race, most Americans have little or no confidence in the federal government to confront what they see as the country's most important priorities, according to a national survey.
The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll, conducted in December, found more than 6 in 10 respondents expressed only slight confidence — or none at all — that the federal government can make progress on the problems facing the nation in 2016.
Terrorism edged health care as the issue most often mentioned — each by about one-third of those questioned — when people were asked to volunteer the issues they believe Washington should address this election year.
The polling suggests an electorate more focused on the economy and domestic affairs than on foreign policy. Two-thirds of respondents included an economic issue on their priority list, and about 4 in 5 named a domestic policy other than the economy. continued…
first published week of: 01/25/2016