The new law makes it easier for state and local agencies to migrate to secure and trusted .gov domains.
Many state and local governments still operate official websites with .us, .com or .org domains, but that may soon start to shift as they move to more secure and trusted .gov domains.
That’s thanks to the DOTGOV Online Trust in Government Act, a piece of legislation tucked into an omnibus spending and coronavirus pandemic relief bill Congress passed in December.
The law provides support services, security enhancements and outreach from the federal government to state and local agencies to get them to shift their domains to .gov. The law would reduce or wipe away the costs of making the shift, which security experts agree is an essential element of improving internet security for government agencies.
Read full story at StateTevch…
first published week of: 02/22/2021
Agencies must go back to basics to grow digital government.
Government agencies have faced challenges in providing citizen services during the coronavirus crisis, particularly at the beginning. Taxpayers could no longer walk into a government office to receive an identification card or to pay a fine, and yet many local governments were still dependent on physical offices to complete such tasks.
Although it happened to a greater degree in the private sector, the public sector embraced rapid digital transformation during the COVID-19 pandemic, moving online many services traditionally rendered in person. IT agencies focused specifically on capabilities to complete transactions online.
This happened at such a pace that top IT officials in state governments viewed digital government as an overwhelming priority for their enterprises, according to an annual survey of state CIOs by the National Association for State Chief Information Officers. Still, there is much left for government CIOs to do to improve online services for their constituents.
Read full story at StateTech…
first published week of: 04/12/2021
Using Infrastructure as Code helped boost reliability and security for the New York City Cyber Command.
When local governments seek to keep services such as energy and first response running smoothly and securely, they may turn to Infrastructure as Code to set up infrastructure on demand in the cloud using software.
By using IaC and the cloud, state and local governments save on capital IT costs through a per-usage model and avoid supply chain issues by using the infrastructure of their cloud providers. If developers need storage or extra bandwidth, they can access it directly in the cloud rather than having it shipped, says Mark Bowker, senior analyst for mobility and security at Enterprise Strategy Group.
Read full story at StateTech…
first published week of: 01/11/2021
The Office of the Director of National Intelligence is going to have to instill a spirit of collaboration among traditional cloud competitors.
In the fall of 2020, as had long been expected, the U.S. intelligence community awarded a new, multibillion-dollar cloud contract not to one cloud service provider, but many. In November, the CIA, on behalf of itself and the IC’s 16 other agencies, awarded the cloud services portion of the Commercial Cloud Enterprise (C2E) contract to Amazon Web Services, Microsoft, Google, IBM and Oracle.
Now comes the hard part: getting traditional competitors to work together for the good of the country’s intelligence agencies. Michael Waschull, the acting CIO of the intelligence community, says that he is committed to getting them to do so but acknowledges it will be a heavy lift.
The CIA was one of the government’s early pioneers in large-scale cloud deployment and has been working since 2013 with Amazon Web Services on its Commercial Cloud Services (C2S) contract. C2E is the follow-up contract to C2S. The cloud companies will compete for task orders at various levels of classification, up to the top-secret level, for Software as a Service, Infrastructure as a Service and Platform as a Service offerings, as well as for other professional services.
Read full story at FedTech…
first published week of: 08/23/2021
Ranking the federal market's biggest prime contractors
Welcome to the 2021 Washington Technology Top 100, where we rank the largest government contractors according to their prime contracts for IT, systems integration, professional services and other technology products and services
Leidos tops the list for the fourth time in five years, but below that you’ll see some other significant changes in the rankings. Peraton has leapt from No. 42 last year to No. 9 this year thanks to its acquisition of Northrop Grumman’s IT business and absorption of Perspecta.
Read full story at Washington Technology…
first published week of: 07/05/2021
After Gov. Kim Reynolds was blocked for trying to use CARES Act funds for the new ERP system, senate lawmakers voted in favor of the overhaul through the project’s original vendor, Workday.
The Iowa Senate on Tuesday approved a bill to spend $21 million from the general fund on a new computer system.
Gov. Kim Reynolds in July tried to use coronavirus relief money for the Workday system, but the U.S. Treasury Department and the state auditor told her it wasn't allowed because the system wasn't necessitated by COVID-19 and was in the works before the pandemic.
Senate File 284 passed 32 to 17 with all Republicans supporting it and all Democrats present opposing. The measure still would need passage in the House to become law.
Read full story at Government Technology…
first published week of: 02/15/2021
Chief Technology Officer and Deputy CITO Stacy Mill brings her many years of tech experience to Kansas to boost security, modernize legacy systems and encourage broadband accessibility.
When Stacy Mill came to state government from the private sector in 2019, she brought years of experience. Her skills in addressing IT risk management and enhancing operational excellence are serving her and Kansas well as the state works to address common challenges like bolstering security, modernizing legacy systems and supporting broadband accessibility.
Read full story at GovTech…
first published week of: 04/26/2021
Data portals can help police and sheriff’s departments comply with state laws and increase trust in the communities they serve.
As the conversation around the evolving nature of public safety agencies has progressed, one thing has remained constant: the need for law enforcement agencies to provide accurate and transparent crime data to the public.
It’s crucial for law enforcement agencies to collect, analyze and report criminal justice data. Doing so builds trust with communities they serve — which is more vital than ever. Displaying such data also ensures that policymakers and lawmakers can make informed decisions about the criminal justice system based on the most accurate information available.
The technology required to construct such open data portals is not revolutionary, but building them requires a vision for doing so, as well as investment and commitment from law enforcement leadership and IT leaders.
Read full story at StateTech…
first published week of: 12/06/2021
Supporters say giving the Federal Communications Commission greater authority over internet service providers is more important in the wake of the pandemic.
Sen. Ed Markey plans to introduce legislation in the coming weeks to restore net neutrality rules put in place during the Obama administration.
With a shift in political dynamics following the 2020 election, lawmakers are renewing their push to police internet service providers under Title II of the Communications Act, and this time, the pandemic emphasizes a powerful point in the debate, the Massachusetts Democrat said.
Net neutrality sets forth that providers of broadband services should treat all internet traffic equally, not blocking, throttling or prioritizing any one set of content or data over another for commercial purposes.
“Today, broadband is the single most important service that Americans use to communicate with one another, and the COVID pandemic has highlighted what we already knew,” Markey said. “Broadband isn't a luxury: It is essential to everyone in our country.”
Read full story at NextGov…
first published week of: 03/08/2021
Under the bill, private entities would pay hefty fines if they share residents' biometric data without consent. Such data would include fingerprints; voiceprints; facial geometry; and retina, iris and hand scans.
Two Mass. lawmakers have proposed a bill to safeguard personal data derived from fingerprints, voiceprints, face geometry, retina, iris and hand scans.
The legislation would establish a number of rules, such as requiring private entities to create a written policy that establishes a retention schedule and guidelines for permanently destroying biometric identifiers.
Once such a policy is established, it would have to be shared with anyone whose biometric information is collected, and all biometric data must be destroyed within one year of the person’s last interaction with a private entity or when the data collection’s initial purpose has been satisfied.
Read full story at GovTech…
first published week of: 10/25/2021