Digital Government

Taking blockchain beyond bitcoin

Blockchain isn't just for bitcoin, and federal agencies might find other uses for the secure recordkeeping tool.

Digital Government

Tech hasn't fixed FOIA yet

Transparency advocates are pushing Congress to go after agencies for shoddy responses to the sunshine law.

Digital Government

Meadows bill puts teeth in records enforcement

In a newly introduced bill, the chairman of a key government oversight subcommittee seeks to punish feds who destroy records and to enshrine existing records policy in law.

People

Census seeks CTO

With Avi Bender's departure to lead a data push at another Commerce Department component, the Census Bureau needs a new tech leader ahead of the 2020 headcount.

Digital Government

GSA kicks off search for innovation chief

The search is on for a commissioner for the recently established Technology Transformation Service at the General Services Administration.

People

Watchdogs want to root out burrowing feds

The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee is looking into political appointees who slide into career jobs.

Cybersecurity

Europeans OK trans-Atlantic data deal

One of the major players involved in the lengthy U.S./EU data transfer agreement process gave the thumbs-up on July 8.

Digital Government

Commerce to economists: Please use our data

The department's components are working hard to provide better data, but they need users to buoy the work through the tumultuous coming years.

Modernization

Pentagon raises payout in DHMSM hosting deal

The Pentagon is paying more than expected for the hosting portion of its coming electronic health record, and it is considering whether to find a separate vendor down the line.

Cybersecurity

USPS flooded with false malware positives

The U.S. Postal Service's cyber incident system is overwhelmingly identifying normal activity as malicious, according to a new inspector general report.

People

Uber, but for feds

Recently introduced legislation would open the world of modern transportation apps to federal reimbursement.

Digital Government

Court: Feds can't hide outside emails from FOIA

Emails that contain government records don't gain immunity from FOIA just because they reside on an non-governmental system, an appeals court decided July 5.

Digital Government

NASA nails wry Juno outreach

Adding a sardonic dash to its trademark social media openness, NASA celebrated the initial success of its mission to Jupiter.

People

Milholland exits IRS

Without a restoration of the hiring authority that brought him in, the long-serving CTO departed the IRS at the end of June.

Digital Government

GAO doesn't trust 2020 census financials

The federal watchdog warns in a new report that the Census Bureau's $12.5 billion price tag for 2020 was not calculated reliably.

Digital Government

Why chief data officers don't do much tech

In many cases, federal CDOs find themselves focused less on technology and more on playing adviser to leaders within their agencies.

Digital Government

Interior spending $50K per month on unused mobile devices

The Interior Department is wasting hundreds of thousands of dollars annually on mobile devices that are unused or unsecured, according to a new inspector general report.

Digital Government

Another IRS tax tool bites the dust

The IRS has killed its online tool for requesting electronic-filing PINs after cyberattacks ramped up.

Modernization

Hurd still not sold on IT modernization fund

The Texas techie told C-SPAN he thinks modernizing legacy systems is a critical issue, but he isn’t supporting the Obama administration’s $3.1 billion IT modernization fund.

Digital Government

Smartphones and video apps powered House Dems' gun control sit-in

House Democrats used social media, personal tech and congressional Wi-Fi to disrupt and bypass the majority's authority, raising the question of how to enforce 18th-century rules of decorum in the Information Age.