Federal CTO Chopra Leaving White House

Federal Chief Technology Officer Aneesh Chopra is stepping down from his post, the White House announced Friday. A White House official told Federal News Radio that Chopra’s last day will be Feb. 8, but the official did not indicate Chopra’s future plans. FedScoop first reported Chopra’s departure and reports that some have speculated he will run [...]

NIST Gives Agencies Cloud Computing Guidance

The National Institute of Standards and Technologies is calling on agencies to take the lead in addressing security and privacy challenges relating to public cloud computing. NIST’s Guidelines on Security and Privacy in Public Cloud Computing do not suggest any specific service or deployment method for cloud computing, but lists several guidelines agencies should follow [...]

Pentagon Deputy CIO Says IT Budget Looks Safe

The Defense Department does not expect major cuts in the area of information technology, the Pentagon’s Deputy Chief Information Officer Robert Carey told Federal Times. The Pentagon currently operates with a $38.5 billion IT budget. The Pentagon is looking to trim around $40 billion from its overall budget in 2013 in order to reach its goal [...]

Obama Proposes Infrastructure Spending in State of the Union

In his State of the Union address Tuesday, President Obama called for money that was previously being spent for wars in Iraq and Afghanistan to be used to rebuild America’s infrastructure. “So much of America needs to be rebuilt,” Obama said. “We’ve got crumbling roads and bridges; a power grid that wastes too much energy; [...]

GSA Flipping Energy Contract Auctions

The General Services Administration expects to save around $4 million annually on energy costs by using reverse online auctions, according to Federal News Radio. Robert Zarnetske, the GSA’s New England region administrator, told Federal News Radio the agency initially identifies and collects information on federal government properties in corresponding geographical regions. GSA then bundles similar [...]