President Barack Obama’s announcement last week of a proposed two-year pay freeze for federal workers was only outdone by the advice of his deficit commission a few days later, recommending even deeper cuts. It all serves to underscore how federal workers remain in the crosshairs of those advocating government cuts. Hot on the heels of [...]

The announcement last week that the General Services Administration would become the first federal agency to enter the brave new world of cloud computing has spawned speculation on a growing number of topics: What does GSA’s move to the cloud mean for other agencies, for data security and for GSA down the road? First, the [...]

The Defense Department’s executive secretary issued a memo this week instructing DoD officials to refrain from using acronyms in written correspondence with Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates, according to a report on Federal News Radio. According to the memo, sent by Michael Bruhn Nov. 30, which was first reported on by politics and gossip site [...]

Bid protests — disputed federal contract awards — reached a 15-year high in 2010, according to a Government Accountability Office report released last week. Contractors filed 2,299 protests, a 16 percent increase over the 1,989 challenges submitted in 2009, according to the GAO report. It is the fourth year in a row bid protests have [...]

A Government Accountability Office review of federal wireless security standards has prompted swift action from the Department of Homeland Security. According to the Nov. 30 GAO report, the watchdog agency found several security gaps regarding wireless technology, including government-issued laptops and mobile devices, such as BlackBerry phones. GAO auditors found security risks when laptops were [...]

Several well-known Obama administration technology leaders will formally unveil key IT reforms next week at the White House. And in a nod to the announcement’s subject matter, the overhaul of federal IT, the event will be streamed live over the web. The Forum on IT Management Reform led by federal Chief Performance Officer Jeffrey Zients [...]

As the federal government prepares to take to the cloud, adopting cloud-computing platforms across agencies, federal Chief Information Officer Vivek Kundra says security standards will be in place early next year. At a conference yesterday on the future of federal IT sponsored by Government Executive, Kundra spoke about the government’s  imminent shift to cloud computing, [...]

Director of the National Counter Terrorism Center Michael Leiter, in a rare public speaking appearance Monday, said the recent WikiLeaks disclosures have caused officials to reevaluate information sharing. But, he said the published diplomatic cables, which have embarrassed and infuriated diplomats the world over, would not impact intelligence-gathering and counterterrorism efforts. While some worked-up national [...]

A new industry report predicts continued growth in federal cybersecurity spending, reaching $13.3 billion by 2015, citing an increased focus on cybersecurity and a lack of qualified cyber professionals, according to InformationWeek. The Federal Information Security Market, 2010-2015 report, commissioned by Input, expects a 9.1 percent annual growth rate for federal cybersecurity spending based on [...]

In a speech this week, Energy Secretary Steven Chu said the United States risked falling behind in the race to develop clean-energy sources. The United States faces a “Sputnik moment,” in terms of clean energy, he said, referencing the launch of the Soviet satellite in 1957 that shocked American scientists and spurred the beginnings of [...]