The Army is halting ongoing in-sourcing plans, effective immediately, according to a memo from Army Secretary John McHugh released earlier this week. In its place, McHugh said any plans to phase private contractor positions into in-house government ones would have to cross his desk. “In an era of significantly constrained resources, the Army must approach [...]

“Mythbusting” is no longer just for the Discovery Channel. As part of the administration’s efforts to reform federal IT acquisition, the White House promised agency contract authorities and the private companies they do business with would communicate more frequently. But the first step in that process is dispelling some of those myths that plague the [...]

The stakes were demonstrated in the sweltering summer of 2003, when a blackout powered down the Northeast United States, leaving about 45 million Americans without electricity. And that was an accident. As electric and power companies make increasing gains in modernizing the electric grid,  fears of a hacker sabotaging part of the nation’s power supply [...]

For the first time in 13 years, the amount of money the federal government spends on contracts declined, Office of Management and Budget Deputy Director Jeffrey Zients said in a phone press conference this week. For fiscal year 2010, the government spent $535 billion on contracted goods and services, down from $550 billion in fiscal [...]

Say goodbye to the “naked scanners.” The U.S. Transportation Security Administration announced it will begin testing new software for its advanced imaging technology machines that will eliminate passenger-specific images in favor of detecting potential threat items on a generic outline of a person. TSA Administrator John Pistole, who made the announcement earlier this week, said [...]

Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT Director Dr. David Blumenthal and federal Chief Technology Officer Aneesh Chopra announced a “milestone” in electronic health technology. Minnesota and Rhode Island became the first states to participate in pilot program for direct sharing of electronic health records via the Internet, known as the Direct Project. “These [...]

In today’s world — full of national security pitfalls and diplomatic snares — a contentious relationship between the head of the defense apparatus and the nation’s chief diplomat would be anathema. So, it’s a good thing Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton appear to get along so swimmingly. Chairman of [...]

IPads in the hands of everyday users — or even in those of the corporate domain — is hardly a news story anymore. But, what about iPads in the hands of the federal workforce? The idea has gained traction recently. Nextgov reported earlier this week that the Interior Department has implemented their use as part [...]

The Defense Information Systems Agency has made widespread gains in cloud computing — achieving nearly 100 percent virtualization, according to recent report in Government Computer News. DISA Chief Information Officer Henry Sienkiewicz sat down with GCN to discuss the shifting landscape of federal IT, cloud computing and some of the agency’s top-notch cloud offerings. On [...]

The Interior Department is conducting a limited “pilot study” into the use of iPads to boost productivity and efficiency, Nextgov reports. Andrew Jackson, deputy assistant secretary for technology, information and business services said individual Interior Department agencies purchased the tablet devices for staff who travel or telework often. Jackson, himself, an iPad-user, told Nextgov the [...]