After the high-profile cancellation of the over-budget and behind-schedule SBInet border surveillance program, the Customs and Border Protection agency is taking a different tack. Mark Borkowski, assistant commissioner of the agency’s Office of Technology Innovation and Acquisition, said rather than dumping more money into a blue-sky development program, the agency wants to see technologies that [...]

The key to successful IT management — a hot topic even before the Office of Management and Budget released a door-stopper of a report on the issue in December — is maintaining good governance over a project. So said, Richard Spires, chief information officer of the Department of Homeland Security, who took to the CIO.gov [...]

In an essential step in the administration’s effort to root out and repeal outdated and, often, onerous regulations, the Department of Homeland Security published Monday a notice in the Federal Register, seeking comments on its regulations. “We are committed to continuing to increase efficiency, transparency and accountability in the regulatory process,” said Homeland Security Secretary [...]

The Department of Homeland Security has put out the word: It’s looking for private-sector executives to fill two key positions, including a cybersecurity post, for an exchange program that links DHS with industry experts. “We’re looking to our nation’s top executives to partner with us as we strive to solve problems, improve processes, and fully [...]

The federal “cloud-first” mandate, which directs agencies to begin prepping for cloud computing-based services, also has agency-level chief information officers, once the wielders of nearly limitless IT authority, facing a “culture clash,” FierceGovernmentIT reports. Dave McClure, associate administrator at the General Services Administration’s office of citizen services and innovative technologies, said along with the technological [...]

Step one for the Defense Department in the wake of the WikiLeaks disclosures, which saw sensitive defense intelligence splashed across newspapers worldwide, was a top-down review of the security chain and an identification of its weakest links. That was the message the department’s new Chief Information Officer Teri Takai took to the Senate Homeland Security [...]

A top member of the Army’s acquisition personnel said the Defense Department’s growing reliance on fixed-price contracts could have unnoticed side effects. Assistant Army Secretary for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics Malcolm O’Neill, at a Professional Services Council event last week, said Army contracting officers have increasingly noticed contractors submitting inflated bids, likely as a way [...]

The federal reorganization President Barack Obama pledged in his State of the Union address is beginning to take shape, beginning with 12 federal agencies focused on trade and exports, according to various media reports. The White House issued a memo laying out a 90-day timeline for developing plans to restructure such agencies, The Washington Post [...]

A bipartisan group of lawmakers has introduced a bill that would make permanent a research-and-development tax credit, a proposal for which the technology industry is lining up its support. Introduced by Rep. Kevin Brady (R-Texas), the bill boasts a bipartisan mix of co-sponsors, including Silicon Valley Democrat Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.), Doris Matsui (D-Calif.), John Larson [...]

President Barack Obama’s announcement this week of the appointment of Commerce Secretary Gary Locke to be U.S. ambassador to China kicked off a round of speculation as to who would take over Locke’s spot as the administration’s business and trade guru. Included among a roster of possible names from industry, such as Google CEO Eric [...]