A second non-Blackberry mobile operating system has been certified to access Pentagon computer networks, according to the Defense Information Systems Agency’s recently released guidance for securely connecting devices. Devices run on Dell’s Android 2.2 operating for both smartphones and tablets will be able to be used, according to a report from Stars & Stripes. GCN cites John Marinho, [...]

Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) is calling on the Office of Personnel Management to outsource USAJobs.gov. According to FederalTimes.com, Kerry sent a letter to Federal CIO Steven VanRoekel urging him to end OPM’s effort to insource the website. The USAJobs site relaunched in early October and has been a source of difficulty for thousands of users. [...]

The Defense Department will submit a five-year budget to Congress in February that includes $250 to $260 billion in cuts, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said Thursday according to a report from Reuters. The debt ceiling agreement reached in August calls for $450 billion in cuts to defense spending over 10 years. During a trip to [...]

The Department of Homeland Security plans to fly unmanned aircraft over the vast majority of the border with Canada, DHS officials testified to lawmakers Friday. NextGov reports the House Homeland Security’s subcommittee on emergency preparedness, response, and communications held a field hearing in Detroit. John S. Beutlich, director of the northern region office of air [...]

U.S. civilian intelligence agencies received $54.6 billion in funds for fiscal year 2011, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence said Friday. ODNI’s funding for fiscal 2011 was $1.5 billion, or 2.8 percent, greater than the $53.1 billion appropriated in fiscal 2010, according to a Bloomberg report. In February, ODNI requested $55 billion for [...]

The much-derided $16 muffins reported in a Justice Department inspector general audit may have never existed after all. According to Politico, DOJ’s top watchdog reportedly apologized on Friday and admitted taxpayers did not actually pay $16 per muffin at a recent department conference. In redacting its prior dollar amount claim, the inspector general said it [...]

According to TheHill.com, the House will take up the the Wireless Tax Fairness Act of 2011. The bill places a five-year moratorium on new taxes on mobile phones and other wireless devices. The legislation has 240 sponsors and easily went through the House Judiciary Committee in July. The Hill reports the House would freeze any new [...]

Instead of hiding from cloud computing for security reasons, the director of the National Security Agency said Wednesday the military must tie its networks and software to the cloud to better secure its computers. Army Gen. Keith Alexander, who also serves as director of U.S. Cyber Command, told attendees at the Security Innovation Network’s Showcase [...]

Hackers have come close several times to shutting down elements of the country’s infrastructure, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said Thursday. At an event on cybersecurity hosted by the Washington Post, Napolitano told the audience thousands of attacks may have occurred during her 45-minute question-and-answer session. “I think we all have to be concerned about [...]

Air Force Maj. Gen. Ronnie D. Hawkins Jr. has been nominated by Defense Secretary Leon Panetta for a promotion to the rank of lieutenant general and for assignment as director of the Defense Information Systems Agency. Currently, Hawkins is serving as deputy director, J8, for C4 systems, Joint Staff. In this position he develops C4 [...]