A group of panelists told the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Tuesday that a bioterroism threat’s likelihood will continue to increase with scientific advancements. “The potency and accessibility of these weapons…will increase as the bioscience revolution proceeds,” said Tara O’Toole, the Department of Homeland Security’s under secretary for science and technology. “In [...]

According to a new survey from Market Connections, 92 percent of federal respondents said they used social media within the last year. The survey, reported by AOL Government, shows an additional 74 percent reporting they use networking tools at work. A similar survey a year ago indicated that 55 percent of government employees were banned [...]

Privacy concerns are the reason Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.), recently requested a report from the Federal Trade Commission on the security challenges of facial recognition technology. According to NextGov.com, the chairman of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee is working to help the committee update legislation on online privacy. “I ask that the commission [...]

According to the Defense Department’s cyberpolicy director Steve Schleien, the agency is better prepared to deal with cyber attacks globally today than it was in 2008. A 2008 military computer breach led the Pentagon to creating the U.S. Cyber Command in 2009. It is also the reason President Obama launched the international strategy for cyberspace [...]

The Defense Department, NASA and the General Services Administration are proposing regulations that would require contractors to complete training that addresses privacy protection, in accordance with the Privacy Act of 1974, and the handling and safeguarding of personally identifiable information. The regulation, published in the Oct. 14 Federal Register, would require contractors to identify and [...]

House Republicans may take up bipartisan legislation next week to repeal a law requiring the government to withhold 3 percent of contracts, according to a report from The Hill. The House Ways and Means Committee approved the legislation by voice vote Thursday, and House aides said GOP leaders were aiming to bring the bill to [...]

The move to eliminate a handful of regulations should save health care companies more than $1 billion next year according to the federal Medicare agency. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced Tuesday that it will strike down certain rules for hospitals in response to President Obama’s call for feds to find and eliminate [...]

Speaking at an Oct. 17 ARMA conference in Oxon Hill, Md., Paul Wester, the chief records officer for the National Archive and Records Administration, said a new, separate and firewalled classified electronic records archive could go live within a year. Wester said that the administration has already acquired the necessary hardware and is close to [...]

The Pentagon’s chief legal adviser Jeh Johnson indicated the Defense Department could be looking at legal complications if Congress fails to pass the defense authorization bill for 2012. Congress needs to pass the authorization bill, include legislation or a continuing resolution or else the Pentagon will lack needed authorities to give troops bonuses, Johnson said [...]

Ashton Carter Deputy Defense Secretary Ashton Carter has been given orders from Defense Secretary Leon Panetta to ”take the lead for eliminating wasteful spending, consolidating duplicative functions and driving ongoing and new efficiency initiatives,” according to a memo obtained by DefenseNews.com The Pentagon announced it is trying to trim $450 billion out of its budget over the [...]