News

The Department of Commerce on Monday named Simon Szykman as new chief information officer, a position in which he will be responsible for managing the department’s 2.6 billion annual IT budget. As the new CIO, Szykman will also be providing leadership, establishing policy, and maintaining oversight for the IT investments …

The Department of Homeland Security is giving out university program funding to further research on terrorism. University of Maryland, College Park is going to receive a $3.3 million grant from the DHS Center for Excellence. This grant will fund the START program, the Study for Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism. …

After 16 months on the job, Dennis C. Blair announced yesterday he is resigning from his post as director of national intelligence. In a statement yesterday, Blair announced he will be stepping down from his position effective May 28. He praised the work of those men and women who have …

Millions of visitors come to the United States every year. This is a paper-heavy process as visitors are required to fill out the arrival/departure form, the 1-94W. This will be updated and streamlined, according to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano. Secretary Napolitano announced today the elimination of the …

Finding someone to head the review of the Comcast/NBC Universal merger has been a priority for FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski. Yesterday, he announced the appointment of John Flynn as senior counsel to the chairman for transactions for the FCC. Flynn is currently executive vice president, general counsel andcorporate secretary of …

Americans navigate cyberspace on a day-to-day basis, and in turn, the vulnerability to cyber attacks is inevitability increasing. According to President Barack Obama, America’s economic prosperity in the 21st century will depend on cybersecurity. That’s why a new web forum was launched to call for discussion on how to “change …

Brilliant minds can now team up to compete in the i6 Challenge to win million-dollar prizes awarded by the Department of Commerce’s Office of Innovation and Entrepreneurship and Economic Development Administration. In partnership with the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation, EDA will award up to $1 …

The federal government’s online data repository is getting a face lift this Friday, with added features that will help make the site easier to use as well as promote transparency. The Obama administration is relaunching the Data.gov website with newly added tools that include the integrated Microsoft Bing search, featured …

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Transparency Task Force today released 21 draft proposals for public comment on public disclosure policies aimed at helping consumers, stakeholders and others understand how the agency operates and makes decisions. The proposals, which will be published in the May 21 Federal Register are part …

Lee Hamilton and Thomas Kean, both members of the 9/11 Commission, appeared before the House Committee on Homeland Security to discuss the nature of the terrorist threat to the United States. “The conventional wisdom for years has been that al Qaeda’s preferred method was a spectacular attack like 9/11. But …