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IBM’s Gina Loften: Agencies Should Apply ‘Agile’ Model to Build Customer-Focused IT Platforms
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IBM’s Gina Loften: Agencies Should Apply ‘Agile’ Model to Build Customer-Focused IT Platforms


digital governmentGina Loften, vice president and chief innovation officer of IBM‘s federal business, has said she believes agile methodology can help agencies create information technology applications to deliver citizen services.

Loften wrote in a guest piece published Tuesday on Federal Times the agile development model has been used in the private sector and works to enable organizations to make platforms based on end-user needs.

“Because design thinking puts the user first, it could result in better outcomes, which would enhance the ultimate mission of various federal agencies,” she added.

She said an agency that aims to adopt the agile methodology should establish a collaborative culture that will allow technology developers to exchange ideas throughout the development process.

Loften also recommended that agencies use the strategy to modernize public service websites for mobile device users and believes doing so can help increase citizen interaction with the government.

NIST Releases Credit Card, Health Info Encryption Method Guide
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NIST Releases Credit Card, Health Info Encryption Method Guide


cybersecurityThe National Institute of Standards and Technology has released an online document that discussed methods of format-preserving encryption in an effort to secure credit card and health information of citizens.

NIST said Tuesday its “Special Publication 800-38G, Recommendation for Block Cipher Modes of Operation: Methods for Format-Preserving Encryption” addressed issues such as sensitive information management among software packages.

Morris Dworkin, author of the publication, noted that the new FPE methods cater to both binary and conventional numbers to produce a result in equal length as the other.

NIST added that the publication describes ways to transform a digit code that is indecipherable to hackers that is identical.

The publication is available on the company’s website.

MeriTalk: Agencies to See $10B IT Savings by 2021 Through Data Center Upgrades
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MeriTalk: Agencies to See $10B IT Savings by 2021 Through Data Center Upgrades


DataCenterA study by MeriTalk has found that 60 percent of federal information technology managers believe their agencies could save 20 percent of  their IT budget through data center modernization — amounting to savings of $10 billion by 2021.

“The IT revolving capital fund in the President’s budget will play a significant role in enabling federal data center modernization to unlock these savings,” Steve O’Keeffe, founder of MeriTalk, said in a release issued Tuesday.

MeriTalk surveyed 150 federal IT professionals in January and February about their outlook on federal data centers in terms of power consumption, capacity, physical footprint, speed and security.

The study shows 11 percent of federal IT managers say their agency data centers currently stand prepared to fulfill mission requirements while less than 5 percent said the same of their data centers’ capability by 2021.

Security policies, leadership, data center footprint, cloud migration, power consumption, budget, legacy systems and bandwidth are among the concerns cited by federal IT managers.

According to MeriTalk, the respondents did express confidence in the Federal Data Center Consolidation Initiative, with 60 percent of agencies saying they will work to meet Cloud First requirements by 2021.

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Commerce Dept Appoints 17 Industry Leaders to Digital Economy Board of Advisers
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Commerce Dept Appoints 17 Industry Leaders to Digital Economy Board of Advisers


Commerce-DepartmentThe Commerce Department has appointed 17 digital technology leaders to the board of advisers of the agency’s newly-formed digital economy agenda organization.

The department said Tuesday the appointees will work to provide private sector input and support to the agenda, which was created in efforts to facilitate free and open internet access for U.S. citizens.

Zoe Baird, Markle Foundation president and CEO, and Mitchell Baker, Mozilla executive chairwoman, were appointed as co-chairs of the advisory board.

“I am thrilled that such a knowledgeable and diverse group of thought leaders has volunteered to serve on our new Digital Economy Board of Advisors,” said Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker.

Alan Davidson, DoC digital economy director, will work with the secretary and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration to apply the board’s recommendations.

Other board appointees include:

  •          Karen Bartleson, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers president-elect
  •          Greg Becker, Silicon Valley Bank and SVB Financial Group president and CEO
  •          James Cicconi, AT&T senior executive vice president of external and legislative affairs
  •          David L. Cohen, Comcast senior executive vice president and chief diversity officer
  •          Austan Goolsbee, Robert P. Gwinn professor of economics at the University of Chicago, Booth School of Business
  •          Mindy Grossman, HSN CEO and director
  •          Oisin Hanrahan, Handy co-Founder and CEO
  •          Sonia Katyal, Chancellor’s professor of law at the University of California at Berkeley School of Law
  •          James Manyika, McKinsey Global Institute director
  •          William Ruh, GE chief digital officer and GE Digital CEO
  •          Brad Smith, Microsoft president and chief legal officer
  •          Corey Thomas, Rapid7 president and CEO
  •          Marta Tellado, Consumer Reports president and CEO
  •          Susan Wojcicki, YouTube CEO
  •          John Zimmer, Lyft co-founder and president

EPA, DOE Release 2016 Energy Star Partners of the Year List
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EPA, DOE Release 2016 Energy Star Partners of the Year List


green earth, environmentThe U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Energy Department have released the list of awardees for the 2016 edition of Energy Star Partners of the Year.

Both agencies have recognized 149 businesses from 35 states for its actions that worked to address energy-efficiency and environment protection, DOE said Tuesday.

“Energy Star Partner of the Year Award winners help families, individuals, and businesses become more energy efficient,” said Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz.

Moniz said that the awardees have done a part to address utility bills, new jobs and greenhouse gas reduction.

Beazer Homes, The Home Depot and Verizon are among the 149 recognized in the partners of the year list, the report said.

Sally Bingham, Interfaith Power & Light president, will provide a keynote address at the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel where the awards will be presented.

The full list of awardees is available on the Energy Star website.

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David Medine to Depart White House’s Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board
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David Medine to Depart White House’s Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board


WhiteHouseDavid Medine has tendered his resignation as chairman of the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board at the White House, FCW reported Tuesday.

Aisha Chowdhry writes Medine will depart the board on July 1 to join a development organization focused on data privacy and consumer protection for financial customers abroad.

Medine’s term as chairman of an organization that monitors U.S. intelligence agencies was scheduled to end in January 2018, according to the report.

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US Govt Clears Return of DoD Dependents from Turkey; Peter Cook Comments
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US Govt Clears Return of DoD Dependents from Turkey; Peter Cook Comments


PentagonThe U.S. government has approved a plan to return Defense Department dependents back home from Turkey in response to security concerns in the region, DoD News reported Tuesday.

Lisa Ferdinando writes Defense Secretary Ashton Carter and State Secretary John Kerry authorized the departure for all DoD dependents in Incirlik Air Base and the Izmir, Adana and Mugla provinces.

Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook said the order applies to 670 out of 770 DoD dependents in Turkey, whose sponsors operate under the commander of U.S. European Command, according to the report.

The goal is to reduce the risk facing DoD elements and personnel and maintain the combat effectiveness of U.S. forces in the country, the report says.

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CBO: Bill on Agency Discretion for IT Security Efforts Would Not Affect Federal Budget
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CBO: Bill on Agency Discretion for IT Security Efforts Would Not Affect Federal Budget


BudgetThe Congressional Budget Office has said a proposed House bill that would provide federal agencies sole authority to launch efforts to protect information technology systems and data from potential network threats would not affect the federal budget and revenues.

CBO said in a report published Thursday the implementation of the Federal Information Systems Safeguards Act of 2016 would also not result in the expansion of executive agencies’ duties.

The agency noted that the proposed bill lacks private-sector or intergovernmental mandates based on the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and would not have an impact on the local, state and tribal government budgets.

The proposed legislation could lead to the application of pay-as-you-go procedures since its implementation would affect direct spending of agencies that are not covered by annual appropriations.

CBO added that the enactment of the bill would not result in on-budget deficit growth “in any of the four consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2027.”

The agency made the cost estimate based on the request of House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform on March 1.

CBO: FY 2016 Federal Budget Deficit to Reach $534B
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CBO: FY 2016 Federal Budget Deficit to Reach $534B


budget analysis reviewA new Congressional Budget Office report forecasts the federal budget deficit to hit $534 billion in fiscal year 2016, about $100 billion higher than the agency’s shortfall estimates in the previous fiscal year.

CBO said in the March 2016 report that it predicts public debt to reach 86 percent of gross domestic product by 2026 due to the increase in the federal deficit.

The agency also predicts that increases in interest on federal debt and spending on Medicare and Social Security programs will outpace revenue growth over the next decade.

The budget shortfall will rise from 2.8 percent of GDP in 2016 to 4.9 percent of GDP by 2026, CBO added.

CBO noted that its shortfall projection for fiscal 2016 is about $10 billion lower than its estimates in January.

The agency also reduced its 10-year cumulative deficit forecast to $9.3 trillion between 2017 and 2026, a $95 billion drop from its estimated deficits in January.

CBO said it expects federal revenues and outlays to reach $3.4 trillion and $3.9 trillion, respectively, in 2016.

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Report: USACE, Interior Dept Adopt Cloud-Based Collaboration Tools
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Report: USACE, Interior Dept Adopt Cloud-Based Collaboration Tools


cloudThe Interior Department has adopted a Google-built enterprise platform as part of efforts to integrate the agency’s collaboration and email services into a cloud computing environment, FedTech Magazine reported Monday.

Steve Zurier writes Sylvia Burns, chief information officer at the Interior Department, said that Google Apps for Government works to help the agency track down documents, reduce duplicative tasks and increase efficiency.

The report said the Army Corps of Engineers also looks to cloud-based enterprise file-sharing tools to boost  productivity, collaboration and mobility across the organization.

Gregory Garcia, USACE’s CIO, told the publication the agency found in a pilot program that Microsoft‘s Office 365 works to help agency users perform co-editing and document exchange activities.

USACE also plans to test Skype for Business unified communications platform as part of the initiative.

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