Government

The impact of the U.S. government budget impasse on federal information technology operations is likely to be minimal if the duration of the shutdown is relatively short. However, as the suspension of federal agency operations enters its third week, federal IT vendors are finding themselves in an in...

The Obama administration has upheld a ban won by Apple earlier this year that requires Samsung Electronics to stop importing certain smartphones and tablets into the U.S. U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman made the announcement on Tuesday morning. "After carefully weighing policy consideration...

In a paperless society, office file cabinets may become an endangered species. However, the need to store documents will remain. The U.S. government is struggling to develop efficient means to retain billions of electronic messages. NARA is playing a central role in the government-wide effort to ret...

Vendors seeking to obtain federal information technology contracts are regularly challenged to deal with a variety of complex factors. These include negotiating special IT security requirements, tricky service level agreements, and a growing number of government contracting vehicles that have been d...

Ambitious plans to improve federal information technology systems could easily founder on the shoals of deficient networks. Government agencies currently are striving to meet the challenges associated with initiatives in five major areas: cloud technology; Big Data management; cybersecurity requirem...

Protection of intellectual property is a major element in the highly competitive world of information technology. The scope of protection affects not only providers such as software developers but also the users of software products. Software patent litigation has increased significantly, according ...

Any time the U.S. government signals it is embarking on a program to invest tens of billions of dollars, potential vendors take notice -- especially during a time of spending restraint. The federal government, through the General Services Administration, has launched a new program for the procuremen...

Federal spending for information technology has peaked. It will decline at a gradual annual pace for at least the next several years, but cumulatively it will amount to a significant amount of money. However, vendors that can provide the IT services that are moving to the top of the government's req...

The U.S. Interior Department has embarked on a major transition to cloud technology that could result in its spending $10 billion on the program over nine years. DOI selected 10 vendors to participate in the program last May, and since then the vendors have been announcing definitive contracts with...

The continuing flood of news about the NSA's surveillance of Americans' communications, which has already forced secure email providers Lavabit and Silent Circle to shut down, has now claimed yet another victim. Specifically, award-winning tech legal news site Groklaw, which served the free and open...

Following the voluntary shutdown of two secure email services to prevent the NSA from obtaining information about their subscribers, Internet bad boy Kim Dotcom's cloud-based file hosting service Mega is stepping up. The company is working on a secure, encrypted email service that will extend the en...

The White House this week released a set of incentives designed to encourage private companies to join the administration in its efforts to cut down on cyberattacks. The initiatives are a follow-up to the cybersecurity executive order President Obama signed in February, following Congress' failure t...

Mobile device users' privacy will be safeguarded under a new transparency code of conduct created in an effort involving 40 groups ranging from businesses to advocacy groups and led by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration. NTIA Administrator Lawrence E. Strickling hailed ...

Both the White House and Congress have asserted that protecting the nation's resources from cyberattacks is a top priority. Yet enacting legislation designed to enhance security for critical infrastructure components such as water, power, telecom and transport facilities that is acceptable to both p...

The Business Software Alliance reportedly is pushing to overturn the U.S. International Trade Commission's ban against older iPhones and iPads, maintaining that it would set a dangerous precedent. When the ITC makes a decision to ban a particular product for import into the U.S., it is fast and usua...