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THURSDAY, JULY 17, 2008 SUBSCRIBE
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ARTICLES Veterans Affairs further streamlines benefits application process Technology lacking to scan cargo pallets on planes Congress threatens to block rule to have airlines pay for foreign-exit system GAO finds progress with FBI case management system TECH INSIDER What’s being discussed in the federal IT community Does DHS Need an Exit System? Well, Some Info is Better than No Info WEB HEADLINES Today’s IT news from around the Web
How secure are your systems?You may have an A on your FISMA report card, but your systems still may not be secure, security analysts say. Take the FISMA vs. Security Self-Assessment Test to find out how secure your network systems really are. ARTICLES Veterans Affairs further streamlines benefits application process BY BOB BREWIN, BBREWIN@GOVEXEC.COM The Veterans Affairs Department announced on Wednesday that its online benefits application process now is completely paperless. VA no longer will require veterans to submit a signed paper copy of a benefit application in addition to the electronic version. The department will process applications received through its Veterans Online Applications Web site without a signature as the electronic application will be sufficient authentication. Veterans, their survivors and beneficiaries will be able to file electronic applications for disability compensation, pension, education, and vocational rehabilitation and employment benefits without submitting a signed paper copy, according to VA. “We applaud the Department of Veterans Affairs for making the online application process simpler and more users friendly,” said Gerald Manar, deputy director of the Veterans of Foreign Wars’ National Veterans Service. He added the paper-copy signature requirement along with the electronic application often resulted in “substantial delays in processing claims.” A VA spokeswoman did not respond in time for publication to a question on how long the department has operated its online application system. Full story: http://www.nextgov.com/nextgov/ng_20080716_9291.php?zone=ngtoday RETURN TO TOP Technology lacking to scan cargo pallets on planes BY GAUTHAM NAGESH, GNAGESH@GOVEXEC.COM A lack of technology may prevent the Transportation Security Administration from achieving a mandate to screen all cargo on passenger airplanes by 2010, agency security officials told a House subcommittee on Wednesday. TSA, which Congress mandated must screen all cargo loaded on airplanes to check for materials that can be used in a terrorist attack, cannot find technology that can screen packages loaded on pallets, said James Tuttle, director of the explosives division at the Science and Technology Directorate at the Homeland Security Department. Pallets are platforms that hold large quantities of goods that have been wrapped together to make packing and loading easier. “The biggest problem is the size of the pallets,” Tuttle told a hearing of the House Subcommittee on Transportation. “There is not technology that can screen a whole pallet, period. There’s nothing even close.” Full story: http://www.nextgov.com/nextgov/ng_20080716_1870.php?zone=ngtoday RETURN TO TOP Brought to you by Ciena Congress threatens to block rule to have airlines pay for foreign-exit system BY JILL R. AITORO, JAITORO@GOVEXEC.COM Congress threatened on Wednesday to block a proposed rule by the Homeland Security Department that would require airlines to pay for a system that would collect biometric data to verify the identities of foreign visitors when they leave the United States. At a hearing of the Border, Maritime and Global Counterterrorism Subcommittee, members questioned DHS’ argument for placing the burden of paying for a collection system on airlines, especially given the industry’s financial strains brought about by higher fuel costs. “We’re not interested in passing costs on to airlines,” said Loretta Sanchez, D-Calif., chairwoman of the subcommittee. “If you move forward with the rule, you may get blocked quickly by this body.” DHS has until June 2009 to implement a system that uses biometric features such as fingerprints to verify the identities of foreign travelers who leave the United States. If the department misses the deadline, it could lose funding to expand the Visa Waiver Program, which allows citizens of specific countries to travel to the United States for a limited time without obtaining a visa. Full story: http://www.nextgov.com/nextgov/ng_20080716_4729.php?zone=ngtoday RETURN TO TOP GAO finds progress with FBI case management system BY ROBERT BRODSKY, RBRODSKY@GOVEXEC.COM The FBI has made significant strides in turning around its troubled automated case management system, but additional steps are needed to keep better track of equipment, according to a watchdog agency report released on Tuesday. The Government Accountability Office found that the FBI has improved considerably internal controls over the much-delayed system known as Sentinel. GAO did not find any questionable contractor payments or missing assets. The report, however, identified material weaknesses in a number of areas, including an asset-tracking database developed and administered by the program’s contractor, Lockheed Martin Corp. Full story: http://www.nextgov.com/nextgov/ng_20080716_4317.php?zone=ngtoday RETURN TO TOP
TECH INSIDER What’s being discussed in the federal IT community Does DHS Need an Exit System? BY ALLAN HOLMES \| 7/16/08 \| 6:14 P.M. ET The following item was posted by Nextgov senior reporter Jill R. Aitoro. In a House hearing on Wednesday about a proposed plan for collection of non-citizens’ biometric data upon exit from the United States, assistant professor Nathan Sales of George Mason University School of Law made an interesting observation: “Frankly, exit controls are less vital than entry controls. It’s more important to know if we’re keeping [terrorists] out, than to know if they left.” Read More: http://techinsider.nextgov.com/2008/07/does_dhs_need_an_exit_system.php RETURN TO TOP Well, Some Info is Better than No Info BY ROBERT CHARETTE \| 7/15/08 \| 2:45 P.M. ET The Agriculture Department’s announced on Friday that it is going to start telling consumers in 30 days about which retail stores have received recalled poultry or meat. Previously, the USDA’s Food Safety Inspection Service would announce that there was a recall, provide a description of the recalled product, along with any identifying brand names or product codes, but not where the tainted food products were being sold. Now, within three to 10 days of a recall notice, the Food Safety Inspection Service will provide the retail store information. According to the Agriculture Department, “the list of retail stores and locations compiled by FSIS personnel during this process will be posted on the FSIS Web site www.fsis.usda.gov and shared with state and local public health officials where the retail stores are located.” Read More: http://techinsider.nextgov.com/2008/07/well_some_info_is_better_than_1.php RETURN TO TOP
WEB HEADLINES Today’s IT news from around the Web Headlines from around the Web for Wednesday, July 16, 2008 Compiled by Melanie BenderGovernment, health care Web sites attacked Government Computer News A scan of Web servers by Internet security company Finjan Inc. has found more than 1,000 legitimate Web sites that had been compromised by a new wave of attacks in recent weeks. Of the compromised sites, which serve up malicious code to unsuspecting visitors, 13 percent belonged to government and 12 percent to health care organizations, said Finjan Chief Technology Officer Yuval Ben-Itzhak. Bill would require more privacy officers Federal Computer Week A bill under consideration in the House of Representatives, H.R. 5170, would require a privacy officer in each of the Homeland Security Department’s components. The legislation seeks to strengthen DHS’ privacy protection efforts. Computer engineer keeping quiet on lockout San Francisco Chronicle The San Francisco computer engineer charged with masterminding a cyber-coup of the city’s network is being paid as he sits in jail, refusing to allow other administrators to get into the system that controls e-mails, law enforcement records and payroll documents, authorities said on Tuesday. Shutdown of ‘lifeline’ to hit rural police forces hard USA Today A federally funded computer service that has connected thousands of rural police to critical Internet and e-mail access is shutting down at the end of the month, jeopardizing service for 1,500 users in at least 20 states, police officials say. Police agencies in the most isolated parts of rural America will be hardest hit, according to one rural official. Survey: Millions believe personal medical records have been compromised Government Technology A Harris Poll conducted online shows that while responses in this poll may not represent actual breaches of medical information, there are a significant number of Americans who believe their personal medical information has been compromised by organizations that store it. San Francisco testing smartphone parking program InformationWeek As part of a $95.9 million program to ease traffic congestion on the city’s busy streets, 4-by-4-inch sensors will be glued to the pavement on 25 percent of the metered parking spaces this fall. These devices are embedded with a wireless sensor that can determine in real time whether the spaces are occupied or vacant, and transmit the information to city transit offices. The offices, in turn, can send the data to Web sites that drivers can check using smartphones with mobile Internet access. Baseball goes high tech to fight piracy InformationWeek Major League Baseball unveiled a high-tech system on Tuesday for tracking baseballs that batters have slugged out of the field in a bid to crack down on piracy in sports memorabilia. The system, launched at the All-Star game at New York’s Yankee Stadium, uses electronic hologram identifiers stamped on baseballs. Nonprofit tapping social networking to help ex-soldiers nab civilian jobs NetworkWorld In the face of astonishingly high unemployment rates among enlisted military personnel returning to post-war life, nonprofit group Hire a Hero is empowering soldiers with social networking savvy to help them transition to the civilian workforce. The organization uses the community and social networking features of YourMembership.com and online relationship management services donated by Salesforce.com. RETURN TO TOP News By Agency What’s new at your agency? You now have a simple way to find out: Our new feature provides an agency-by-agency breakdown of recent news coverage on GovernmentExecutive.com. Just click on the link to your agency and bookmark it for future reference.
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