Bipartisan leaders of the House Select Committee on Homeland Security last month wrote Homeland Security Department Secretary Tom Ridge, pressing him for details on how the department is implementing cybersecurity policies and criticizing DHS for failing to submit a plan to measure its progress.
The government hasn't paid enough attention to protecting the nation's IT infrastructure, even as threats continue to mount, a former CIA director said today.
The Homeland Security Department's Science and Technology Directorate released today a document outlining technology requirements for public safety wireless communications and interoperability.
Analytic Services Inc. was chosen to operate the new Homeland Security Institute, the Homeland Security Department's first federally funded research and development center.
The Homeland Security Department awarded almost 41 percent of its prime contracts to small businesses between the department's creation March 1, 2003, and Sept. 30, 2003, the end of the fiscal year, according to the department's Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization. The annual federal goal for small-business prime contracting is 23 percent.
A team led by Northrop Grumman Corp. has received a $350 million contract to build the Homeland Secure Data Network for transmitting classified information.
A state's administrative agency is one of the first places contractors should look for DHS' grant money, which begins its flow through these agencies, said Mark Dozier, branch chief for the eastern division with the State and Local Operations Directorate in DHS' Office of Domestic Preparedness. Dozier spoke this morning at a grant seminar sponsored by market research firm Input Inc.
Widespread use of radio frequency identification technology throughout commercial industry could help the Homeland Security Department do its job better, a department official said today.
Governments need performance standards to measure their ability to prevent and respond to terrorist incidents, a top private sector official said today.
Traditionally, state and local governments are risk-adverse organizations. Public-sector entities often shun bleeding-edge technology in favor of proven, safe solutions.
Imagine if the federal, state and local agencies tasked with protecting citizens could share information as easily as music pirates swap illegal recordings online. In the days surrounding New Year's 2004, they did.
Despite pervasive problems, government and industry have taken some positive steps toward creating interoperable wireless communications in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
When Anaheim, Calif., Police Chief Roger Baker met with Homeland Security Department officials last September in Washington to see about getting grant money for a regional emergency management system, he brought along four officials from EDS Corp. "It was a chance for Anaheim to get its idea before a federal department for both awareness and validation," said <b>Steve Hutchens</b>, client industry executive for homeland security and one of the EDS officials who accompanied Baker.
For three days last month, tech companies took center stage at the 2004 FOSE trade show in Washington. They demonstrated products, discussed the government IT market and sought business partners for contract bids.
The Homeland Security Department will have integrated IT systems for its multiple agencies by the end of the year, Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge said today.
