IT experts intensified the controversy over the Real ID Act this week with warnings that the huge database required may never be secure from ID theft and privacy invasions.
DHS and DOJ have spent $893 million on information-sharing networks in the last two years but still do not have effective networks in place, GAO reported.
The FCC invited public comments this week on a proposal advanced by Frontline Wireless LLC to set aside a 22 MHz block of radio spectrum for a wireless broadband network for first responders.
State CIOs want the federal government to restore the amount of homeland security funding available to them in the president's proposed budget for fiscal 2008 to its fiscal 2007 level.
Terrorists are using the Internet to spread radical ideologies. Countering that movement will require sophisticated communications and online investigations, experts testified at a Senate hearing today.
Civil liberties and consumer groups have started a campaign against the Real ID Act regulations issued by DHS, believing the new ID system will have negative impacts on civil rights.
DHS plans to select a vendor this summer to build a second cross-agency data center, and has directed prospective contractors to propose locations in the Western U.S. to help shield the facility from any major East Coast blackout.
DHS' technology investment management came in for criticism from congressional auditors in a report last week. GAO described risks in the agency's use of technology to implement a port security law in a second report, while noting some progress.
To improve the nation's critical infrastructure protection, DHS and private companies may need to ensure secure operation of major IT systems, the chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee said.
The Coast Guard's $24 billion Deepwater modernization program would be overhauled with increased oversight and open competition under legislation approved Wednesday.
Employer participation is rapidly increasing in DHS' Employment Eligibility Verification program even though the federal databases continue to be riddled with errors and have difficulty communicating with each other.
Police, fire and emergency response agencies can look to the FEMA for a share of $34 million in grants to buy security-related IT applications, video surveillance tools and interoperable communications equipment.
Washington and other states should be more involved in choosing technologies for meeting the Real ID Act of 2005 requirements, according to an industry group.
