Friday, October 01, 2004

Homeland Security, Interoperability, and Cybersecurity Month The GAO release a very good report earlier this week, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY: Formidable Information and Technology Management Challenge Requires Institutional Approach.  This report offers some very nice models on the key elements of effective IT management. Governor Walker declared October as Cyber Security Awareness Month this morning.  There will be a national webcast sponsored by the Multi-State ISAC on October 19th.  Also today, Amit Yoran, head of the National Cyber Security Division resigned after just a year in the position. USDA, FDA, and Homeland Security have signed an agreement with the states to increase integration of efforts to secure the nation's food supply. John mentions that the Danish eGovernment Interoperability Framework is now live. Florida just cancelled two contracts that would have outsourced software maintenance and help desk operations valued at $173 million.  According to the article, this was part of Gov. Bush's initiative to centralize information technology in the state which appears to be struggling. Here's an article in CIO magazine on the issue I've been struggling with a lot over the past year: Cost Cutting versus Innovation. Here's a great article on XML standards being implemented by the federal government.  The article argues that there is a need for web services standards to be developed from the top-down, but also to percolate from the bottom - up.  I hope they remember that there is also a need to continue to communicate with the states which are still working on their own solutions out of need and have developed some very innovative solutions to the interoperability problem. 6:04:58 PM    comment []

© Copyright 2004 David Fletcher.