Government IT News For VARs — August 20, 2014
By Christine Kern, contributing writer
In news this week, the Department of Defense (DoD) has received permission to begin migrating certain military data to the cloud. The DoD has instituted an overall mobility plan, supported by DISA. Meanwhile, cyber spies have hacked into the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) contractor’s data. In other news, U.S. IT exports are much higher than many perceive. Also, a new study can help government agencies figure out which cloud system is right for them.
DoD Greenlights Cloud Computing Pilots For Sensitive Military Data
FedTech Magazine reports that The Defense Department will begin testing models for hosting some sensitive data in commercially operated cloud environments. DoD’s acting CIO, Terry Halvorsen, says the department will announce five pilots within the next 20 days. DoD recently received permission to begin migrating level 3 and level 4 military data to the cloud. These classification levels are for controlled unclassified information (CUI), which includes data that are for official use only (FOUO), law enforcement sensitive (LES) or DoD unclassified controlled nuclear information. DoD will not use the “open cloud,” but rather DoD will host data in semi-private cloud or government-only clouds offered by the private sector.
How The Defense Department Tackles Enterprise Mobility
This article from FedTech Magazine examines how the DoD’s massive mobile deployment seeks to boost productivity and cut costs. The Navy is launching a new generation of smartphones and tablets, backed by a detailed implementation strategy. Like the DOD’s overall mobility plan, the Navy’s focuses heavily on products, security, and applications. The Navy hopes to use the Defense Information Systems Agency’s (DISA’s) centralized app store and is looking into using DISA’s mobile device management (MDM) software to centrally configure, monitor, and secure devices. In 2013, the Department of Defense developed an enterprise wide strategy to use commercial mobile devices for unclassified and classified networks. It tasked DISA with implementing it.
Cyber Spies Help Themselves To DHS Contractor Data
E-commerce Times reported that cyber spies have breached a DHS contractor’s network, likely gleaning information from individuals’ background checks that could be very useful to phishers. “Our internal IT security team recently identified an apparent external cyber-attack on USIS’ corporate network,” said US Investigation Services, which performs security clearances for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, in a statement. The scope of the breach has not been disclosed. Although it’s difficult to prove the origin of attacks like the one on USIS, security experts say that the company’s assertion that a foreign country may be behind the intrusion appears credible.
Trade Agreements Push U.S. IT Export Gains
A recent market report argues that the perception that the United States lags behind other countries, especially Asian nations, in exporting information technology deserves another look. According to the TechAmerica Foundation, the U.S. actually recorded a trade surplus in IT in 2011, partly as the result of international trade agreements. U.S. tech trade of goods and services tops more than $1 trillion according to their latest whitepaper. The paper examines the latest data on the exports and imports of both tech goods and services, showing their significance to the U.S. economy.
New Report Assists Government Departments And Agencies In Choosing Cloud Storage
A new TechAmerica Guide serves to assist departments and agencies with their transition to cloud-based service models, a strategic priority for federal government under its Cloud First initiative. The report highlights industry best practices and case studies to provide guidance on successful implementation models and a clear path for adopting cloud services. The report outlines a series of recommendations, including suggesting that agencies: map agency priorities; understand the security requirements; take advantage of government-wide cloud initiatives; look beyond hype to include people and process in decision-making; leverage a common service measurement framework to evaluate providers; and understand timing and triggers for considering cloud deployment.
For more news and insights, visit BSMinfo’s Government IT Resource Center.