Government IT News For VARs — November 12, 2014
By Christine Kern, contributing writer
In news this week, debunking some mobile security myths, federal cloud contract deficiencies could compromise investments, and Silk Road 2.0 is taken down. Also, IBM assists in the Ebola fight with its Open Data Repository, and a new survey reveals the top IT initiatives for 2015.
Three Dangerous Mobile Security Myths
Fed Tech Magazine points out three myths about mobile security that can leave agencies at risk. The myths include the idea that mobile apps from trusted brands must be “safe,” that SMS cannot be compromised, and that smartphones don’t need anti-malware software. The article concludes, “Good security practices include policies, strong authentication, data encryption, user education and training, regular reinforcement and, ultimately, building a culture of information security and integrity.”
Deficiencies in Cloud Contracts Could Compromise Federal Investments
The e-Commerce Times reports that according to a recent Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency (CIGIE) report, deficiencies in cloud contracts could compromise the efficacy of investments by federal agencies. The report found a number of deficiencies, affecting information security, service level agreements, government investigators’ access to vendors, and contractor performance, according to e-Commerce Times. Released in September, the study was conducted by the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency and analyzed 77 cloud service contracts (out of 348 such agreements) with a total value of $1.6 billion.
Europol Takes Down Dark Market Silk Road 2.0
The e-Commerce Times reports that a team of agents from the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the FBI, and Eurojust cooperated to bring down more than 400 cybercrime services. The seized sites included Silk Road 2.0, whose operator Blake Benthall was arrested. The takedown was called “Operation Onymous,” and was coordinated by Europol. According to The e-Commerce Times, the arrests may give the FBI and NSA added ammunition in their efforts to gain surveillance of all Internet communications.
IBM Helps Fight Ebola With Open Data Tech
This article from Information Week examines how IBM’s new West African lab is using open data and other technologies to provide ways of containing the outbreak of Ebola in Sierra Leone and Nigeria. Citizens may now file reports via SMS or voice calls, thanks to a citizen engagement and analytics system introduced by IBM in West Africa. IBM also has announced that it is working on a cloud-based Ebola Open Data Repository to provide governments, humanitarian organizations, and researchers with access to open data regarding the epidemic.
Government IT Talking Points
Information Week asked its readers to rate more than 30 IT initiatives in terms of importance and current leadership focus, and here are the top five. Security, not surprisingly, topped the list, with 86 percent saying that locking down data was crucial. Sixty-nine percent then said that disaster recovery planning/continuity planning was significant, followed by digitizing and protecting records (49 percent), closing redundant facilities (48 percent), and coping with the storage and growth of data (49 percent). Meanwhile, at the bottom of the priority list are IT process improvement, green IT, social network technologies, VoIP, and BYOD.
For more news and insights, visit BSMinfo’s Government IT Resource Center.