Legislative delay hinders technology officials' security work

Federal technology leaders are making progress in coordinating an e-government infrastructure and harmonizing information technology needs in preparation for the proposed Homeland Security Department, a white House official said Wednesday, but the congressional delay in creating the Cabinet-level agency is hampering the effort.

Jim Flyzik, senior adviser to White House Homeland Security Director Tom Ridge, explained the strategies and approaches that his office and federal IT leaders are taking to harmonize government computer systems in order to maximize efficiency and reduce costs. The effort meets both new security needs and e-government goals, he said.

"We are working from a standpoint that we need to do information integration no matter what happens with the proposed Department of Homeland Security down the road, no matter how it finally evolves," Flyzik said at the FedFocus Conference here.

But he warned that "until the legislation comes along, we have to be somewhat guarded in how far we can go in moving forward."

Flyzik, Homeland Security Office Chief Information Officer (CIO) Steven Cooper and members of the White House Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) technology team are developing the proposed department's IT infrastructure, which will underpin both the department and e-government services. Federal officials must define their business processes, and Flyzik and others will help create an overarching computer system to match those processes.

Federal CIOs are reviewing their business practices and outlining features for the homeland security network and how it will interface with other systems. One of their first activities is identifying the data needs of the 22 agencies that would become part of the department.

Many procurement projects have been halted until a plan for the department is approved, but Treasury Department CIO Mayi Canales said not all agencies have "ceased" procurement. "We haven't ceased all of our investments" in technology, she said in Flyzik's video presentation. Rather, the department and agencies are vetting procurement proposals to determine future IT needs and how they will fit into the overall architecture without being redundant.

By the department's first day in business, Flyzik said the technology integration team aims to achieve some key goals, including the consolidation of 58 "watch lists," the launch of a Web portal and the implementation of secure videoconferencing. He also said the Homeland Security Office is considering expansion of regional information-sharing networks online.

Flyzik noted that his office and OMB are working on guidelines for protecting sensitive information that must be shared among agencies and with state and local sectors. The goal is to build a system with "open" standards, he said.

Officials also are trying to keep privacy rights in mind while constructing the computer network. Lee Holcomb, CIO of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, noted in Flyzik's video presentation that the infrastructure initiatives will be "very responsive to privacy concerns."