Troops Headed for 1 Percent Pay Raise
Will Feds Get Christmas Eve Off?
Why is Morale So Low at DHS?
The Slowly Shrinking Federal Workforce
Some Federal Managers Just Can't Manage
Paving the Way for Self Plus One Option in FEHBP
AUTHOR ARCHIVES
Aliya Sternstein
Senior Correspondent
Aliya Sternstein reports on cybersecurity and homeland security systems for Nextgov. She has covered technology for nine years at such publications as National Journal's TechnologyDaily, Federal Computer Week and Forbes. Before joining Government Executive, she covered agriculture and derivatives trading for Congressional Quarterly. She has been a guest commentator on C-SPAN, WTOP and Federal News Radio. She is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania.
Pentagon Weighs Enlarging Nuclear Surveillance Program
August 20, 2013
FROM NEXTGOV
The Defense Department is mulling an expansion of a system that essentially eavesdrops on the environment for indications of foreign nuclear tests. The Air Force Technical Applications Center's atomic monitoring system digests seismic, infrasonic, and hydroacoustic data to help verify blasts. A potential new contract would "provide the platform for ...
Coast Guard Aviators Shop for a Course-Plotting iPad App
August 16, 2013
FROM NEXTGOV
The U.S. Coast Guard wants to buy a navigating app, similar to those already used by civilian pilots, for service members who are substituting iPads for flight bags, according to a government solicitation. But the software specifications omit certain safeguards to prevent hackers from hijacking the cockpit, some information technology ...
DHS Awards Contractors $6 Billion for Agency Network Surveillance
August 13, 2013
FROM NEXTGOV
The Homeland Security Department chose 17 vendors for a potential $6 billion network threat-monitoring project that will offer all civilian agencies the services at no cost to them, DHS officials said on Tuesday. The winners include big name federal contractors, such as IBM, General Dynamics and Lockheed Martin. Also on ...
Meet the Anti-Snowden
August 12, 2013
FROM NEXTGOV
Another Pentagon covert operative has left his post at the Defense Department to join the fight for civil liberties. But you probably won’t find him buddying up with ex-National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden any time soon. Former Navy SEAL commando Mike Janke is a spy-turned-privacy advocate. Unlike Snowden, he ...
The Anti-Snowden? Ex-SEAL’s Firm Caught Between Security and Privacy
August 12, 2013 Another Pentagon covert operative has left his post at the Defense Department to join the fight for civil liberties. But you probably won’t find him buddying up with ex-National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden any time soon. Former Navy SEAL commando Mike Janke is a spy-turned-privacy advocate. Unlike Snowden, he ...
DoD's New Anti-Counterfeit Rules Are Confusing Defense Contractors
August 9, 2013 Many contractors admit they will be unable to immediately comply with a rule, taking effect by March 2014, that would require contractors to either develop a new system for detecting counterfeit electronic parts or forego payment. The Pentagon is under pressure to address congressional concerns about the risk of weapons ...
Defense Contractors Aren't Ready to Comply With Anti-Counterfeit Rule
August 8, 2013
FROM NEXTGOV
Many contractors admit they will be unable to immediately comply with a rule, taking effect by March 2014, that would require contractors to either develop a new system for detecting counterfeit electronic parts or forego payment. The Pentagon is under pressure to address congressional concerns about the risk of weapons ...
Report: Joint U.S.-China Aviation Ventures Are More Prone to Cyber Intrusions than U.S. Firms
August 7, 2013
FROM NEXTGOV
This story was updated Thursday for clarification, after one of the report's co-authors provided new information. Not all of the companies reporting "attacks" were successfully attacked. American aerospace firms jointly operated by Chinese companies are nearly two and a half times more at risk of cyberespionage than U.S. enterprises -- ...
Hack Linked To Feds Probably Yielded a List of Tor Users
August 6, 2013
FROM NEXTGOV
An intruder possesses identifying information about some users of the popular identity-masking network Tor, project developers said. The breach is believed to be the work of U.S. authorities hunting for a child porn trafficker. Tor's software allows users to traverse the Internet almost without being traced. Security analysts speculate the ...
Privacy Hamstrings Protection of White House Staff Gmail
August 2, 2013
FROM NEXTGOV
The recent hijacking of White House employees' personal email accounts underscores the difficulty guarding national security when private lives and government roles intersect. Malicious operators netted the personal Gmail and Twitter passwords of several employees who handle White House social media outreach. The Executive Office of the President is not ...
