http://www.gsnmagazine.com en http://www.gsnmagazine.com/cms/features/columns/741.html May 5, 2008 Defense agencies have long understood the inherent insecurity of trusting supply partners without really knowing whoâ€s at the other end of a transaction. More importantly, they understand that this problem is also pervasive within the agency. Now, with federal mandates like HSPD-12 and FIPS 201, civilian agencies are chartered to overcome the same challenges. http://www.gsnmagazine.com/cms/features/columns/704.html May 4, 2008 Much has been written about the migration from conventional analog video surveillance systems to an IP networked based platform. Depending upon specific system requirements, both analog and IP systems have advantages, and in-between there is the alternative of a hybrid system which can deliver the best of both worlds, while providing the flexibility to enhance or expand your system as the need arises. But, there are many additional criteria to consider before a decision can be made when designing and building a new system or upgrading an existing system. http://www.gsnmagazine.com/cms/features/columns/690.html May 2, 2008 Government IT managers must take precautions to ensure federal workers are afforded sufficient access to the right resources during a heightened and continuing emphasis on the elimination of silos and promotion of secure collaboration across and within agencies. http://www.gsnmagazine.com/cms/features/columns/687.html April 30, 2008 Rapid advances in technology create the opportunity to find and process information at an unprecedented rate. However, an unprecedented level of threats are operating against American infrastructure -- ranging from individual hackers to terrorists and foreign governments -- have the potential to disrupt our personal lives, as well as the missions of those organizations that help sustain our way of life. http://www.gsnmagazine.com/cms/features/columns/686.html April 26, 2008 In recent months, there has been a significant increase in the number and ferocity of Web attacks perpetrated by hackers in China. This up-tick in malicious Internet activity involves sophisticated new techniques originating from a centralized group of activities based in China, with one of the malicious Web sites actually belonging to a Chinese government office. http://www.gsnmagazine.com/cms/features/columns/685.html April 24, 2008 Beginning in 2003, computer-based attacks apparently originating in China succeeded in penetrating the defenses of U.S. Government and contractor networks alike. As the story was picked up by mainstream media, federal investigators gave the attacks the moniker ™Titan Rain.™ But that name was soon changed, and both the new designation and details of the attacks associated with it have since been classified. Regardless of the source or motivation behind these attacks, one thing is clear -- these new threats are raising concerns about the safety of our nationâ€s most sensitive data. http://www.gsnmagazine.com/cms/features/columns/684.html April 22, 2008 The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) last year sent ripples through the government security IT world by mandating a move to a standard for federal desktop configurations. The Federal Desktop Core Configuration (FDCC) provides specific security settings which have long been recommended by the National Security Agency (NSA), the National Institute of Standards and Technologies (NIST) and the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA). http://www.gsnmagazine.com/cms/features/columns/682.html April 19, 2008 Following the May 2006 incident involving the theft of a U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) laptop computer, it was clear that we had a need for a formal process for evaluating and responding to data breach incidents. Using BMC Softwareâ€s development tool, the VA has built an infrastructure to document privacy and security incidents via the enterprise deployment of applications such as the PVTS (Privacy Tracking System) and VA-NSOC (VA Network Security Operations Center).