Congressional Budget Office - Home Page Chief Information Officers Council US Cybersecurity Capability: National Preparedness Report (Translated from the original Italian) The "National Preparedness Report" is an assessment directly commissioned by President Obama on the U.S. capability to respond to terrorist attacks and man-made and natural disasters. Most interesting is the component related to cybersecurity. U.S. Presidential Policy Directive 8 describes the Nation’s response to threats and hazards that pose the greatest risk to the security of the United States, requiring an annual report summarizing the progress made toward building, sustaining, and delivering the 31 core capabilities described in the National Preparedness Goal, The document is called National Preparedness Report (NPR). In this article I will detail the cyber capabilities of the U.S. as presented in the report. (click image to enlarge) In a technology era, this data is really alarming, and let's consider that cyber systems play a fundamental role in the public and private sector. Fundamental is the cooperation between these organizations.
FedStats Cybersecurity President Obama has declared that the “cyber threat is one of the most serious economic and national security challenges we face as a nation” and that “America's economic prosperity in the 21st century will depend on cybersecurity.” As a result, the President directed a top-to-bottom review of the Federal Government's efforts to defend our information and communications infrastructure, which resulted in a report titled the Cyberspace Policy Review. To implement the results of this review, the President has appointed Howard Schmidt to serve at the U.S. Cybersecurity Coordinator and created the Cybersecurity Office within the National Security Staff, which works closely with the Federal Chief Information Officer Steven VanRoekel, the Federal Chief Technology Officer Todd Park, and the National Economic Council.
National Atlas home page The National Map is now offering a collection of small-scale datasets that can be downloaded for free. Although the 1997-2014 Edition of the National Atlas of the United States was retired in September 2014, The National Map recognizes the importance of continuing to make a collection of the small-scale datasets, originally developed for the National Atlas, available to users. Small-scale maps have an advantage over large-scale maps when there is a need to show a large area in a single view. This makes small-scale maps an ideal solution for scientists, decision-makers, and planners needing to provide a geographical context for the research projects. The National Map collection of 197 small-scale datasets can be downloaded at small-scale data download page . Even though the 1997-2014 Edition of the National Atlas has retired, nationalmap.gov will continue to offer the Set of Dynamic Topographic Maps Illustrating Physical Features.
Technology In the face of unprecedented challenges, technological advances can provide a powerful engine for advancing economic growth and new opportunity. It requires policy leadership that understands the immense transformative power of technology and innovation. Harnessing the full power and potential of new technologies can improve the lives of all Americans. Creating a policy environment that fosters technological innovation can help create new jobs, improve the environment, help solve our energy crisis, reduce health care costs, fuel economic growth, extend opportunities to a new generation of Americans, and help make Americans more safe and secure. The Obama Administration and the Office of Science and Technology Policy is committed to advancing a comprehensive technology and innovation plan that will:
Looking back, ahead at federal taxing, spending Looking back, ahead at federal taxing, spending By John Waggoner, Julia Schmalz, Joshua Hatch and William Couch, USA TODAY This tax calculator will give you a rough idea of your federal tax bill — and where your tax money went — from 1940 through 2010. Caveats: The calculator is for a taxpayer who files individually, uses the standard deduction instead of itemizing, and has one exemption. We've adjusted all figures for inflation, using the consumer price index. Regarding how the federal government spends those tax dollars, we broke out each tax bill into the amount that would be allocated among the government's broad spending categories. So, take some time to explore. Questions? Guidelines: You share in the USA TODAY community, so please keep your comments smart and civil.
Top 374 keywords the U.S. government monitors Three months ago, a list of keywords was released by the Dept. for Homeland Security after the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) sued the government for withholding the document. The story has stirred up again by a couple of recent media reports have gotten the social networks sharing the media reports like wildfire. This got me thinking. The U.S. government may not be monitoring everything you say on social media sites, it monitors hundreds of seemingly obvious keywords every minute of the day --- and some that are just plain bizarre. The 39-page "2011 Analyst's Desktop Binder", emblazoned with the Homeland Security seal, dedicates four pages to words ranging from weather terms and cyber security to "south-west border" words and health related terms. As we head into the summer season, you may want to think twice before tweeting about barbeque "pork" or how the "cloud" is ruining the weather --- a thoughtless comment that could end up with your Twitter account being monitored.
US Dept State (Embassies) LEAKED! Here's The White House's Draft Cybersecurity Executive Order Earlier this week, we wrote about how the White House was working on an executive order to act as a "stand in" for cybersecurity legislation that has so far failed to pass Congress (CISPA passed in the House, but a different effort, the Cybersecurity Act, failed in the Senate, and it would have been difficult to get the two houses aligned anyway). Last weekend Jason Miller from Federal News Radio wrote about a draft he saw... but failed to share the actual draft. We got our hands on a draft (and confirmed what it was with multiple sources) and wanted to share it, as these kinds of things deserve public scrutiny and discussion. There is, as expected, plans concerning information sharing -- but again, they're left pretty empty on specifics. Separately, it lists out 16 critical infrastructure "sectors," but those can be interpreted really broadly, which is dangerous.