Elizabeth Hyman Posts

A look at the week of June 6 in public advocacy for the IT channel This week, Congress and the White House are pushing legislation to protect the U.S.’s energy grid and infrastructure from cyberattacks.  A new report claims that the information-sharing capabilities enabled by health IT will reduce healthcare’s costs and increase access.  The House Energy and Commerce Committee plans to tackle data breach issues and consumer privacy. Grid Vulnerabilities Trigger Legisla ...

Last week, Speaker John Boehner, Rep. Bob Goodlatte and House Republican Leadership released the Technology Working Group agenda for the 112th Congress.  The agenda focuses on technology issues to help America maintain and expand its competitive edge in the technology sector while creating jobs to fuel economic growth. The key components of the agenda are: Promote spectrum availability and efficiency, Protect the U.S. from cyber attacks, Protect American intellectual property, Promote free and f ...

A look at the week of May 30 in public advocacy for the IT channelThis week, the Pentagon concluded that foreign cyber attacks can be considered an act of war. Lockheed Martin suffered a cyber attack on its networks.  Federal CIO Vivek Kundra expects big financial savings from the federal cloud transition.Cyber Combat Declared an Act of War — The Pentagon has concluded that computer sabotage coming from another country can constitute an act of war, a finding that for the first time opens the doo ...

Last week, through its partnership in TechVoice, CompTIA hosted a webinar session with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) to discuss pending patent reform legislation in the United States Congress.  While there seems to be significant momentum this year to pass comprehensive patent reform legislation, there are several aspects of the legislation that cause concern among small and medium sized technology firms.  We have made the webinar available for viewing and would encourage you to t ...

A look at the week of May 23 in public advocacy for the IT channel Phil Reitinger, the Department of Homeland Security’s top cyber and computer crimes official, is resigning from his position.  A new audit reveals that although the Office of the National Coordinator has established security controls for the sharing of medical data, the controls omit the IT systems hosting the data, posing a significant security threat. Members of the Senate have mixed feelings on the cybersecurity ...

A look at the week of May 16 in public advocacy for the IT channel This week, the Administration unveiled a proposal for cybersecurity in the U.S.  Although health insurers are losing profit to federal reforms, healthcare IT might present an opportunity to recoup some losses.  Some senators are urging the Securities and Exchange Commission to require companies to disclose when they have been victims of cyberattacks.  White House Reveals Cybersecurity Plan — The White Hou ...

Last month we wrote that the Office of National Coordinator at the Department of Health and Human Services had announced its “Federal Health IT Strategic Plan: 2011-2015,” which was last updated in 2008. The plan focuses on implementing key healthcare IT policies over the next five years through coordination between government agencies, the private sector, and the public. The plan outlines five goals: Achieve adoption and information exchange through meaningful use of healthcare I ...

A look at the week of May 9 in public advocacy for the IT channelThis week, a federal program meant to standardize private sector IT could be holding up the federal transition to cloud computing. Officials have decided that the Department of Energy should be given authority to order utilities to take action in the case of a cyber emergency. H-1B visas are on decline due to a lackluster economic recovery in the U.S. and more opportunities in workers’ home countries. Security Remains the Biggest H ...

A look at the week of May 3 in public advocacy for the IT channel This week U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano discussed the need for cybersecurity tactics to be as widespread as the networks themselves.  The new health IT center is attracting bipartisan support as a federal program with high potential for private industry.  Competition to host the government’s cloud computing needs is growing heated. Napolitano: Cybersecurity Is a Public-Private Challenge f ...

A look at the week of April 25 in public advocacy for the IT channel This week, Amazon’s cloud computing malfunction raised questions about the security and reliability of the service.  The Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs plan to collaborate on a joint electronic health record. CompTIA released a new study examining the rise of green IT initiatives in corporations. Amazon’s Trouble Raises Cloud Computing Doubts — As technical problems interrupted computer ...