Federal Websites Knocked Out by Cyber Attack

A widespread and unusually resilient computer attack that began July 4 knocked out the websites of several government agencies, including some that are responsible for fighting cyber crime, The Associated Press has reported.

The Treasury Department, Secret Service, Federal Trade Commission and Transportation Department sites were all down at varying points over the holiday weekend and into this week, according to officials inside and outside the government. Some of the sites were still experiencing problems on the evening of July 7.

Federal government officials refused to publicly discuss any details of the cyber attack, and would only generally acknowledge that it occurred. It was not clear whether other government sites also were attacked.

Others familiar with the outage, which is called a denial of service attack, said that the fact that the government sites were still being affected three days after it began signaled an unusually lengthy and sophisticated attack.

Read the entire article at Yahoo! Finance.

San Francisco Uses Twitter for Residents' Complaints

According to TechChrunch, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom and Twitter co-founder Biz Stone announced recently that San Francisco residents can now send direct messages via Twitter to the City @SF311, to complain about street cleanings, graffiti, potholes, abandoned vehicles, garbage issues, noise complaints and more. The useful part of the new service is the ability to send pictures or video of various offenses.

Once a resident submits a direct message to @SF311, he or she will receive a service request number. Apparently, there is a city staff member devoted to handling and responding to @SF311 Tweets.

Will Twitter helps make the city’s response more speedy? Mayor Newsom is a big fan of Twitter and even announced his bid for governor of California via the microblog site.

You can send your thoughts, questions and complaints via Twitter to the Library @troylib, or to the Technology Department @tpltechnology.

First Ever Federal Chief Technology Officer Named

President Barack Obama has named Aneesh Paul Chopra as his choice for Chief Technology Officer. Chopra currently serves as Virginia’s Secretary of Technology, and has previous acted as the Managing Director for the Advisory Board Company, where he advised executives on health care operations.

The CTO will be an assistant to the President, and the Associate Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. He will work to develop and implement the President’s technology agenda.

During his time as Virginia’s Secretary of Technology, Chopra championed several technology initiatives, including partnering with Cox and Comcast to broadcast free GED classes to Virginian residents; integrating iTunes U with Virginia's state education assessment framework; and creating a Ning-based social network to connect clinicians working in small health care offices in remote locations.

Chopra was recently recognized by Government Technology Magazine for excellent use of technology to improve government, and he was awarded Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society’s 2007 State Leadership Advocacy Award.

For more information on Chopra, see Tim O’Reilly’s post Why Aneesh Chopra is a Great Choice for Federal CTO.

[via TechCruch]

New Social Networking Site for Unemployed

The University of Michigan’s School of Information and the United Way for Southeastern Michigan have teamed up to create Neighbors4Neighbors, an interactive website that uses social networking technology to connect unemployed workers with each other.

Visitors to the site can get and give advice on the things that matter when someone loses a job. The site has two components, an online discussion forum that lets people share advice with each other, and a “widget,” or online program that can be put on partnering websites that have information for the unemployed. Questions and comments that are created via the widgets on partnering sites will be mirrored on the Neighbors4Neighbors discussion forums.

“This site demonstrates an efficient, low-cost application of social computing,” Professor Paul Resnick, the primary architect of the site, explains. “Many sites already aim to help unemployed workers find information or job leads, but they don’t have a way to connect everyone who is visiting the page. Neighbors4Neighbors pulls people and information together to create a community.”

Neighbors4Neighbors is a project of Michigan Governor Jennifer M. Granholm’s Keep Michigan Working Task Force.

No Federal Chief Technology Officer, Yet

During his election campaign, President Barack Obama used technology in unprecedented ways. In addition, he promised that, as president, he would name a Chief Technology Officer, to move the federal government into 21st century.

However today, nearly 100 days into his term, the President has yet to name a such an Officer, reports TechCrunch:

[I]t’s confusing as to why the President is taking his sweet time to appoint a CTO, when there are clear issues that a CTO could be working on. For starters, there are tech-centric issues like the FCC’s National Broadband Plan to give all American’s high speed Internet access, and the DTV Delay Act, which was signed into law in early February. There’s the Open Government initiative, through Change.gov, which seems to be in a stalemate. And certainly a CTO could lend his or her expertise and leadership in incorporating technology into the President’s health-care, education and energy initiatives. Take a look at the technology issues page of the White House’s website for a more extensive to-do list awaiting our future CTO.

As the FCC has just called for a discussion on a national broadband plan. It would have been good to have a CTO on board to guide this discussion. I hope the Administration fills this position in a timely manner.

Comment on a National Broadband Plan

As I wrote a few days ago, the U.S. Federal Communications Commission is seeking public input on how to make broadband accessible and affordable across the United States. The plan will be delivered to Congress next February. The recently-passed Reinvestment Act stimulus contains $7.2 billion for broadband projects.

In you would like to express your ideas on a nationwide broadband plan, go to page 41 of this FCC Notice of Inquiry (.pdf). The deadline for comments is June 8.

FCC Begins Development of National Broadband Plan

The U.S. Federal Communications Commission has begun developing a national broadband plan, with the goal of improving access to high-speed Internet in the United States. The plan, required under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, will be delivered to Congress by February 17, 2010. The Reinvestment Act contains $7.2 billion for broadband projects.

Part of this plan will include a public comment process, which will request input on how to ensure all Americans have access to affordable broadband, and suggestions for broadband applications for health care, public safety, energy independence, and other areas. The public comment process is scheduled to begin shortly.

[via MuniWireless]

New Source of Reliable, Health Information on the Web

Are you looking for reliable health information on the Internet? Check out healthfinder.gov, a new website of the National Health Information Center of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Available in English and Spanish, healthfinder.gov is full of personalized, actionable health and wellness information and tools presented in an easy-to-read format with simple navigation. Some features of the site include:

• Quick-reference health guides with facts, actions, and Start Today tips;
• Personalized health recommendations based on age and sex;
• Interactive tools like menu planners, calorie counters, videos, and online checkups;
• Information on specific disease prevention topics;
• Lists of questions patients can take to the doctor;
• Links to information from more than 1,600 government and nonprofit organizations;
• Tools to locate health care providers including federally funded health centers that care for patients, even if they do not have health insurance; and
• A calendar of national health observances, useful in promoting health events.

Visit healthfinder.gov and see for yourself why it is listed as one of the Medical Library Association’s Top Ten Most Useful Web Sites. A good place to start is with this tour.

Will Federal Data Be in the Clouds?

Some of the largest technology companies -- including Amazon and Microsoft -- want federal government agencies to house data on the companies' servers, "in the clouds," instead of on government servers, according to Kim Hart writing for the Washington Post. The companies argue that such outsourcing of data storage is a way to cut costs and boost efficiency.

The housing of much personal government data on corporate servers makes me nervous. I think that the new Administration in Washington should consider a technological makeover of municipal, state, and federal government. That would be a spending bill that, I believe, would have merit.

More Information on the Recovery and Reinvestment Act

Following the progress of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009 – the stimulus bill? Check out these sites:

view a map with links to each state's recovery web page, that helps explain how they are spending funds allocated by the Act;

the Department of Education's economic stimulus webpage; and

the Department of Labor announced funding for employment and training
programs under ARRA.

Governing during the Internet Age: Whitehouse.gov Receives a Makeover

At the same moment that Barack Obama became the 44th President of the United States, whitehouse.gov – the official website of the President – received an extreme makeover. The site will now allow users to find the President’s schedule, video addresses, executive orders, and other news. And, of course, the revised site comes with a blog.

President Obama used the Internet to an unprecedented degree during the campaign, as a media and organizing tool. For some of the challenges he will face governing during the Internet age, see Wired.com’s, The Wired Presidency: Can Obama Really Reboot the White House?