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Shedding Sunshine On Cyber Security
by Chloe Albanesius and Maureen Sirhal
Florida is nearing completion of a new organization crafted to help bolster computer and network security and guard the state's critical infrastructure, a state official said on Wednesday.
Robert Breeden, the supervisory agent at the computer-crime division of Florida's Law Enforcement Department, told National Journal's Technology Daily that his agency, in partnership with the State Technology Office, has implemented about 80 percent of the structure for a new cyber-security organization.
Granted $900,000 by state lawmakers last year, the department began developing the Florida Infrastructure Protection Center (FIPC), which will be responsible for protecting critical systems of the state's information technology sector and other infrastructures. FIPC is tasked with "anticipating and preventing acts of terrorism" and responding to cyber attacks, Breeden said.
The center will provide computer-response services and will be the point of contact for cyber-security alerts to both government agencies and businesses around the state. Additionally, FIPC will help coordinate a campaign to educate consumers and state employees about the importance of computer security.
So far, the initiative is about 80 percent implemented, Breeden said. FIPC already has created a statewide team to respond to incidents such as computer-network intrusions. It also has trained teams within state agencies to help respond to and prevent such incidents.
The enforcement department hopes to finish training teams for all 30 agencies and the judiciary by the end of next week. The agency also is moving forward with its educational campaign, the Secure Florida Initiative.
The state's law-enforcement agency this week awarded a contract to Virginia-based TruSecure to provide security intelligence and services toward fully implementing FIPC. Under the contract, FIPC will be allowed to send computer-virus alerts and other security warnings to state agencies, as well as to consumers and businesses. TruSecure also is working with state agencies to provide computer-vulnerability testing and other services, Breeden said.
"Florida is leading the nation" in cyber-security initiatives, Breeden said. As one of the first such state efforts, FIPC is working closely with federal cyber-security experts. FIPC officials spent a week training at FBI headquarters last fall and worked with the National Infrastructure Protection Center, which is now part of the Homeland Security Department.
N.D. Governor Touts Online Services
North Dakota has introduced 16 online services in the past year, helping to push the percentage of online users in the state to 68 percent, or 11 percent higher than the national average, Gov. John Hoeven said on Monday.
He told attendees at an e-government conference in Washington that one of the state's main initiatives is Statewide Technology Access for Government and Education (STAGEnet), an information network developed by private telecommunications companies and the state IT department. "Internet access is never more than 15 minutes away," Hoeven said.
A primary focus is education, with STAGEnet allowing for a "virtual school system" via remote classrooms. "It has brought fresh experiences to our young people ... [and] is enhancing rural economic development," he said.
North Dakota's other large project is Connect ND. Partnering with the firms PeopleSoft and Maximus, the government developed a system to connect state government and higher education. The program, Hoeven said, will improve information sharing, "provide tools to further e-government for citizens [and] lower operating costs through more efficient processes."
The main obstacles to technological advancement were distance and resources, he said. "One challenge is [our] geographical distance from large metro centers, where our skills, education and work ethic are prized," Hoeven said. And "a big issue, rural or urban, is coordination between federal, state and local officials" in terms of resource allocation.
Gov. Owens Defends Veto Of Anti-Piracy Bill
Colorado Gov. Bill Owens defended his recent veto of a measure that is designed to curtail piracy of online digital content.
Owens, a Republican, said after giving a speech at the Cato Institute on Wednesday that he opposed the Hollywood-backed measure, H.B. 1303, because it was "anti-innovation and anti-consumed. He also said it contained "too much structure to protect Hollywood."
But Owens said he would be willing to revisit the issue. "If they come back with a better bill next year, it is something I'd look at," he said.
The bill would have extended to new Internet-based services such as online movies the current state prohibitions on the theft of telecommunications and cable signals. But the measure contained language that consumer advocates said would have barred the development and sale of legal devices if they could be used to pirate digital content.
Funding For Washington Universities Questioned
Some Washington state lawmakers are skeptical that colleges need $750 million for renovations of classrooms and science laboratories, The Seattle Times reported.
Democratic state Rep. Hans Dunshee penned a budget plan that would allocate $170 million for higher-education construction, and legislators later approved an additional $580 million that could be borrowed and spent by the universities. The plan awaits the governor's signature.
Opponents of the proposal, however, point to a recent state study that said four-year colleges have ample space for students, though two-year colleges are suffering in that area. More specifically, the Higher Education Coordinating Board found that four-year institutions could enroll 39,000 more students before renovations are necessary. The two-year programs, on the other hand, have an excess of 35,000 students.
Educators said the report is deceptive because analyzing mere empty space is not sufficient. They said some of the money is needed to update technology in classrooms.
The board identified the University of Washington as a school with more than enough space, but the school's director of capital space and planning, Marilyn Cox, said, "We're pretty much full."
Subsequently, a bipartisan working group created by the House Capital Budget Committee last year found that "there appears to be about enough capacity" to deal with the growing number of students through 2010.
The plan originated with former Govs. Dan Evans and Booth Gardner. The two asked the state to increase its debt limit and borrow an additional $170 billion for school construction. Lawmakers approved a $750 million debt-limit increase, with $170 million as the first two-year installment.
Virginia Snags E-Government Award
Virginia's eVA system for electronic procurement has been honored as the 2003 State Government Innovator. The award was given as part of the Digital Government Awards ceremony this week during an e-government conference in Washington, D.C.
The system is an Internet-based procurement system that links the state's agencies, local governments and higher education institutions for the purchase of goods and services. It enables information sharing and open bidding on state contracts to a broader spectrum of vendors. Since the system's inception, more than 118,700 orders have run through eVA, with a total value of more than $706 million.
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology's School of Architecture and Planning and the Accenture consulting firm selected the e-government winners from some 200 nominations. Entrants won based on "best practices" in existing services delivered via the Internet. A panel of judges reviewed submissions online and awarded honors based on creativity and innovation.
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