Senate passes bill to avoid government shutdown, without Trump's requested funding for border wall

DAVID RAMSEY | December 20, 2018 | 90 views

The Senate last night passed a stopgap measure to keep the government funded and avoid a shutdown. The funding bill does not include President Trump's requested $5 billion for a wall at the nation's southern border. Trump has promised that the wall will be big, and that it will be beautiful. He had previously promised that Mexico would pay for the wall. More recently, he has stated that he would be "proud" to shut down the government if Congress doesn't force U.S. taxpayers to pay for it.

Spotlight

City of Yonkers Parks, Recreation and Conservation

Yonkers offers a terrific lifestyle for families, young professionals, seniors or those just passing through. If the outdoors is your thing, there’s always a place for you in Yonkers, regardless of your age or fitness level. You can kayak and boat on the Hudson River or walk along our waterfront esplanade, relax at Untermyer Gardens, enjoy dozens of City parks or play at the 161-acre Tibbetts Brook Park, golf at two courses, enjoy miles of biking, hiking and walking trails, and participate in one of the dozens of recreational programs offered by our Department of Parks, Recreation and Conservation.

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Government Business

FTC Issues Guidance on Using Artificial Intelligence (AI) with Regard to FCRA

Article | July 14, 2022

On April 8, 2020, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) – a United States government agency that is the nation’s primary privacy and data security enforcer – issued guidance to businesses on the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) for machine learning technology and automated decision making with regard to federal laws that included the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) that regulates background checks for employment purposes.

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Emerging Technology

COVID-19: How do we get out of this quagmire?

Article | July 16, 2022

The COVID-19 virus (C19) pandemic is turning out to be the event of the century. Even World War seems timid in comparison. We are in the 4th month of the virus (in non-China countries) and have gone past the lockdown in many places. Isn’t it time we re-think the approach? What if there is another wave of C19 coming soon? What if C19 is the first of many such events in the future? Before we get into analysis and solution design, summarizing the C19 quirks: While a large section of the affected population is asymptomatic, for some it can be lethal There isn’t clarity on all the ways C19 spreads It’s known to affect the lungs, heart, and kidneys in patients with weak immunity It has been hard to identify a definitive pattern of the virus. Some observations in managing the C19 situation are: With no vaccine in sight, the end of this epidemic looks months or years away Health care personnel in hospitals need additional protection to treat patients Lockdowns lead to severe economic hardship and its repeated application can be damaging Quarantining people has an economic cost, especially in the weaker sections of society If one takes a step back to re-think about this, we are primarily solving 2 problems: Minimise deaths: Minimise the death of C19 and non-C19 patients in this period Maximise economic growth: The GDP output/growth should equal or higher than pre-C19 levels One needs to achieve the 2 goals in an environment of rising number of C19 cases. Minimise deaths An approach that can be applied to achieve this is: Data driven health care capacity planning Build a health repository of all the citizens with details like pre-existing diseases, comorbidity, health status, etc. The repository needs to be updated quarterly to account for patient data changes This health repository data is combined with the C19 profile (disease susceptibility) and/or other seasonal diseases to determine the healthcare capacity (medicines, doctors, etc.) needed The healthcare capacity deficit/excess needs to be analysed in categories (beds, equipment, medicine, personnel, etc.) and regions (city, state, etc.) and actions taken accordingly Regular capacity management will ensure patients aren’t deprived of timely treatment. In addition, such planning helps in the equitable distribution of healthcare across regions and optimising health care costs. Healthcare sector is better prepared to scale-up/down their operations Based on the analysis citizens can be informed about their probability of needing hospitalisation on contracting C19. Citizens with a higher health risk on C19 infection should be personally trained on prevention and tips to manage the disease on occurrence The diagram below explains the process Mechanism to increase hospital capacity without cost escalation Due to the nature of C19, health personnel are prone to infection and their safety is a big issue. There is also a shortage of hospitable beds available. Even non-C19 patients aren’t getting the required treatment because health personnel seek it as a risk. This resulted in, healthcare costs going up and availability reducing. To mitigate such issues, hospital layouts may need to be altered (as shown in the diagram below). The altered layout improves hospital capacity and availability of health care personnel. It also reduces the need for the arduous C19 protection procedures. Such procedures reduce the patient treatment capacity and puts a toll on hospital management. Over a period, the number of recovered C19 persons are going to increase significantly. We need to start tapping into their services to reduce the burden on the system. The hospitals need to be divided into 3 zones. The hospital zoning illustration shown below explains how this could be done. In the diagram, patients are shown in green and health care personnel are in light red. **Assumption: Infected and recovered C19 patients are immune to the disease. This is not clearly established Better enforcement of social factors The other reason for high number of infections in countries like India is a glaring disregard in following C19 rules in public places and the laxity in enforcement. Enforcement covers 2 parts, tracking incidents of violation and penalising the behaviour. Government should use modern mechanisms like crowd sourcing to track incidents and ride on the growing public fear to ensure penalty enforcement succeeds. The C19 pandemic has exposed governance limitations in not just following C19 rules, but also in other areas of public safety like road travel, sanitation, dietary habits, etc. Maximise economic growth The earlier lockdown has strained the economy. Adequate measures need to be taken to get the economy back on track. Some of the areas that need to be addressed are: One needs to evaluate the development needs of the country in different categories like growth impetus factors (e.g. building roads, electricity capacity increase), social factors (e.g. waste water treatment plants, health care capacity), and environmental factors (e.g. solar energy generation, EV charging stations). Governments need to accelerate funding in such projects so that that large numbers of unemployed people are hired and trained. Besides giving an immediate boost to the ailing economy such projects have a future payback. The governments should not get bogged down by the huge fiscal deficit such measures can create. Such a mechanism to get money out in the economy is far than better measures like QE (Quantitative Easing) or free money transfer into people’s bank accounts Certain items like smartphone, internet, masks, etc. have become critical (for work, education, critical government announcements). It’s essential to subsidise or reduce taxes so that these items are affordable and accessible to everyone without a financial impact The government shouldn’t put too many C19 related controls on service offerings (e.g. shops, schools, restaurants, cabs). Putting many controls increases the cost of the service which neither the seller not buyer is willing or able to pay. Where controls are put, the Govt should bear the costs or reduce taxes or figure out a mechanism so that the cost can be absorbed. An event like the C19 pandemic is a great opportunity to rationalise development imbalances in the country. Government funding should be channelized more to under-developed regions. This drives growth in regions that need it most. It also prevents excess migration that has resulted in uncontrolled and bad urbanisation that has made C19 management hard (guidelines like social distance are impossible to follow) Post-C19 lockdown, the business environment (need for sanitizers, masks, home furniture) has changed. To make people employable in new flourishing businesses there could be a need to re-skill people. Such an initiative can be taken up by the public/private sector The number of C19 infected asymptomatic patients is going to keep increasing. Building an economy around them (existing, recovered C19 patients) may not be a far-fetched idea. E.g. jobs for C19 infected daily wage earners, C19 infected taxi drivers to transport C19 patients, etc. In the last 100 years, mankind has conquered the destructive aspects of many a disease and natural mishap (hurricanes, floods, etc.). Human lives lost in such events has dramatically dropped over the years and our preparedness has never been this good. Nature seems to have caught up with mankind’s big strides in science and technology. C19 has been hard to reign in with no breakthrough yet. The C19 pandemic is here to stay for the near future. The more we accept this reality and change ourselves to live with it amidst us, the faster we can return to a new normal. A quote from Edward Jenner (inventor of Small Pox) seems apt in the situation – “The deviation of man from the state in which he was originally placed by nature seems to have proved to him a prolific source of diseases”.

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Government Business, Government Finance

What Agencies Should Consider Before Deploying AI

Article | July 12, 2022

Artificial intelligence is the major buzzword in federal IT these days, the way that cloud once was. It’s easy to see why. There is booming investment in AI in the private sector, and various agencies across the government are experimenting with AI to achieve their missions. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is working with Microsoft to use AI and cloud technology to more easily and accurately identify animals and population counts of endangered species. NASA is ramping up the use of AI throughout its operations, from conducting basic financial operations to finding extra radio frequencies aboard the International Space Station. And the Defense Health Agency’s dermatologists are even using AI to better monitor patients’ skin.

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The State of Federal Thinking on Zero Trust

Article | June 11, 2020

As federal agencies continue to support large numbers of remote workers, IT leaders have started to evolve their thinking on zero-trust security architectures. Increasingly, they are becoming more comfortable with the concept and are seeking to lay the foundation for deployments. Zero trust represents a mindset shift in cybersecurity in which every transaction is verified before access is granted to users and devices. In the federal government, it is still a relatively nascent approach, with some pilot programs here and there. However, IT leaders seem to recognize that cybersecurity models are increasingly going to be defined by a zero-trust architecture.

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Spotlight

City of Yonkers Parks, Recreation and Conservation

Yonkers offers a terrific lifestyle for families, young professionals, seniors or those just passing through. If the outdoors is your thing, there’s always a place for you in Yonkers, regardless of your age or fitness level. You can kayak and boat on the Hudson River or walk along our waterfront esplanade, relax at Untermyer Gardens, enjoy dozens of City parks or play at the 161-acre Tibbetts Brook Park, golf at two courses, enjoy miles of biking, hiking and walking trails, and participate in one of the dozens of recreational programs offered by our Department of Parks, Recreation and Conservation.

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Government Business

Noblis Earns FedRAMP® Authorization for Its RunCyberAssurance® Solution and Hosting Platform

GlobeNewswire | September 21, 2023

Noblis, Inc., a leading provider of science, technology and strategy services to the federal government, today announced that its RunCyberAssurance software-as-a-service (SaaS) solution and its supporting platform-as-a-service have achieved the Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program’s (FedRAMP®) Moderate Authority to Operate designation. “Earning FedRAMP authorization for both our solution and platform is a significant step,” said Mark Lay, Noblis’ Solution Delivery Organization lead. “This designation allows federal agencies to quickly and efficiently leverage the RunCyberAssurance solution to simplify and maintain secure cloud authorization across their enterprise. At the same time, our authorized platform provides a foundation to integrate future solutions for our customers’ evolving missions.” RunCyberAssurance combines automation, analytics and a streamlined, standardized compliance workflow to help agencies continuously manage their authorized services. Depending on unique mission needs, agencies can leverage RunCyberAssurance as a FedRAMP Authorized SaaS or deploy it within their managed boundaries. Key benefits of the solution include: Continuous Authority to Operateacross entire technology portfolio Automatic managementof cybersecurity compliance Advanced analyticsto expedite decision making and proactively mitigate risks Automates processesto save time and money FedRAMP provides a cost-effective, risk-based approach for the adoption and use of cloud services by the federal government. It empowers agencies to use modern cloud technologies, with an emphasis on security and protection of federal information. About Noblis For more than 25 years, Noblis has been an innovator within the federal government, committed to enriching lives and making our nation safer while investing in the missions of tomorrow. As a nonprofit, Noblis works for the public good, providing independent and objective science, technology and engineering solutions. Together with our subsidiaries, we work with a wide range of government clients in the defense, homeland security, intelligence, law enforcement and federal civil sectors.

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Emerging Technology

Telos Corporation Awarded Five-Year Contract with Defense Information Systems Agency

GlobeNewswire | August 29, 2023

Telos Corporation, a leading provider of cyber, cloud and enterprise security solutions for the world’s most security-conscious organizations, announced today a five-year contract with the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) for the Telos Automated Message Handling System (AMHS) to support the distribution and processing of various reports and other critical information. A widely-used organizational messaging solution in the U.S. Department of Defense, Telos AMHS supports organizations around the world, including the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Combatant Commands, Military Services, Defense Agencies and the Intelligence Community. Telos AMHS immediately routes incoming messages to the right desktop and creates an archive of all arriving traffic for future reference. AMHS also provides intuitive tools for searching and retrieving messages from the archive while protecting against unauthorized access, and offers an easy way to create, coordinate, and release outgoing messages. “DISA is one of our longest-standing customers, and we’re pleased to continue to support their organizational communications,” said John B. Wood, CEO and chairman, Telos. “Timely and secure message delivery is key to successful military operations, and we’re honored to be chosen to support this mission.” About Telos Corporation Telos Corporationempowers and protects the world’s most security- conscious organizations with solutions for continuous security assurance of individuals, systems, and information. Telos’ offerings include cybersecurity solutions for IT risk management and information security; cloud security solutions to protect cloud-based assets and enable continuous compliance with industry and government security standards; and enterprise security solutions for identity and access management, secure mobility, organizational messaging, and network management and defense. The company serves commercial enterprises, regulated industries and government customers around the world.

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Government Business, Cybersecurity

CoSo Cloud Secure Virtual Training Platform Achieves StateRAMP Authorization

businesswire | August 17, 2023

CoSo Cloud LLC (CoSo), a Class Technologies company, and leading provider of secure, private-cloud managed services and custom applications for high-consequence eLearning and virtual training, today announced its platform has received StateRAMP authorization for leading eLearning and virtual classroom offerings from Adobe® and Class Technologies. This milestone achievement enables all U.S. state government agencies reliant on public tax dollars to make assured investments in and harness the utmost level of secure technology for government training and education. StateRAMP is a critical cloud security assessment and authorization program designed to address the specific technology and compliance requirements of state and local governments. With this authorization, state government agencies and publicly funded educational institutions are now equipped with the highest levels of security and compliance, aligning seamlessly with the stringent requirements to protect government and citizen data. CoSo Cloud's StateRAMP authorization builds upon CoSo’s FedRAMP security authorizations for Federal Government agencies, and represents a significant industry advancement in secure eLearning and virtual training solutions, further reinforcing the company's position as a preeminent and trusted partner for public sector organizations. "The CoSo Secure Private Cloud Platform has the most secure and compliant authorizations in the industry,” said David Nelson, Head of Cyber Security at CoSo Cloud. “With the StateRAMP authorization, customers who rely upon Class and Adobe for virtual training and eLearning are now able to deploy their training and education initiatives with the utmost confidence and security." CoSo Cloud's StateRAMP-compliant offerings come equipped with robust data encryption, secure access controls, continuous monitoring and regular audits to ensure ongoing adherence to the highest security standards. As a result, government agencies can leverage the innovative tools that CoSo manages to optimize their workforce training, professional development, and educational programs without compromising on security or compliance. About CoSo Cloud CoSo Cloud LLC, a Class Technologies Inc. company, provides secure private-cloud managed services, custom software applications, and expert professional services for high-consequence virtual training and eLearning. Global enterprises and government agency customers rely on CoSo to complete their Adobe Connect, Adobe Learning Manager and Class solutions when security, compliance, and reliability requirements demand more from virtual meetings and learning management systems. CoSo Cloud is an Adobe, Class Technologies, SAP, and Zoom partner.

Read More

Government Business

Noblis Earns FedRAMP® Authorization for Its RunCyberAssurance® Solution and Hosting Platform

GlobeNewswire | September 21, 2023

Noblis, Inc., a leading provider of science, technology and strategy services to the federal government, today announced that its RunCyberAssurance software-as-a-service (SaaS) solution and its supporting platform-as-a-service have achieved the Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program’s (FedRAMP®) Moderate Authority to Operate designation. “Earning FedRAMP authorization for both our solution and platform is a significant step,” said Mark Lay, Noblis’ Solution Delivery Organization lead. “This designation allows federal agencies to quickly and efficiently leverage the RunCyberAssurance solution to simplify and maintain secure cloud authorization across their enterprise. At the same time, our authorized platform provides a foundation to integrate future solutions for our customers’ evolving missions.” RunCyberAssurance combines automation, analytics and a streamlined, standardized compliance workflow to help agencies continuously manage their authorized services. Depending on unique mission needs, agencies can leverage RunCyberAssurance as a FedRAMP Authorized SaaS or deploy it within their managed boundaries. Key benefits of the solution include: Continuous Authority to Operateacross entire technology portfolio Automatic managementof cybersecurity compliance Advanced analyticsto expedite decision making and proactively mitigate risks Automates processesto save time and money FedRAMP provides a cost-effective, risk-based approach for the adoption and use of cloud services by the federal government. It empowers agencies to use modern cloud technologies, with an emphasis on security and protection of federal information. About Noblis For more than 25 years, Noblis has been an innovator within the federal government, committed to enriching lives and making our nation safer while investing in the missions of tomorrow. As a nonprofit, Noblis works for the public good, providing independent and objective science, technology and engineering solutions. Together with our subsidiaries, we work with a wide range of government clients in the defense, homeland security, intelligence, law enforcement and federal civil sectors.

Read More

Emerging Technology

Telos Corporation Awarded Five-Year Contract with Defense Information Systems Agency

GlobeNewswire | August 29, 2023

Telos Corporation, a leading provider of cyber, cloud and enterprise security solutions for the world’s most security-conscious organizations, announced today a five-year contract with the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) for the Telos Automated Message Handling System (AMHS) to support the distribution and processing of various reports and other critical information. A widely-used organizational messaging solution in the U.S. Department of Defense, Telos AMHS supports organizations around the world, including the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Combatant Commands, Military Services, Defense Agencies and the Intelligence Community. Telos AMHS immediately routes incoming messages to the right desktop and creates an archive of all arriving traffic for future reference. AMHS also provides intuitive tools for searching and retrieving messages from the archive while protecting against unauthorized access, and offers an easy way to create, coordinate, and release outgoing messages. “DISA is one of our longest-standing customers, and we’re pleased to continue to support their organizational communications,” said John B. Wood, CEO and chairman, Telos. “Timely and secure message delivery is key to successful military operations, and we’re honored to be chosen to support this mission.” About Telos Corporation Telos Corporationempowers and protects the world’s most security- conscious organizations with solutions for continuous security assurance of individuals, systems, and information. Telos’ offerings include cybersecurity solutions for IT risk management and information security; cloud security solutions to protect cloud-based assets and enable continuous compliance with industry and government security standards; and enterprise security solutions for identity and access management, secure mobility, organizational messaging, and network management and defense. The company serves commercial enterprises, regulated industries and government customers around the world.

Read More

Government Business, Cybersecurity

CoSo Cloud Secure Virtual Training Platform Achieves StateRAMP Authorization

businesswire | August 17, 2023

CoSo Cloud LLC (CoSo), a Class Technologies company, and leading provider of secure, private-cloud managed services and custom applications for high-consequence eLearning and virtual training, today announced its platform has received StateRAMP authorization for leading eLearning and virtual classroom offerings from Adobe® and Class Technologies. This milestone achievement enables all U.S. state government agencies reliant on public tax dollars to make assured investments in and harness the utmost level of secure technology for government training and education. StateRAMP is a critical cloud security assessment and authorization program designed to address the specific technology and compliance requirements of state and local governments. With this authorization, state government agencies and publicly funded educational institutions are now equipped with the highest levels of security and compliance, aligning seamlessly with the stringent requirements to protect government and citizen data. CoSo Cloud's StateRAMP authorization builds upon CoSo’s FedRAMP security authorizations for Federal Government agencies, and represents a significant industry advancement in secure eLearning and virtual training solutions, further reinforcing the company's position as a preeminent and trusted partner for public sector organizations. "The CoSo Secure Private Cloud Platform has the most secure and compliant authorizations in the industry,” said David Nelson, Head of Cyber Security at CoSo Cloud. “With the StateRAMP authorization, customers who rely upon Class and Adobe for virtual training and eLearning are now able to deploy their training and education initiatives with the utmost confidence and security." CoSo Cloud's StateRAMP-compliant offerings come equipped with robust data encryption, secure access controls, continuous monitoring and regular audits to ensure ongoing adherence to the highest security standards. As a result, government agencies can leverage the innovative tools that CoSo manages to optimize their workforce training, professional development, and educational programs without compromising on security or compliance. About CoSo Cloud CoSo Cloud LLC, a Class Technologies Inc. company, provides secure private-cloud managed services, custom software applications, and expert professional services for high-consequence virtual training and eLearning. Global enterprises and government agency customers rely on CoSo to complete their Adobe Connect, Adobe Learning Manager and Class solutions when security, compliance, and reliability requirements demand more from virtual meetings and learning management systems. CoSo Cloud is an Adobe, Class Technologies, SAP, and Zoom partner.

Read More

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