Federal Drive Show Blog – September 13, 2013

On the Federal Drive show blog, you can listen to our interviews, find more information about the guests on the show each day, as well as links to other stories...

This is the Federal Drive show blog. Here you can listen to our interviews, find more information about the guests on the show each day, as well as links to other stories and resources we discuss.

Today’s Interviews:

David Greene
Senior Staff Attorney
Electronic Frontier Foundation

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Earlier this week, lawsuits prompted the Justice Department to release more documents on the National Security Agency’s surveillance programs. David Greene is a senior staff attorney at the Electronic Frontier Foundation. It’s one of the groups that sued for the documents’ release.

Mike Hurley
Former Operative
CIA

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A dozen years after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, the threat of another massive attack has receded. National security experts worry more about lone wolves, or the less-coordinated but still deadly jihadist group. In a new report, the Bipartisan Policy Center argues we are not as safe as we should be from terrorism. For one thing, the national security apparatus answers to too many bosses. Former CIA operative Mike Hurley co-authored that report.

Keith Kupferschmid
General Counsel and Senior Vice President for Intellectual Property
Software and Information Industry Association

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The IRS’ inspector general says the agency has been lax in managing its software licenses. Sometimes it’s using more copies than it has the licenses for. Other times, it runs fewer and throws money down the drain. Nearly every agency runs that risk. Keith Kupferschmid is general counsel and senior vice president for intellectual property at the Software and Information Industry Association. He discusses best practices for managing software licenses.

Jason Miller
Executive Editor
Federal News Radio

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The General Services Administration is getting out of the human resources and payroll shared service provider business. The decision comes as the Obama administration is applying more pressure on agencies to share resources. Federal News Radio’s Executive Editor Jason Miller has details on GSA’s decision and what it means for the shared services initiative.

Andrew Rabens
Special Adviser for Youth Engagement
State Department

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Federal News Radio has been taking a look at the federal employees nominated for the annual Service to America Medal. It’s a prestigious career-achievement award. In today’s Sammies segment, this federal employee led an initiative to engage young leaders from the Middle East and Africa to learn about American Democracy. Andrew Rabens is the special adviser for youth engagement at the State Department’s Bureau of Near East Affairs.

Related Story: Rabens fosters next generation of government leaders

View a gallery of Service to America Medal Finalists here.

Eddie Schwartz
Chief Information Security Officer
RSA Security Division of EMC

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Edward Snowden has become famous for leaking secret documents about NSA surveillance. He may have chutzpah but he also has good cyber chops. Officials now know he was able to cover his tracks by manipulating or deleting network logs. Logs may be obscure to most people, but they are teeming with information about what’s going on. With advice on how to manage logs is Eddie Schwartz, chief information security officer at the RSA Security Division of EMC.

Jared Serbu
DoD Reporter
Federal News Radio

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The Pentagon is telling all military services and agencies that it’s time for them to stop running their own servers and software to provide email capabilities. Within the next few months, military components are required to come up with a plan to move to the DoD-wide enterprise email system. Federal News Radio’s DoD reporter Jared Serbu has the details.

Heard Tom and Emily talk about another story during the show, but don’t see it here? Check out our daily federal headlines for the latest news affecting the federal community.

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