In Depth interviews – July 23

This is the In Depth show blog. Here you can listen to the interviews, find more information about the guests on the show each day and links to additional resources.

Linda Petersen — Graduate School USA

It’s no secret budgets are tight and will likely get tighter, and one of the first victims of the budget axe is professional training, says Linda Petersen, a former federal official now with Graduate School USA.

Petersen, who joined In Depth with Francis Rose said too often training, which carries long-term benefits is not viewed as being part of an agency’s strategic vision.

Read the full story

Keren Cummins — Director of federal markets, nCircle

The IT security team at your agency spends a lot of time working on compliance and meeting mandates. But that might be keeping them from the job of actually keeping your network and your data secure.

That’s according to a new survey on information security released by nCircle. For the first time, the company surveyed members of the federal space with a focus on continuous monitoring, FISMA compliance and cloud migration.

Keren Cummins, director of federal markets for nCircle, discuses the trends in federal information security.

Shauna Henline — Senior technical coordinator, Frivolous Return Program, IRS

As your agency’s budget tightens, the agency that brings in most of the money the government spends is stepping up its efforts to bring tax evaders to justice.

Shauna Henline, who works as a senior technical coordinator with the Frivolous Return Program at the IRS, has cracked down on people that attempt to evade paying taxes using often bizarre claims as well as the promoters of such schemes.

To recognize her efforts, Henline has been honored with a 2012 Service to America Medal nomination.

See all the 2012 Service to America Medal nominations

Nick Feamster — Associate Professor of Computer Science, University of Maryland

The FBI recently orchestrated the largest takedown in history for so-called “carding” crimes, where hackers steal credit card information to sell on the black market.

Last week, a group of civilian activists took out half of the world’s spam emails by shutting down the servers of the “Grum” botnet in Russia. At its height the Grum botnet sent out 18 billion emails a day.

Nick Feamster, an associate professor of computer science at the University of Maryland, discusses the historical precedent for such a takedown as well as how effective the FBI has been in stopping these kinds of cyber threats.

This story is part of Federal News Radio’s daily Cybersecurity Update. For more cybersecurity news, click here.

Robert Goldenkoff — Director of Strategic Issues, Government Accountability Office

The 2010 Census was the most expensive ever, the Government Accountability Office reports.

But cost pressures in government and the chance to leverage technology are two reasons that trend may not have to continue. Robert Goldenkoff, director of Strategic Issues at GAO, joins in Depth to discuss the 2020 census.

In a recent report, GAO recently examined how Census was planning for the next Census and how it can sustain the current reform efforts.

Mike Causey: Political appointees nervous about November

Analysis: New cyber bill dials back regulatory aspects of earlier versions

Civilian Navy employee charged in connection with sub fire

Services hit recruiting goals

Copyright © 2024 Federal News Network. All rights reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.