Friday Morning Federal Newscast

Find out what stories the Federal Drive is covering each morning.

Written by Ruben Gomez, Tom Temin & Jane Norris
Edited by Suzanne Kubota

This morning’s federal news as heard on WFED:

Fresh off a round of employees buyouts, the Postal Service is looking at new ways to cut costs and raise revenues. It expects to lose $7 billion dollars this year. Under consideration, according to GovExec, is establishing relationships with retailers to sell goods in post offices. Lawmakers are suggesting USPS could collect fees from other federal agencies to offer services through post offices. Postal Officials warn they don’t want to take their eye off the main job of sorting and delivering mail.

As the debate about healthcare reform continues on Capitol Hill, and House planning to vote on its version this Saturday, Representative Darrell Issa, a California Republican, has called for a hearing about the bill. He wants to find out if federal workers would be forced to leave the Federal Employee Health Benefits Program if the bill is passed. He questions whether federal employee health care meets the strict minimum standards that would be established if the bill becomes law.

You might think the federal hiring process is already complex, but one government agency is now asking you to consider yet another element to find just the right person: It’s called a job simulation. The Merit Systems Protection Board says it can save you money on lost time and training. A job simulation involves tests to see how candidates respond to specific job duties. And MSPB says that employees put thru such tests end up being 32-percent more productive (pdf).

GSA requests budget protection to safeguard your investments in technology. Acting Administrator Paul Prouty telling a trade group he wants to set aside some of the agency’s 2011 budget to test emerging technologies. The idea is to mitigate the risk of failure presented by new technologies, such as green building roofs and energy-efficient heating and cooling systems. Federal Times reports GSA is working on the proposal with the White House.

Senate Democrats blocked a bid by Republican David Vitter to add a question to the 2010 U.S. Census count. The question would have asked if people are U.S. citizens. Critics said the question would have discouraged immigrants from participating. A lot is at stake. The Census count is used to apportion member of Congress and to divide up federal aid to states and counties. The 2010 count begins next April.

A census worker found hanged in Kentucky may not have fallen victim to foul play. Investigators probing Bill Sparkman’s death are now pursuing the possibility of suicide. Sparkman was found hanging from a tree in September near Manchester Kentucky with the word FED scrawled on his chest. But two officials speaking on condition of anonymity say Sparkman had no defensive wounds, and his hands, though duct taped, were somewhat mobile — suggesting he could have manipulated the rope.

Your Cybersecurity Update

The National Archives lost a computer hard drive containing massive amounts of sensitive data from the Clinton administration, including Social Security numbers, addresses, and Secret Service and White House operating procedures, congressional officials said Tuesday. One of former Vice President Al Gore’s three daughters is among those whose Social Security numbers were on the drive, but it was not clear which one. Other information includes logs of events, social gatherings and political records. The handling of these data devices was the focus of Thursday’s hearing of the House Information Policy, Census, and National Archives Subcommittee.

The Senate Judiciary Committee approved two bills to boost cyber security and privacy. Together, the bills establish strict security and privacy standards for data brokers who handle information on large numbers of citizens. And they require people to be notified if sensitive personal information is breached. In some cases, the Secret Service would be called in. Meanwhile, a House committee approved a bill Wednesday to strengthen federal oversight of the nation’s computer and telecommunications networks. It would establish uniform standards for how operators of these networks protect them from hackers. NextGov reports both bills are now on their way to the Senate floor.

“Open source” not be a household word, but in the world of software, it often stands for greater cyber security. Open source software is code developed so that any user is freely able to add new capabilities. And now the Defense Department has given its blessing to open source software. A memo earlier this month from the CIO’s office directs DOD software buyers to give open source products the same consideration they give to vendor-owned proprietary software.

All that Facebooking and Tweeting could expose you to identity theft. Experts speaking at a Thursday panel sponsored by TechAmerica say the amount of personal information on social networking sites makes it easier for criminals to find it and impersonate you. NextGov reports that phishing attempts are also on the rise — where scammers ask you to enter personal information in to sites that look legitimate but aren’t. Also on the rise is medical identity theft, whose victims account for 3 percent of all identity theft, this according to an associate at Booz Allen Hamilton.

More news links

Automated apps take sweat out of security compliance (FCW)

Microsoft raises cloud computing concerns (AFP)

Thieves steal truck with H1N1 vaccine in Milwaukee

What’s Funniest Fed, John Quirk, Been Up To?

John sent an e-mail, saying “My friends and I just finished four submissions to the Doritos Superbowl commercial contest (they pick 3 to air during the superbowl).”

It’s nice to know he’s kept busy since his appearance on the Federal Drive.

Chips up John! Here’s one of the submissions –

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