TECHNOLOGY AND THE BUSINESS OF GOVERNMENT

The Homeland Security Department on Friday announced that it will expand the use of advanced imaging technology -- the controversial body scans -- to 11 U.S. airports, thanks to $1 billion in Recovery Act funds.

The units go beyond the capability of metal detectors to pick up explosives, weapons and nonmetallic threats hidden underneath clothing. Though the Transportation Security Administration promises passenger privacy through blurred imaging and remote viewing, privacy advocates have raised concerns that the scans reveal anatomical features and are stored, not deleted as TSA claims. The Electronic Privacy Information Center, a public interest research group, published documents in January revealing that the machines can record, store and transmit passenger scans.

The American Civil Liberties Union, which has called the technology a "virtual strip search," questioned the efficacy and privacy implications of the scanners' expanded use.

"The Bill of Rights extends beyond curbside check-in and if the government insists on using these invasive search techniques, it is imperative that there be vigorous oversight and regulation to protect our privacy," said Laura W. Murphy, director of the ACLU Washington Legislative Office in a statement. "Before these body scanners become the status quo at America's airports, we need to ensure new security technologies are genuinely effective, rather than merely creating a false sense of security."

Of the 11 airports chosen, only Los Angeles International already has similar technology in place.

• Boston Logan International


• Charlotte Douglas International


• Chicago O'Hare International


• Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International


• Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International


• Kansas City International


• Los Angeles International


• Mineta San José International


• Oakland International


• Port Columbus International


• San Diego International

The first screeners were installed Friday at Boston Logan International. Chicago O'Hare International will receive units this week, and the remaining locations will be up and running this summer. TSA already has 40 units in 19 airports nationwide and expects to have an additional 450 deployed by the end of 2010.

The General Services Administration has approved universal sign-in applications for use on government Web sites, provided by Equifax, Google and Paypal, that will allow citizens who are securely logged in to one site to instantly and safely switch to another agency site without having to log in again.

The so-called Open Identity Exchange applications are expected to expedite access to government services by giving users a single ID credential that all privacy-protected federal sites will accept.

Watch Nextgov news for more details. . .

A senator chastised the social-networking service Facebook on Tuesday for refusing to attend his subcommittee hearing on global Internet freedom, while simultaneously seeking the government's help in resolving Internet blockages overseas.

Sen. Richard J. Durbin, D-Ill., chairman of the Judiciary Committee's Human Rights and the Law Subcommittee, said that in a letter declining to testify, Facebook wrote that the company has no business operations in China or most of the other countries in the world. Durbin pointed out that Facebook has more than 400 million users, about 70 percent of which are outside the United States. Facebook also has not joined the Global Network Initiative, a coalition of technology companies committed to resisting censorship.

Despite its reluctance to participate in the hearing or GNI, Facebook recently asked the State Department for assistance when its services were blocked in Vietnam, Durbin said. Michael Posner, assistant secretary of State for democracy, human rights and labor, who testified at the hearing, responded, "It's fair to say that companies like Facebook and Twitter are certainly susceptible to the pressures that we've seen others face."

Durbin then observed, "If Facebook expects our government to help in resolving efforts to censor their services, it only seems reasonable that they accept some responsibility themselves for addressing human rights issues."

After the hearing, Facebook spokesman Andrew Noyes (and a former writer for Nextgov and Government Executive) said that, while Facebook has a large user base, its global operations are still small.

"When we come to evaluate doing business in any country, we do so thoughtfully and are mindful of the rules, regulations, and customs," he added. "As Facebook grows, we'll absolutely be considering which groups we can actively participate in."

Noyes said the company welcomes a continuing dialogue with Durbin.

Do you know a federal manager who recently took risks to push through a bold idea, policy or program that uses technology to make government work better or improve public services? If so, we'd like to hear your story by nominating your colleague for a Nextgov Award.

The Nextgov Award program, developed in partnership with O'Reilly Media Inc. and TechWeb, will recognize government executives who stepped outside their comfortable confines to think and manage differently. They acted boldly to push through an innovative program, policy or new management practice that relied on technology to move government in a new direction, to challenge employees to think and work differently, and that ultimately improved the lives of citizens.

We know there are many managers who have done just that, and we want you to tell us about them by nominating them for a Nextgov Award. The deadline is March 12, but we suggest you don't wait. Visit the nomination page and spend just a few minutes filling out the form. We'll tell the stories of the winners later this spring on Nextgov.

A panel of respected judges will make choose the winners, who will be honored at a luncheon on May 27 at the Gov 2.0 Expo at the Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C. The expo is co-sponsored by O'Reilly Media Inc. and TechWeb, and Nextgov is the premier media sponsor.

Nextgov has launched the Nextgov Awards, an inaugural program to recognize federal managers who have shepherded a program, policy or management practice that is not only innovative, but bold and brave.

Yes, we know, there are a lot of awards programs in government. But when we asked federal managers and industry executives what is missing, they told us unanimously: No awards recognize federal employees who took on risks -- personal, political and otherwise -- and boldly acted to see their idea to fruition. Or if their idea died, at least they took on entrenched bureaucratic interests in an attempt to make government better through the use of technology.

We invite you to visit our awards page to learn more and to nominate someone who fits the criteria. The technology isn't the reason for the award, but the bold idea must rely on it in some way. And we encourage you to tell us a story about the individuals you nominate. We want you to wow us because we know there are dozens of stories of federal employees trying to improve government and the lives of citizens, but they are up against big odds. Yet, they have acted bravely and with resolve to bring about change. We want to know about them, the drama they faced and the results they achieved. And, of course, the technology they used.

The winners of the Nextgov Awards will be honored at a luncheon at TechWeb's Gov 2.0 Expo in May. (Nextgov is a TechWeb partner for the event.) We'd love to see you there.

More to come.

NASA, already in the spotlight for a budget that scraps plans to return to the moon, received more negative publicity from federal auditors on Wednesday about ongoing information security problems.

Cristina Chaplain, Government Accountability Office director for acquisition and sourcing management, testified before a House panel that continuing weaknesses in information technology systems are a "key issue" facing the space agency, as it undergoes a dramatic change of direction. The White House proposed on Monday that NASA cancel the $3.5 billion Constellation program that was intended to return astronauts to the Moon by 2020. Instead, the fiscal 2011 budget calls for investing in the commercial space industry, international partners and new technologies to revitalize human space flight over the long-term.

During fiscal years 2007 and 2008, NASA reported 1,120 security incidents where malicious software was installed on its systems or intruders accessed sensitive information. Despite the establishment of a security operations center to prevent such episodes, "control vulnerabilities and program shortfalls" increase "the risk of unauthorized access to NASA's sensitive information, as well as inadvertent or deliberate disruption of its system operations," Chaplain's written testimony stated.

Such vulnerabilities make it possible for federal employees or contractors to disclose, alter or destroy sensitive data that could disrupt space missions, she added.

In response to the GAO findings, NASA officials said the department is undergoing a strategic effort to improve IT security that incorporates many of the auditors' recommendations, such as conducting physical risk assessments, comprehensive security testing, as well as deploying an adequate incident detection program.

"The [agency's] deputy administrator also stated that NASA will continue to mitigate the information security weaknesses identified" by GAO, Chaplain testified. "The actions identified by the deputy administrator, if effectively implemented, will improve the agency's information security program."

After Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced a new commitment to undoing foreign online censorship, U.S. tech vendors pledged support on the condition that State's moves do not harm domestic business.

"We agree with Secretary Clinton that a single, secure and uncensored Internet is critical both for human rights and global prosperity and that this principle should be an active matter of U.S. foreign policy," Phil Bond, the president and CEO of industry group TechAmerica said in a statement following Clinton's Thursday remarks on Internet freedom. "Except in cases involving outright sanctions asserted by the U.S. government, American values also require the freedom of enterprise: Each company must decide where to do business on behalf of its customers, employees, and investors."

Some civil liberties groups over the past year had argued the America's trade partnerships with oppressive countries, such as China, have come at the cost of human rights.

Clinton's speech at the Newseum, a monument to free speech, refutes that contention.

"Censorship should not be in any way accepted by any company from anywhere. And in America, American companies need to make a principled stand," she said, after a series threats to the free flow of information in Iran, Vietnam and most recently China. Google was one company that took a stand, alleging a cyberattack against its corporate infrastructure from China attempted to infiltrate the Gmail accounts of Chinese human rights activists.

"This needs to be part of our national brand. I'm confident that consumers worldwide will reward companies that follow those principles," Clinton added. "Over the next year, we will work with partners in industry, academia and nongovernmental organizations to establish a standing effort that will harness the power of connection technologies and apply them to our diplomatic goals."

A departmental group dedicated to Internet Freedom has been largely dormant since she took office, but Clinton said that she will reinvigorate it. The Global Internet Freedom Task Force was established in 2006, under the Bush Administration. When private sector "business dealings threaten to undermine this freedom, they need to consider what's right, not simply what's a quick profit," she explained.

After the speech, an audience member questioned the administration's ability to defend human interests over business interests. Clinton acknowledged that asking businesses to do the right thing is not always easily translated into practical practice. But she noted that protecting basic freedoms is in the long-term best interest of businesses.

The administration on Friday disclosed the mechanics of how it is preserving unclassified White House emails, including BlackBerry messages, in response to a settlement between the nonprofit National Security Archive and the Executive Office of the President.

A letter from the office's chief information officer issued to the independent research institute, which collects documents obtained through the Freedom of Information Act, states, "It is not possible for an individual to remove any messages stored within [the system] without detection."

The letter was part of an agreement that resolved two lawsuits stemming from the discovery in April 2007 that the White House had stopped archiving e-mail in 2003.

Messages in Web-based personal e-mail accounts and instant messages are not an issue because the office's network blocks both applications, it states. While searching through the archived messages is easy, according to the letter, access to the search function is restricted.

The system, which the White House has used since the president took office, stores incoming e-mail in near-real-time and sends identical copies of each message to the intended recipients, according to the letter.

"E-mail messages sent or received via BlackBerry devices flow through the journal servers and are captured in the [same] system in the same manner as e-mails sent or received via the desktop," it adds.

The office uses a product from EMC Corporation called "EmailXtender."

"The White House appears to be approaching its record preservation obligations with greater conscientiousness than during the last administration," Meredith Fuchs, the archive's general counsel, said in a statement.

Kristen A. Lejnieks, counsel for the archive from private law firm Jones Day, added, "While the archive continues to urge the White House to upgrade its system by adding new and better protections against unanticipated problems, the system now in place includes controls and automated reporting that will quickly bring unauthorized actions to light for investigation. We can be much more confident than before that, even if an unauthorized deletion of e-mails could take place, it would be detected by a range of people within the EOP. "

Slate held a contest for readers to submit ideas on how the Transportation Security Administration could improve security at airports. The site received 375 submissions, which were judged by a panel of four judges: "Frank Cilluffo, the former special assistant to the president for homeland security; Clark Ervin, the first inspector general of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security; Douglas R. Laird, the former security director for Northwest Airlines; and renowned security expert Bruce Schneier," according to Slate.

The group picked four winners -- none of which, surprisingly, involved developing or deploying additional technology (unless you count third-place winner's suggestion of linking the no-fly list with airlines' ticketing systems). What does that say about technology's ability to tighten security?

In fact, much of the discussion lately about stopping terrorism has been focused on not technology and sharing information, but better intelligence. This -- from The Baltimore Sun -- is how the typical let's-not-rely-on-technology argument goes:

While the United States pours billions into weapons detection technology ($4 billion since Sept. 11), Israel invests in well-trained guards who conduct face-to-face interviews at each checkpoint. I'm not talking about profiling; the guards focus not on what passengers look like or what they are wearing but what they are doing. They are looking for suspicious behavior, not ethnicity. We should not rely on machines or lists but human instinct, honed by careful training.

Too much reliance on IT?

The Social Security Administration, bogged down with a backlog of disability claims and oncoming onslaught of baby boomer paperwork, is trying to expedite processing by paying medical providers $15 to submit applicants' records electronically.

"We are experiencing a significant increase in the number of initial claims for disability insurance benefits and Supplemental Security Income payments on the basis of disability, and we expect this trend to continue," states a Jan. 11 Federal Register notice. "The increasing volume of claims, coupled with the backlog of disability cases in the hearings process, underscores our need to process cases more efficiently by using advanced technologies."

The agency usually makes more than 15 million requests a year for patient records from providers to determine the severity of disability applicants' medical conditions. Waiting for the information can take months.

Social Security officials said they determined that $15 is a reasonable reimbursement rate for the cost of transmitting medical records through a secure data exchange system but said they will periodically review and adjust the rate as technologies advance.

"By using health IT, we will be able to request and receive medical information within minutes, rather than the days or months it may take to receive medical evidence by traditional methods," which are largely paper-based, labor-intensive and manual, the notice states.