Stories by Grant Gross

Experts: US vulnerable to major cyberattacks

The U.S. government needs to take action now to avoid crippling cyberattacks that could shut down major communications systems nationwide, a group of cybersecurity experts told U.S. lawmakers Wednesday.

National policy boosts Japan’s broadband success

A wide-ranging government policy on broadband and healthy competition among providers gives Japanese customers greater speeds at a much cheaper price than US customers pay, says NTT executive Takashi Ebihara.

IT security remains top concern for agency CIOs

IT security remains a top concern of US government CIOs, but it’s also an area where they’re making much progress, according to a survey released recently by the Information Technology Association of America.

Bush's 2008 IT budget focuses on cybersecurity

U.S. President George Bush's 2008 budget request for US$65.5 billion in IT spending across federal agencies reflects his priorities to cut budget deficits while improving cybersecurity and enhancing e-government services to U.S. citizens, Bush advisors said Wednesday.

US govt heads don’t fully support teleworking

Just 35% of US government managers believe their agencies support telecommuting, despite a seven-year-old law requiring agencies to offer telework options to workers, according to a recent study.

HP investigator faces identity-theft charge

A U.S. attorney has charged Bryan Wagner, an independent investigator who worked for Hewlett-Packard Co. (HP) while the company tried to find the source of board leaks, with aggravated identity theft and conspiracy.

US spam regulator settles with email marketer

Marketer Yesmail has agreed to pay a US$50,717 (NZ$75,740) civil penalty to settle US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) charges accusing it of sending unsolicited commercial email after recipients asked it to stop.

Reports of e-voting problems surface

Problems with voting machines across the US are being reported to watchdog groups, including significant problems of votes being incorrectly recorded.

Value of top US govt IT contracts drops for 2007

The value of the top 20 US government IT contracts in fiscal year 2007 will be US$118 billion, less than half the value of the top 20 government IT contracts in 2006, according to a report from Input, a US firm that helps private companies win government contracts.

Social-networking site for opinion leaders to launch

A new social-networking Web site, aimed at "opinion leaders" in politics and other issues, will launch Thursday with a roster of members including former U.S. President Bill Clinton, U.S. senators John McCain and Hillary Clinton and former Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Newt Gingrich.

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