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Category Archives: E-Records

New GAO Reports – Community Colleges, Education Research, FAA Facilities, Federal Judgeships, FOIA, NARA

COMMUNITY COLLEGES – New Federal Research Center May Enhance Current Understanding of Developmental Education – GAO-13-656, Sep 10, 2013 EDUCATION RESEARCH – Preliminary Observations on the Institute of Education Sciences’ Research and Evaluation Efforts – GAO-13-852T, Sep 10, 2013 FAA FACILITIES – Improved Condition Assessment Methods Could Better Inform Maintenance Decisions and Capital- Planning Efforts – GAO-13-757, Sep 10, 2013 FEDERAL JUDGESHIPS – The General… Continue Reading

Spiegel Online – NSA Can Spy on Smart Phone Data

“The United States’ National Security Agency intelligence-gathering operation is capable of accessing user data from smart phones from all leading manufacturers. Top secret NSA documents that SPIEGEL has seen explicitly note that the NSA can tap into such information on Apple iPhones, BlackBerry devices and Google’s Android mobile operating system. The documents state that it… Continue Reading

Yahoo’s first transparency report cites more than 12,000 US data requests

IDG News Service – “Yahoo received 12,444 requests from the U.S. government for user data in the first half of this year, resulting in 11,402 instances of data disclosure, it said Friday in its first transparency report. For nearly 7,000 of the U.S. requests between Jan. 1 and June 30, only non-content data was disclosed,… Continue Reading

WaPo – Obama administration had restrictions on NSA reversed in 2011

Ellen Nakashima: “The Obama administration secretly won permission from a surveillance court in 2011 to reverse restrictions on the National Security Agency’s use of intercepted phone calls and e-mails, permitting the agency to search deliberately for Americans’ communications in its massive databases, according to interviews with government officials and recently declassified material. In addition, the court extended… Continue Reading

Guardian – US and UK spy agencies defeat privacy and security on the internet

James Ball, Julian Borger and Glenn Greenwald – NSA and GCHQ unlock encryption used to protect emails, banking and medical records: “US and British intelligence agencies have successfully cracked much of the online encryption relied upon by hundreds of millions of people to protect the privacy of their personal data, online transactions and emails, according to top-secret documents revealed by former contractor Edward… Continue Reading

New GAO Reports – DOD Financial Management, Standards For Internal Control In The Federal Government

DOD Financial Management – Ineffective Risk Management Could Impair Progress toward Audit-Ready Financial Statements, GAO-13-123, Aug 2, 2013 Standards For Internal Control In The Federal Government – 2013 Exposure Draft, GAO-13-830SP, Sep 3, 2013 Continue Reading

Guardian – NSA loophole allows warrantless search for US citizens’ emails and phone calls

Spy agency has secret backdoor permission to search databases for individual Americans’ communications – “The National Security Agency has a secret backdoor into its vast databases under a legal authority enabling it to search for US citizens’email and phone calls without a warrant, according to a top-secret document passed to the Guardian by Edward Snowden. The previously… Continue Reading

Retaining and Preserving Federal Records in a Digital Environment

CRS – Retaining and Preserving Federal Records in a Digital Environment: Background and Issues for Congress – Wendy Ginsberg, Analyst in American National Government. July 26, 2013 “All federal departments and agencies create federal records “in connection with the transaction of public business.” The Federal Records Act, as amended (44 U.S.C. Chapters 21, 29, 31,… Continue Reading

How lawyers are mining the information mother lode for pricing, practice tips and predictions

How lawyers are mining the information mother lode for pricing, practice tips and predictions, by Joe Dysart. ABA Journal, May 1, 2013. “Law firms are using big data to identify which cases will be easy slam dunks and those that are air balls. They’re relying on the technology to get a read on what other… Continue Reading

Cloud Computing: Constitutional and Statutory Privacy Protections

CRS – Cloud Computing: Constitutional and Statutory Privacy Protections, Richard M. Thompson II, Legislative Attorney. March 22, 2013 “…cloud computing is a web-based service that allows users to access anything from e-mail to social media on a third-party computer. For instance, Gmail and Yahoo are cloud-based email services that allow users to access and store… Continue Reading

VA Review of Alleged Transmission of Sensitive VA Data Over Internet Connections

VA Office of Inspector General, Office of Audits and Evaluations – Review of Alleged Transmission of Sensitive VA Data Over Internet Connections, March 6, 2013 “We substantiated the allegation that VA was transmitting sensitive data, including PII and internal network routing information, over an unencrypted telecommunications carrier network. Office of Information and Technology (OIT) personnel… Continue Reading

New GAO Reports – Combating Autism Act, E-Health Records, Federal Real Property, Indian Affairs, Strategic Sourcing

Combating Autism Act – HHS Agencies Responded with New and Continuing Activities, Including Oversight, GAO-13-232, Feb 27, 2013 Electronic Health Records – Long History of Management Challenges Raises Concerns about VA’s and DOD’s New Approach to Sharing Health Information, GAO-13-413T, Feb 27, 2013 Federal Real Property – High-Risk Designation Remains due to Persistent Management Challenges,… Continue Reading