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Army award $10B IDIQ, How to protect HIPAA in the cloud and more

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Here are the top cyber stories and news of the day.

  • Army awards 20 companies a spot on $10 billion IDIQ - The US Army awarded 20 companies a spot on the Global Tactical Advanced Communications Systems contract. This five-year contract is worth $10B total. There is a small-business set-aside for task-orders totaling $4.5M or less. Via FedScoop, more here.
  • How to Prevent Spear Phishing Attacks - eSecurity Planet has some tips on how to avoid spear phishing attacks. These tips include training, but also a service known as Phishme. Via eSecurity Planet, more here.
  • GAO: Agencies not implementing OMB geospatial procedures - The GAO said in a recent report that federal department and agencies are not following the procedures OMB outlined for coordinating investments in geospatial data. A 2012 Department of the Interior estimates that the federal government spends billions of dollars a year on geospatial data annually, additionally, that data is frequently duplicated. Via FedScoop, more here.
  • Amazon And Google Denied G-Cloud Entry ‘As Clouds Not Government Ready’ - Apparently both Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Google were denied entrance into the European Union’s framework for G-Cloud. The G-Cloud framework has 458 suppliers available, but apparently the “Clouds [are] Not Government Ready.” Via TechWeekEurope, more here.
  • Government has avoided $47 billion in improper payments - The government has been able to avoid more than $47B in improper payments through the “Campaign to Cut Waste.” The goal was $50B, but this is still a strong step in the right direction. Additionally, when DoD savings are added in, the savings are over $70B. Via FedScoop, more here.
  • 5 Mobile Security Trends and Actions to Consider - As governments (and people) move more towards mobile infrastructure, Gov Tech has some mobile security trends you need to pay attention to. These include the growth of mobile data, malware and BYOD programs. As well, they are seeing complexity growing in authentication and mobile platform support. Via GovTech, more here.
  • 3 steps to HIPAA security in the cloud - Government Health IT has 3 steps agencies can take to move towards HIPAA security in the cloud. As more health IT goes electronic, it’s more and more important to protect PII. Via Government Health IT, more here.

Read the original blog entry...

More Stories By Bob Gourley

Bob Gourley, former CTO of the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), is Founder and CTO of Crucial Point LLC, a technology research and advisory firm providing fact based technology reviews in support of venture capital, private equity and emerging technology firms. He has extensive industry experience in intelligence and security and was awarded an intelligence community meritorious achievement award by AFCEA in 2008, and has also been recognized as an Infoworld Top 25 CTO and as one of the most fascinating communicators in Government IT by GovFresh.

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