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A group of technology company associations say a provision in the continuing resolution funding the government through the rest of the fiscal year that requires some federal agencies to certify a national interest before purchasing any technology made by a company with any direct ties to the Chinese government is counterproductive.

Ensuring that law enforcement agencies don't unknowingly upset each other's operations when conducting a raid or sending out undercover officers requires software to deconflict those events--but the Government Accountability Office says interoperability obstacles between federal deconfliction systems persist.

Most Americans who have yet to prepare a federal tax return can do so for free online through an Internal Revenue Service partnership with tax prep software companies known as Free File.

Opponents of the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act and government transparency advocates are calling on the House Intelligence Committee to hold a public markup of the bill when it comes before the committee next week – although committee staff the nature of the committee hearing prevents public entry or recording.

NRC has paid about $5.3 million to develop the system, the Safeguards Informational Local Area Network and Electronic Safe, or SLES, following a 2004 directive to develop a way to electronically share certain safeguards and classified information. Auditors don't criticize the security of the system, but the fact that it "doesn't fully meet user needs."

Federal agencies should treat the identities of Freedom of Information Act requesters with the same privacy protections as librarians extend to patrons, argues an City University of New York law school academic.

Greg Nojeim, CDT senior counsel, noted during  presser that the liability protection provision in CISPA would shield companies participating in cyber threat information authorized by the bill from civil or criminal suits launched over "decisions made based on cyber threat information." "What might those decisions be? What if one's decision made on the receipt of cyberthreat information…is to render the sending computer inoperative?" he said.

Homeland Security Department Chief Information Officer Richard Spires has voluntarily elected to take leave from his position due to reasons protected by privacy law, DHS officials said April 1. Requesting anonymity because personnel matters are shielded from disclosure, a DHS official said Spires has not been placed on leave; he requested it, the official said.

An Arizona federal district judge could be the first to rule on the constitutionality of federal law enforcement's use of a cell phone tracking device known as a stingray, in a criminal case against a man whose location was found using one. On March 29, the federal district of Arizona heard arguments in an evidentiary hearing, with Judge David Campbell stating he will issue a ruling within a few weeks.

A Government Accountability Office review of Defense Department major information technology systems finds management problems in some key enterprise resource planning systems. The review (.pdf) is of 14 selected major automated information systems: IT projects that meet DoD size thresholds that characterize them as large, even by Defense standards.