US Amps Up Planning for Cyber Arms Race

(NEWSER) - President Obama promised to use the Internet to give Americans a greater voice in government—but in keeping that promise, he’s given America’s fringe a chance to shout at him, the New York Times reports. When the administration asked for ideas on how to make the government more transparent, it was bombarded with messages about marijuana, UFOs, and Obama’s birth certificate. More»

(NEWSER) - Major defense contractors are already staffed with "hacker soldiers" who can help them earn billions of dollars in Washington's new cyberwar, the New York Times reports. Cranking rock tunes and piling up pop cans, engineers hack away at companies like Raytheon, working for the Pentagon or protecting internal documents. Now, with President Obama seeking a new cyberwar command, the rush for government contracts is on. More»

(AP) - The US has for too long failed to protect the security of its computer networks, President Obama said today, announcing he will name a new cyber czar to take on the job. This is a "transformational moment" for the country, Obama said, with computer networks probed and attacked millions of times a day. "We're not as prepared as we should be, as a government or as a country." No word yet on when the new czar will be named. More»

Obama says acquisitions program has 'run amok'

(NEWSER) - The Defense Department will add 20,000 jobs over the next 5 years in an overhaul of its $100 billion weapons-buying process, Reuters reports. New regulations will tie compensation more closely to performance, and the Pentagon will require “real, substantial” tax savings in any multiyear deals, a deputy defense secretary told Congress yesterday. The “unprecedented” plan “will result in a properly sized, well-trained, capable, and ethical workforce,” he said. More»

Format shows administration is serious about opening government

(NEWSER) - Sure, President Obama’s online town hall meeting today ended up being mostly like a normal press conference, writes Jose Antonio Vargas for the Washington Post, with Obama answering mostly “predictable” questions with “tried-and-tested policy responses.” What makes the event important is that the president was asked questions that received the most votes, with little White House filtering. More»