Report: GSA Changes Mobility Policy to Include Apple, Android

The General Services Administration will soon start buying Apple and Android devices in addition to Blackberry devices, Bloomberg reports. 

Deborah Ruiz, a GSA spokeswoman, told Bloomberg that GSA can now request Apple and Android devices but she did not say when the policy change took place.

Blackberry is favored by…

Report: Pentagon Approval for Android, Apple In the Works

The Defense Information Systems Agency expects to issue security guidelines in August covering both Google‘s Android operating system and Apple‘s iOS, a lead DISA official told NextGov.

Mark Orndorff, DISA’s program executive officer for mission assurance network operations, said the guidelines will address security concerns that…

Report: Iridium to Help Twitter Make SMS Available on All Phones

Iridium is among the few satellite operators Twitter is partnering with in the U.S. to expand the social network’s short message service reach, ZDNet reports. 

Twitter plans to give subscribers access to SMS capabilities on any mobile device, according to ZDNet. The aim is to provide users pertinent information in cases of emergencies. 

Iridium will help Twitter act…

Report: Mobility Policies Gaining Speed in Agencies

Agencies are increasingly implementing policies to allow employees to bring their own mobile devices to work, according to a CDW Government report.

CDW surveyed 414 federal employees and information staff and found that about 62 percent of federal agencies have policies in place for employees to bring their own devices.

According to CDW,…

GSA Looking to Small Businesses for Tablets

The General Services Administration is exploring a purchase of tablet computers and wants to know if U.S. small businesses have what the agency would want.

In a request for information, GSA said the tablets must be manufactured by a small business in the U.S. and meet encryption standards established by the National…

NIST Panel Says Public Safety Should Use Unlicensed Spectrum

A National Institute of Standards and Technology-appointed panel is recommending a broadband public safety network use unlicensed spectrum, according to a paper dated Jan. 24.

NIST’s Visiting Committee on Advanced Technology said the 700 megahertz spectrum range, known as the D block, for public safety is attractive because of its propagation and penetration characteristics.

The panel…

Interior Dept. Allowing Mobile Email Access

The Interior Department launched a portal Thursday allowing employees to access the agency’s network on mobile devices, Federal News Radio reports. 

“Any device that will access a network can access this new system that we’re launching today,” Andrew Jackson, deputy assistant secretary for technology, information and business services, said to Federal News Radio.

Interior…

NIST Approves Cubic Algorithms for RF Transceivers

The National Institute of Standards and Technology has validated two cryptographic algorithms produced by Cubic‘s global tracking solutions subsidiary, Cubic announced Tuesday.

The validation means the AES-CCM and mist™ DRBG algorithms have met NIST’s information security guidelines. NIST says the algorithm validation is a prerequisite to the agency’s validation program for…

VA CIO Says Secure Mobile Network Could Expand in ’12, Clinicians to Benefit Most

The Department of Veterans Affairs must put a mobile device management system in place before allowing more mobile devices into the workplace, VA Chief Information Officer Roger Baker said Wednesday.

The VA has capped the number of authorized Apple devices at 1,000, according to FierceGovernmentIT. During a conference call with reporters,…

GPO, Library of Congress Launch iPad App for Hill Info

Citizens who want to listen to congressional proceedings and debates now have an iPad application for that, the Government Printing Office said Wednesday.

The GPO said the Committee on House Administration requested that information regarding congressional hearings be available on an app.

The GPO worked with the Library of Congress…