Government Technology

The White House is leading efforts for online authentication technology -- a new form of identification that some have called a driver's license for the Internet.

But program leaders at the National Institute of Standards and Technology maintain that such a characterization is inaccurate, while privacy groups worry that the program’s scope could creep beyond the bounds of constitutionality if not carefully managed.

Today’s incarnation of the National Strategy for Trusted Identities in Cyberspace (NSTIC) endeavors to provide state residents with a common identity for acquiring services across state departments, piloting technology that could be used more broadly online. Michigan and Pennsylvania are now running federally-funded pilot programs to test early versions of the technology. An additional 10 organizations will be announced to receive pilot funding in August.

The program is also NIST’s effort to encourage the private sector to develop viable alternatives to a well-known but aging form of authentication: the password.

The movement to allow everyday items to connect to the Internet has gained momentum, as toothbrushes, bathroom scales and trash cans (to name a few) are available with sensors and online access.

And now, this dominantly consumer-based field may see a new line up of enterprise-focused -- and potentially government-focused -- startups through a new program by the Alchemist Accelerator. As a San Francisco-based tech accelerator for startups that provide enterprise-level solutions, Alchemist was recently supercharged with funding from Cisco Systems to launch its first six-month accelerator program to support Internet of everything startups.

The program draws upon a portion of $150 million -- funding that Cisco allocated in April -- for growth outside traditional markets. Openings for 13 startup teams have been offered, and an application deadline has been set for May 17 with the Internet of Everything Accelerator program to start on Aug 21. Alchemist’s Managing Director Ravi Belani spoke with Government Technology to outline why the program was created and what it intends to accomplish during its inaugural debut.

In July 2013, Kenya’s Ministry of Information, Communications and Technology along with the Communications Commission of Kenya launched the National Broadband Strategy, one piece of the nation’s ambitious Vision 2030 program.

But is the nation is ready to give its people the power of the Internet? Some fear broadband could become a tool of the powerful in Kenya, further dividing the classes. There also are fundamental infrastructure barriers to the success of a broadband rollout.

A 2011 World Bank survey found an average of 6.9 power outages in Kenya monthly, and the lack of reliable electricity was cited as a major constraint by more than 25 percent of Kenyan businesses.

The Florida Department of Children and Families (DCF) has adopted an online authentication tool the agency is using to ensure that the benefits it issues, like food assistance, are going to the right people.

Such incarnations of online authentication technology are sprouting up in state government agencies around the country, led by a White House vision of a new, central form of identification, what some are calling “a driver’s license for the Internet.”

The DCF reported that in 2013 it saved about $14.7 million through the use of an online authentication tool, with an initial investment of about $1 million and a total contract of just under $3 million. The DCF says the technology is saving so much money because it saves staff the time of verifying identities manually, and even better, there’s been a reduction in cases of identity fraud.

Not everyone thinks a driver’s license for the Internet is a great idea. Lee Tien, senior staff attorney with the Electronic Frontier Foundation, is skeptical whether the government’s main motivation with such a program would even be fraud prevention -- and not tracking. “We think it’s a terrible idea,” Tien said. “The main substantive issue is that much of what we do on the Internet is plain old speech: writing comments, posting on blogs or whatever. And one of the things about speech in the United States, especially under the First Amendment of the Constitution, is that you have a right to speak anonymously. […] Any mandatory type of ID online runs really directly counter to that.”

Technology has become a major factor in many of the proposals introduced by lawmakers during state legislative sessions. But it can be difficult to zero-in on the elected leaders who have their fingers on the pulse of and are truly engaged in the latest tech issues -- until now.

Government Technology has produced a list of 13 state senators and representatives who have shown a keen interest in and willingness to tackle technology policy and legislation. The legislators included on the interactive map were based on recommendations from the National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO), the National Association of Counties (NACo) the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), the Council of State Governments (CSG) and other experts. Those recommendations were researched and vetted by Government Technology Senior Writer Brian Heaton and Managing Editor Noelle Knell.

These include: Washington Rep Reuven Carlyle (D-Seattle); Nebraska Sen Dan Watermeier, (Lincoln); Illinois Sen Ira Silverstein (D-Chicago); Illinois Sen Don Harmon (D-Oak Park); California Sen Alex Padilla (D-Pacoima); Minnesota Sen Matt Schmit (DFL-Red Wing); Washington Rep Jeff Morris (D-Mount Vernon); North Dakota Rep Blair Thoreson (R-Fargo); and Minnesota Rep Joe Atkins (DFL-District 52B).

A California appeals court recently ruled that emails and other forms of electronic communication about public business are not subject to the state’s Public Records Act if they’re conducted on a private computer or device.

But the decision’s impact on government transparency policies may cause aftershocks well beyond the Golden State’s borders. The 6th District Court of Appeal in San Jose’s March 27 opinion gives elected officials and government employees a free pass to conduct public business in secret on their own devices. And with other states grappling with data retention and transparency issues, the decision could serve as a model to pull back on open government efforts over the last several years.

The 6th District Court of Appeal’s ruling overturned a lower court decision that would have enabled a citizen to obtain messages sent on private devices through private accounts of the San Jose mayor and city council members. The California Supreme Court may take up the case, but if it doesn’t, the 6th District’s decision would stand, creating a precedent for similar situations in the future.

On March 12, 2014, a contest to connect New York City businesses with high-speed Internet came to a close.

Held by the New York City Economic Development Corp. (EDC), the ConnectNYC Fiber Challenge will award city businesses with dedicated fiber to their locations -- each of which is worth about $50,000. Now the EDC is working its way through more than 150 applications, giving out fiber connections on a first come, first serve basis. And according to Ian Fried, marketing and publicity director for EDC, none of the applicants have been turned away thus far.

"And we hope that as many contracts as possible can be negotiated," he said. This is the second round of the ConnectNYC program, which is funded by a franchise agreement with the city.

In the first round, 29 businesses were selected, and included a Holiday Inn in Long Island and a Kickstarter project. The EDC expanded the program by partnering with more ISPs, offering more applications and providing $14 million worth of fiber construction cost coverage for the winning businesses.

"This program doesn't just benefit tech companies," said Eric Gertler, executive vice president of the Economic Development Corporation (EDC). "We're living in an age where broadband is essential for all types of businesses." In New York City, a majority of people receive their Internet service through legacy copper wires -- which is incapable of supporting high performance services, so fiber is the next step.

This century, we face a much larger challenge than bringing 100 gigabyte connectivity to college campuses. We have to figure out how to feed 9 billion people and decrease poverty.

Government, higher education and citizens must all come to the table and work together to solve this problem with the help of technology, said Chris Vein, chief innovation officer for global information and communications technology at the World Bank.

In a keynote at the 2014 Internet2 Global Summit in Denver on Monday, April 7, Vein said that the World Bank is shooting for two goals: Nearly end extreme poverty by 2030 and grow the income of the bottom 40 percent of the population in each country. Three of his keys to solving this worldwide problem of hunger and poverty include bringing Internet connectivity to another billion citizens, transforming bureaucracy and innovating innovation itself. By bringing together public entities, private organizations, citizens, and the higher education research and development community, everyone can start building small solutions to solve these problems.

He suggested that governments needs to let go of control over data and open it up to the community so they could create panaceas for problems together. And they also need to highlight projects that are working well.

A social media monitoring tool developed in 2013 by Pierce County (WA), got its first real-world use in March during search and rescue efforts following the massive mudslide in Washington State.

Known as the FirstToSee Emergency Support System, the tool was used to search Twitter for the word “missing,” and relevant tweets were provided to emergency response officials.

Pierce County IT Director Linda Gerull says it's too early to gauge what impact the new technology had on efforts to rescue victims of the massive slide that hit rural Oso (WA) on March 22. So far, 33 people are confirmed dead and a dozen are still missing.

The monitoring system leverages existing social media technologies to "greatly improve emergency preparedness and management" in the Puget Sound region, according to the Piece County. Gerull said the idea for the FirstToSee system was developed by local emergency management professionals after noticing the public flocking to social media outlets to report incidents during times of crisis.

“This is not a replacement for 911,” she said. “It is used for non-life-threatening calls and allows us to see reports of flooding, what roads are closed and where there are trees down.” The new system is the result of a $550,000 Homeland Security Grant from the federal government and was developed by staff from Pierce County and the nonprofit Pacific Northwest Economic Region Foundation.

Longboat Key (FL) is setting an example for fiscal transparency.

In 2012, when the town’s commissioners requested an online budget module to replace paper reports and documents, the finance and IT departments delivered. The town’s employees were quickly able to access a financial database using RedBack Ecommerce to view a live feed from the finance department’s reporting system. When the town experienced a change in leadership, there was a push to share the same information to the public.

In mid-February, the town launched an online graph, using fiscal data that feeds directly from the finance department’s database, to display revenues and expenses. The chart is publicly accessible. “We are providing a high-level executive overview in a simple way,” said Kathi Pletzke, the town’s IT director. “You don’t need a business degree to tell if we’re on track with our budget with the tool.” The tables and charts, which cost about 25 hours of development time, or approximately $2,500, provide the most current view of the town's budgeted revenues and expenditures, as well as year-to-date amounts.

The online tool, funded by IT’s professional services budget, includes five fiscal years of current and historical expenditure data along with graphing tools and the ability to export the data to Excel for further analysis.