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Today's Top Stories
1. Six things government needs to know about mobile in 2013
2. U.S. increases foreign aid transparency by publishing IATI-compliant data and schedule
3. FCC would regulate Internet data caps under Wyden bill
4. IID: Mobile devices will soon be used to carry out physical crimes
5. Mayor Bloomberg: Apple mobile device thieves responsible for 2012 increase in NYC crimes Also Noted: Box
ATF looks at a more mobile workforce; NSA readying classified mobile device service; and much more...  Follow @fiercegov on Twitter
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1. First FedRAMP provisional cloud security authorization goes to N.C. small business
2. Ozone Widget Framework on GitHub
3. Cliff averted but sequester still looms
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Today's Top News 1. Six things government needs to know about mobile in 2013
 The Office of Citizen Services and Innovative Technologies within the General Services Administration tells readers via its Mobile Gov blog to be aware of six basic technology and policy developments when implementing mobile strategies in 2013.
They are: - APIs;
- open content management;
- mobile first;
- mobile app vs. mobile web;
- mobile web/responsive design, web apps & native apps;
- mobile platforms. Application programming interfaces – or APIs – aren't new, of course, but a push by the Office of Management and Budget to have agencies adopt them in order to make federal data accessible to widget and app developers dates back mostly to OMB's May 2012 release of the Digital Government Strategy. Mobile first isn't an OMB policy such as cloud first, or shared first, or future first, but rather an idea that web sites "should first be designed for mobile devices, including only those tasks/items that website visitors use most," GSA says. The debate on mobile app vs. mobile web really isn't one, according to the blog post; a 2011 HowTo.gov webinar on the subject concluded that agencies should implement both. And in any case, mobile implementation "is not a clear cut decision between mobile web vs. mobile app," the post also says. "Mobile products fall in a continuum between mobile web and native," it adds. As for 2013, the blog post says to expect more work in the expansion of Consensus Mobile Good Practices on measurement, promotion, data development and other areas. For more:
- go to the Mobile Gov blog post Related Articles:
Brooks: APIs are not a fad
Web content management diminishing in importance, says GSA official
JSON preferred over XML for government APIs Read more about: OCSIT, Digital Government Strategy
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2. U.S. increases foreign aid transparency by publishing IATI-compliant data and schedule
Initial data on U.S. foreign assistance in the International Aid Transparency Initiative's common data standard is now available for download in XML format from the Foreign Assistance Dashboard, and the State Department has also published an implementation schedule detailing the timetable and frequency of data to be published going forward. The State Department said Dec. 20 that these latest actions represent a "significant milestone" in its effort to increase foreign aid transparency. The Foreign Assistance Dashboard, initiated by the State Department and U.S. Agency for International Development under the policy guidance of the National Security Staff, seeks to provide a centralized view of U.S. foreign assistance funds and enable users to track aid investments in a standard format. At the Fourth High-Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness in South Korea in 2011, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced that the United States was a new signatory to the IATI, a multistakeholder initiative that includes donors, partner countries and civil society organizations. To date, 106 organizations have published data in the IATI XML format. Because IATI data is open, standardized and machine readable, it can be freely converted into databases, spreadsheets, web applications, printed documents or data visualizations. U.S. data published in the IATI format will include preliminary, activity-level quarterly reporting for fiscal 2012 and budget request data for those agencies that report to the Foreign Assistance Dashboard. The State Department also said that U.S. activity-level data reported to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development's Development Assistance Committee's Creditor Reporting System has also been published in the IATI format for 2009 and 2010, and that 2011 data will be available soon. Additional information about foreign assistance transparency is available from Office of Management and Budget's Bulletin 12-01 (.pdf), which outlines the required data fields needed to satisfy U.S. government reporting requirements and provides guidance on the collection of foreign assistance data. For more:
- read the State Department press release
- download OMB Bulletin 12-01 (.pdf) Related Articles:
73 countries gather for Open Government Partnership meeting
Open Government Partnership grows
Obama signs global Open Government Partnership charter Read more about: State Department, XML
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3. FCC would regulate Internet data caps under Wyden bill
 Internet service providers would have to measure data usage according to federal standards under a bill introduced recently by Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.).
The Dec. 20 bill (.pdf) would have the Federal Communications Commission establish the standards in consultation with the National Institute of Standards and Technology and the private sector. Internet service providers who don't use the FCC standards would not be allowed to cap the amount of data consumers use. The commission would also determine whether a provider's data cap does in fact limit network congestion or if it needlessly discourages Internet use. Wyden introduced the Data Cap Integrity Act a few days after the New America Foundation released a report (.pdf) that called into question whether monthly data caps actually address network congestion. The report says that "data caps, especially on wireline networks, are hardly a necessity. Rather, they are motivated by a desire to further increase revenues from existing subscribers and protect legacy services such as cable television from competing Internet services." Data caps have "become a cash cow for the two largest mobile providers, Verizon and AT&T, who already were making impressive margins on their mobile data service before abandoning unlimited plans," it also says. Wyden's bill "is intended to...ensure that data caps are used only to serve the legitimate purpose of addressing congestion," the senator says in a press release. The bill also includes a net-neutrality provision that would bar Internet service providers from giving "preferential treatment" to certain data based on its content or source. For more:
- download the Data Cap Integrity Act (.pdf)
- download the New America report (.pdf) Related Articles:
Broadband requires FCC to modernize policies, says Genachowski
White House moves to accelerate broadband deployment
Internet freedom legislation still being considered by Congress Read more about: NIST, data caps
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4. IID: Mobile devices will soon be used to carry out physical crimes
By 2014, significant new methods of cybercrime will emerge, including the use of Internet-connected devices to carry out physical crimes such as murders, says Tacoma, Wash.-based cybersecurity firm IID. In a Dec. 18 release, IID says Internet-enabled homicides could include turning off a pacemaker remotely, an Internet-connected car that can have its control systems altered, or an intravenous drip that can be shut off from a computer. "Killings can be carried out with a significantly lower chance of getting caught, much less convicted, and if human history shows us anything, if you can find a new way to kill, it will be eventually be used," Rod Rasmussen, IID's president and chief technology officer, said in the release. According to IID, by 2014, cyber criminals will also leverage mobile device Near Field Communications to wreak havoc with banking and e-commerce. IID predicts that while the underlying technology in NFC is secure, almost all of the applications that will be written to interface with the technology will be riddled with security holes. Nearly 300 million--or one in five--smartphones worldwide are estimated to be NFC-enabled by 2014, so the consequences of NFC security vulnerabilities could be wide ranging. "The amount of banking and point of sale e-commerce apps that are being developed utilizing NFC is astronomical," said IID Vice President of Threat Intelligence Paul Ferguson. "This is a gold mine for cybercriminals and we have already seen evidence that they are working to leverage these apps to siphon money." For more:
- read the IID press release Related Articles:
FCC releases web resource for consumers to protect smartphones from security threats
FBI issues Android malware warning
Pew poll: Smartphone users have privacy concerns Read more about: Paul Ferguson
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5. Mayor Bloomberg: Apple mobile device thieves responsible for 2012 increase in NYC crimes
 While New York City's homicide rate is the lowest since 1963, Mayor Michael Bloomberg blames a rise in thefts of Apple iPhones and iPads for a slight increase in major crimes committed in the city in 2012, a New York Times blog post says.
During his weekly radio show, Bloomberg said that the Police Department recorded 3,890 more incidents of theft involving Apple products, which contributed to the additional 3,484 major crimes in the city in 2012 compared to the same period the previous year. Overall, there were 108,432 major crimes for the year, up from 104,948 in 2011, a 3.3 percent increase. If it weren't for the spike in stolen Apple devices, officials believe New York's overall annual crime index would be down. Bloomberg said that thieves appeared to favor Apple products. The figure of 3,890 more Apple device thefts doesn't account for thefts of other brands of smartphones and tablets, which, of course, also get stolen. For more:
- read the NYT blog post
- listen to a recording of Bloomberg's radio show Related Articles:
FCC releases web resource for consumers to protect smartphones from security threats
Interior looks to secure mobile devices used internationally
NIST: Mobile devices inherently insecure Read more about: smartphones, New York City
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Also Noted | This week's sponsor is Box. | | Government IT leaders are increasingly turning to cloud-based solutions that centralize and control information, as well as meet the needs of today's highly mobile and collaborative workforce. Learn how Box delivers on the promise of cloud and mobility with secure collaboration that mitigates risk and reduces the cost of maintaining legacy file servers. Download this overview today!
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> NTIA recaps 2012 efforts. Blog (NTIA)
> ATF looks at a more mobile workforce. Article (FCW)
> NSA readying classified mobile device service. Article (AOLGov)
> Roughly 52 percent of American homes don't use a landline. Article (Atlantic)
> FCC to ease rules on onboard Internet use. Article (Air Traffic Management) And Finally… The surprisingly manly history of hot cocoa. Article (Neatorama) > Survey: Federal IT Priorities: Top Executives Look to 2013 and Beyond In a recent survey on Federal IT Reform, Senior government IT executives laid out their vision for the coming year, detailing challenges and identifying priorities. To read more about these timely results click here to download the summary today. | ©2012 FierceMarkets This email was sent to ignoble.experiment@arconati.us as part of the FierceMobileGovernment email list which is administered by FierceMarkets, 1900 L Street NW, Suite 400, Washington, DC 20036, (202) 628-8778.
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