Cyber Attackers Have the Edge

A look at the week of April 4 in public advocacy for the IT channel  

Cybersecurity experts are beginning to feel that attackers have an edge on the government and are stressing the importance or collaborating with the private sector in fending them off.  H-1B visa reform is being pressed by tech companies, despite the persistently high US unemployment rate.  This week, the VA is taking steps to transfer its leading EMR system to an open source format.

Cyber Attackers Have the Edge —Top American cybersecurity officials stressed the need to work closer with private industry and other governments to fight the changing threat from ever-craftier cyber attackers, reports the National Journal.  During the Air Force Association’s Cyberfutures Conference, Department of Homeland Security staff noted that cybercriminals now use less destructive, but more targeted attacks to steal money, information or intellectual property.

Pressure Mounts for H-1B Reform — Pressure is mounting from all sides for lawmakers to reform the H-1B temporary guest-worker visa program, according to The Hill. Tech firms and industry groups have long called for the government to increase the number of H-1B guest-worker visas, arguing that the U.S. doesn't produce enough engineers and scientists to fill all of their vacancies. But lawmakers are acknowledging that increasing the number of imported foreign workers is a tough sell in the current political climate, with high unemployment in many parts of the nation.

VA To Use Open Source Format for EMRs — The Obama Administration has made national adoption of paperless records a major tenant of its overhaul of the nation's healthcare delivery system. The Department of Veterans Affairs is leading the charge among federal agencies with VistA, the most extensively used e-health records system in the nation, says The Hill.  The VA plans on beginning VistA’s conversion to open source this summer.