Technology Sharing in Government

Having been credentialed again as a member of the media to cover FOSE 2013, I am now busy preparing to attend it with great interest. The largest and most comprehensive Government Technology event, it is being held on May 14-16, 2013 at the Washington, D.C. Convention Center, with access to Chinatown and the National Mall.

With the nation’s capital, Washington, DC, as the site FOSE has been attracting for many years now a “diverse mix of government workers, members of Congress from every state, foreign emissaries, lobbyists, petitioners and protestors.”

If you need it, it will be there. They call it a “one-stop shop” for products, technologies, solutions and services dealing with the government especially in the field of Information Technology.

Expected to attend and connect with one another are more than 8,000 government technology professionals, about 250 exhibiting companies, foreign emissaries, and some pre-selected members of the media. I hope that the Philippine Embassy is represented because of the important and very relevant sessions and new technologies exhibited and discussed at the event.

Aside from the exhibits at the Expo, there are several topics and/or tracks that are offered to attendees. Among them are: Big Data and Business Intelligence; Cybercrime and Cyberterrorism; Cloud & Virtualization; Cybersecurity; Mobile Government; Project Management; Future Government Technology Leaders; and Government Tech Talks.

While I am interested in ALL the topics, time and human limitations prevent me from attending all. As of this writing, I intend to cover Mobile Government and Cybercrime & Cyberterrorism more intently. I will try to arrange having access to the other presentations when uploaded online usually a few days after the event.

Mobile Government

It is expected that the use of smart phones and tablets will become the common method for conducting the business of government. The mobile devices are new ways for government agencies to communicate with citizens.

I understand that FOSE will “provide insights on technology trends, case studies, and leading practices on planning, implementation, and benefits realization.”

I am particularly interested in the sessions that deal with the following topics:

1. The Architects of the Digital Government
2. Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) – Bringing My Commercial Technology to Work
3. Security – What Are The Threats and how Do We Stop Them?
4. Mobile Applications – Using Mobility Better the Mission
5. Mobile Acquisitions – Challenges and Opportunities
6. Mobile Integration – Putting the pieces of Mobility together for the Enterprise.

Cybercrime & Cyberterrorism

We must all remain knowledgeable, vigilant and prepared to counter the terrorist threat to our nation’s physical and economic security. This is why I intend to spend more time in the sessions that deal with the following topics:

1. Social Media Security: Leveraging Social Networking While Mitigating Risk
2. You Drop the (Cyber) Bomb on Me: A Primer on Cyber Warfare Tools & Techniques
3. The Evolving Role of Cyber
4. BYOD Security
5. Case Studies on the Use of Electronic Social Media in Political Dissent
6. The BYOA (Bring-your-own-App) Floodgates Have Opened & the Government Must Learn to Swim
7. Chinese Espionage: How US Organizations Fail in Protecting Intellectual Property (And Ways to Remedy the Problem)
8. The Cyber and Data Security Rules of the Road

Under the sessions on Cybersecurity is the topic Current Threats and Attacks – Case Studies. It is also one that I would like to cover while attending the event.

I will write my impressions on some, if not all, of the topics I mentioned above in my subsequent columns/blogs. This way, knowledge is shared and would make my readers equally empowered.