Google Launches Google Apps For Government

Google has introduced a new Government Edition of Google Apps. It includes all of the features of other Google Apps editions, but adds policy and security features. Google says it was designed with guidance from the federal government, as well as the Cities of Los Angeles and Orlando.

Google Apps for Government stores Gmail and Calendar data in a segregated system located in the continental United States, exclusively for government customers.

The company also announced that Google Apps is the first cloud app suite to receive Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA) certification and accreditation from the U.S. government. Kripa Krishnan, Technical Program Manager on Google Apps for Government explains:

The FISMA law applies to all information systems in use by U.S. federal government agencies to help ensure they’re secure. The federal government’s General Services Administration has reviewed the documentation of our security controls and issued an authorization to operate, the official confirmation of our FISMA certification and accreditation. This review makes it easier for federal agencies to compare our security features to those of their existing systems; most agencies we have worked with have found that Google Apps provides at least equivalent, if not better, security than they have today. This means government customers can move to the cloud with confidence.

Google Apps for Government is available for any federal, state or local government in the United States.

 

Google Continues Adding Options for Google News

At the end of June, Google made some big changes to the Google News home page. In fact, Google called these changes the biggest redesign of Google News since its beta launch in 2002.

Since this redesign, Google has been making some adjustments as people have shared their feelings about it. "Some of you told us that you really liked it, especially how the 'News for you' section lets you see a stream of articles tailored to the interests you specify," says Product Manager Chris Beckmann on the Google News blog. "The positive usage data we saw during our months-long tests of the redesign has continued since we introduced it to all users of the U.S. English edition, and hundreds of thousands of you have already customized your Google News homepages. But some of you wrote in to say you missed certain aspects of the previous design, such as the ability to see results grouped by section (U.S., Business, etc.) in two columns."

 

"At Google, we're all about launching and iterating, so we've been making improvements to the design in response to your feedback," adds Beckmann. "For example, we're now showing the entire cluster of articles for each story, rather than expanding the cluster when you hover your mouse over it. We've given you the ability to hide the weather forecast from your local news section. We made the option to switch between List view and Section view more obvious."

Google has also now added an option in "News for You" for a Two-column view, which shows three top stories from each section:.

While the new version of Google News is available in English in the U.S., the company said upon launch that it would be extended over the next few months.

Google Apps Users Get New Mobile Security Options

Google has announced some new mobile device management options for Google Apps administrators. The options will be available to all Google Apps Premier and Education customers starting this week.

New options include:

- Requiring devices to use data encryption

- Auto-wiping device after specified number of failed password attempts

- Disabling the phone’s camera

- Ensuring old passwords are not reused

- Requiring passwords to be changed after specified time interval

- Disabling data synchronization when device is roaming to reduce wireless overage charges

 "It's our mission to provide users with seamless access to their data while allowing enterprise administrators to centrally manage a diverse range of mobile devices," says Google Software Engineer Dale Woodford. "We're working to enhance our device management options and to expand our list of supported devices – including Android later this year."

The new options can be found in the "mobile" tab under the "service settings in the Google Apps control panel. More information on Google Apps mobile security settings can be found here.

More Employees Visiting Social Networks At Work

Even though more companies are regulating social networking sites, employees are finding ways around security blocks, according to a new survey from Trend Micro.

The survey included 1,600 users in the U.S., U.K., Germany and Japan, found globally social networking at work increased from 19 percent in 2008 to 24 percent in 2010. The highest increase in social networking in the workplace during the last two years was found among users in the U.K., which had a 6 percent increase, and Germany with a 10 percent increase.

"Social networking is an extremely important tool both for personal and professional-relationship building. And while most companies' concerns around social networking in the office center around the loss of employee productivity, what they may not realize is that many social networking sites are built on interactive technologies that give cybercriminals endless opportunities to exploit end users, steal personal identities or business data, and corrupt corporate networks with malware," said David Perry, global director of education. source:
www.webpronews.com/topnews/

Google Could Have Collected WiFi Data From Members Of Congress

Google's Street View cars could have recorded communications from some members of Congress, involved in national security issues, via unencrypted WiFi connections, according to an investigation by Consumer Watchdog's InsideGoogle.

Rep. Jane Harman, D-CA, chair of the Intelligence Subcommittee of the Homeland Security Committee and former member of the Intelligence Committee has at least one wireless network in her Washington, D.C., home that could have been breached by Google.

The consumer group has written Harman and 18 other members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee whose homes are pictured on Google's Street View which suggest their WiFi networks were scanned, and called for immediate hearings. source: www.webpronews.com/topnews/

Report: Tough Review Of Google-ITA Deal Likely

Five days ago, Google and ITA Software announced that they'd reached a "definitive agreement" covering an acquisition. Only - if you hadn't already guessed - it looks like a government agency may have a thing or two to say, as a new report indicates that antitrust regulators will take a close look at the transaction.

The main concern is that Google might eventually withhold flight data (which ITA provides) from its search rivals (Bing is one ITA customer). The search giant's only promised to honor existing agreements so far.

As a result, there appears to be something of a competition over who will question Google's intentions. Brad Stone reported this afternoon, "According to one person familiar with the agencies that oversee federal antitrust law . . . discussions are under way between the Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice to see who will get to review the deal. According to this person, either agency would 'dig in pretty aggressively.'"

Stone next speculated, "Google likely favors an F.T.C. review of the deal, considering that the agency previously approved two of its previous purchases, of DoubleClick and Admob. But the Justice Department, which opposed Google's settlement in a case involving the scanning of books whose rights holders are unknown, and its proposed search deal with Yahoo, is the more likely candidate, because it typically handles air travel deals."

Brace for another round of "do no evil" blog posts authored by Google execs, then. Perhaps with a legitimate concession or two thrown in for the sake of speeding up the review process.

Just don't count on Google's travel search capabilities radically improving anytime soon considering that the matter of jurisdiction hasn't even been settled yet. source: www.webpronews.com/topnews/