The National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO) today presented U.S. Sen. Thomas R. Carper, D-Del, its 2009 National Technology Champion Award. Carper, chair of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Federal Financial Management Subcommittee, has elevated the dialog on IT issues, and recognized cyber-security as a national security issue, said NASCIO in a release. "Cyber-security is one of the top challenges facing the smooth operation of government today," said Gopal Khanna, NASCIO president and Minnesota CIO. "Although all levels of government are threatened by attacks to our digital infrastructure, this quiet danger is relatively unrecognized in the halls of leadership and among the public. It takes a champion like Senator Carper to not only understand the consequences, but communicate the need for vigilance and action. We in the government technology community are grateful for his efforts."
Earlier this week, Carper called a hearing on "Government 2.0: Advancing America into the 21st Century and a Digital Future." In a release announcing the event, Carper's office said that since the passage of the E-Government Act in 2002, federal agencies spent close to $450 billion to use information technology to streamline operations, make government more transparent and secure sensitive information. However over the past seven years, said the release, most agency information technology projects ran millions over cost and did not perform as planned, often leaving agencies inefficient, closed to the American citizen and vulnerable to cyber-attacks.
