New GAO Reports
Financial Audit: Bureau of the Public Debt’s Fiscal Years 2007 and 2006 Schedules of Federal Debt, GAO-08-168, November 7, 2007 Social Security: Issues Regarding the Coverage of Public Employees, GAO-08-248T, November 6, 2007
Monthly archives: November, 2007
Broadband Initiatives: Enhancing Lives and Transforming Communities
Alliance for Public Technology’s new report, Broadband Initiatives: Enhancing Lives & Transforming Communities (72 pages, PDF)
HHS OIG Audit – Review of Generic Drug Price Increases
Review of Generic Drug Price Increases (A-06-07-00042), October 24, 2007: “Generic drug price increases exceeded the specified statutory inflation factor applicable to brand-name drugs for 35 percent of the quarterly average manufacturer prices reviewed. If the provision for brand-name drugs were extended to generic drugs, the Medicaid program would receive additional rebates. By applying the …
FTC Announces Law Enforcement Crackdown on Do Not Call Violators
Press release: “The Federal Trade Commission today announced a law enforcement crackdown on companies and individuals accused of violating the requirements of the National Do Not Call (DNC) Registry, resulting in six settlements collectively imposing nearly $7.7 million in civil penalties, along with an additional complaint that will be filed in federal district court. The …
Bureau of Justice Statistics: Identity Theft, 2005
Identity Theft, 2005 released on November 7, 2007: “Presents data from the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) on identity theft victimization and its consequences. This report presents the first full year of data available after new questions about identity theft were added to the survey in July 2004. Identity theft is defined in the report …
Former Telecom Tech Alleges Domestic Data Surveillance
Follow up to previous postings on the domestic surveillance program and AT&T’s alleged participation, today’s article in the Washington Post, A Story of Surveillance – Former Technician ‘Turning In’ AT&T Over NSA Program, by Ellen Nakashima: “…Mark Klein, a former AT&T technician…alleged that the NSA set up a system that vacuumed up Internet and phone-call …
Guide to Optimizing Investments in Security Countermeasures
Optimizing Investments in Security Countermeasures: A Practical Tool for Fixed Budgets, by Jonathan Caulkins and Nancy R. Mead, September/October 2007 edition of IEEE Security and Privacy Magazine. “In the article, the team presents a tool and methodology they developed for software engineers and their clients to help them make security decisions when resources are limited.”
Recent CRS Reports
November 5, 2007 – Understanding Mortgage Foreclosure: Recent Events, the Process, and Costs November 2, 2007 – Director of National Intelligence Statutory Authorities: Status and Proposals November 2, 2007 – The MS-13 and 18th Street Gangs: Emerging Transnational Gang Threats? November 1, 2007 – National Strategy for Combating Terrorism: Background and Issues for Congress November …
Rand Report: Byting Back – Regaining Information Superiority Against 21st-Century Insurgents
Byting Back — Regaining Information Superiority Against 21st-Century Insurgents, RAND Counterinsurgency Study — Volume 1: “U.S. counterinsurgency efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan have failed to exploit information power, which could be a U.S. advantage but instead is being used advantageously by insurgents. Because insurgency and counterinsurgency involve a battle for the allegiance of a population …
Harris Poll: Four in Five of All U.S. Adults An Estimated 178 million Go Online
Press release: “According to the latest Harris Poll, the number of adults who are online at home, in the office, at school, library or other locations continues to grow at a steady rate. In the past year, the number of online users has reached an estimated 178 million, a ten percent increase.”
FDA's New Food Protection Plan
“FDA is implementing a Food Protection Plan (the Plan) that addresses both food safety and food defense for domestic and imported products. The Plan is integrated with the Administration’s Import Safety Action Plan. The Food Protection Plan operates through a set of integrated strategies that: Focus on risks over a product’s life cycle from production …
Judge Orders Telecoms to Preserve Evidence in Government Surveillance Cases
Press release: “A federal judge today ruled on a preservation motion filed by the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), ordering that telecommunications companies must preserve any evidence of collaborating with the government in illegal spying on ordinary Americans. In his ruling, U.S. District Court Judge Vaughn Walker ordered the telecommunications companies to halt any routine destruction …
