Administration Given So-So Grade On Cybersecurity

A look at the week of January 24, 2011, in public advocacy for the IT channel

This week, the House Ways and Means Committee will begin discussion on the controversial 1099 provision in the healthcare law.  CompTIA’s Business Confidence Index reports a promising outlook for the industry.  The Obama Administration’s cybersecurity efforts to date have received some criticism.

Ways And Means To Discuss 1099 Tax Provision this Week — This week, the House Ways and Means Committee is scheduled to hold its first hearing on the healthcare law with the repeal of the bill's 1099 provision expected to be among the topics, says The Hill.  A Way and Means spokesperson told The Hill that the committee is expected to examine the impact that the law is having on employers and "given the strong concerns about the 1099 mandate that have been voiced throughout the employer community, we would expect that employers will raise the issue and reiterate their calls for repeal."

IT Business Confidence Up — Members of the U.S. IT sector are more confident now in their business prospects than they have been in the last year and a half, according to a new CompTIA survey, reports PC World.  U.S. IT workers and managers -- 41 percent of respondents were senior to executive management -- expressed the most confidence in the IT industry and in their own companies. Confidence in the U.S. economy remained below 50 on the 100-point scale.               

Administration Given So-So Grade On Cybersecurity — The National Security Cyberspace Institute gave the Obama Administration's efforts to enhance cybersecurity a grade somewhere between a B+ and a C- for its first two years, according to Nextgov.com.  The Administration earned the lowest grade of D for its appointment of a cybersecurity policy official and its ongoing preparation of an updated national strategy to secure the information and communications infrastructure.