Category Archives: Gov/Mil News

Gov/Mil News on GovEvents Blog includes editorials and media pertaining directly to current events happening in Government & Military.

Behind the Curtain: AWS Public Sector Summit

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AWS_Web Ads_Summit_320x250For this "Behind the Curtain" post we're taking a look at the seventh annual Amazon Web Services (AWS) Public Sector Summit. This complimentary event takes place June 20-21 in Washington, DC and brings together developers, IT, and line-of-business leaders to address current best practices and trends in cloud computing.[Tweet "Behind the Curtain: The 7th Annual AWS Public Sector Summit. #GovEventsBlog"]

The AWS Public Sector Summit is one of the largest cloud-focused events specifically designed for public sector. AWS focuses this event on the customer voice with many opportunities for attendees to learn from their peers. 4000+ government IT and business leaders from around the world will share their successes, challenges, and lessons learned along the way in their journey to the cloud.[Tweet "AWS Public Sector Summit: cloud-focused event specifically for the public sector. #GovEventsBlog"]

While this event is focused on the public sector, AWS is able to pull from their large commercial base to include stories and best practices from the private sector that directly apply to government missions and challenges. This year's event will feature AWS CEO, Andy Jassy, as a keynote, marking the first time he has spoken to such a large public sector-focused audience. In addition to Jassy and other AWS speakers, the event features customers and partners sharing their insights and demos. Continue reading →

Navigating the World With Drones

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Five years ago, drones patrolling the air and delivering packages seemed like something that lived only in reruns of the Jetsons. But in a short time, drones have become a reality in our modern world with commercial models retailing for as little as $44. With this technology's fast rise, the government is working hard to determine the best way to maintain public safety while preserving the rights of people to operate drones safely.[Tweet "5 years ago, drones patrolling the air/delivering packages seemed like something from the Jetsons. #GovEventsBlog"]

Issue one is the infringement on airspace. In 2015, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reported that the number of annual drone sightings by commercial pilots had quadrupled to 650, just by August of that year. The FAA has been looking for ways to integrate drones into the tracking of our national airspace to ensure the safety of everyone in the sky.[Tweet "The FAA has been looking for ways to integrate drones safely into our national airspace. #GovEventsBlog"] Continue reading →

Behind the Curtain: Sea-Air-Space

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SASIn this peek behind the curtain we look at the work that goes into the planning and execution of the Sea-Air-Space event, the largest maritime exhibition in the United States. The exposition is produced by the Navy League, a non-profit organization designed to communicate the challenges and successes of the U.S. sea service to the American public and government at large. This event has become a key platform for the Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard to interact with each other as well as the private sector.[Tweet "A look at what goes into planning the Sea-Air-Space event. #GovEventsBlog #SAS16"]

This year's event takes place May 16-18 at the Gaylord National Convention center just outside Washington, DC. We spoke with Kevin J. Traver, Staff Vice President, Corporate Affairs & Membership with the Navy League of the United States, about what goes into planning a show of this scale and what trends are shaping the content and delivery of information to our maritime forces.

Q: What impact have the shifts in training and travel budgets had on your event?

There has been a shift away from the hard restrictions to travel and training requests. With a few years of strong cut backs in these areas, I think government has seen, more than ever before, the value in gathering in large groups and having discussions. They see how this powers the innovation that is being called for across government.

We were "lucky" in that the majority of our audience is within an easy day trip to DC so we did not see a huge impact in attendance numbers. We do see that people are able to get approval easier and earlier than in recent years. Also, being an official non-profit of the Navy we are able to provide this event free of charge to government. This includes any exhibit space that government organizations want to use. We have also increased our bussing from various locations around the DC region. Attendees can hop on a bus in Quantico, Mechanicsburg, and the Pentagon (among others) making it easy for people to get to the event.[Tweet "As an official non-profit of the #Navy, Sea Air Space event is free for Government. #GovEventsBlog"] Continue reading →

Your Privacy and the iPhone–What You Need to Know

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Cybersecurity practices, privacy policies, intelligence community best practices are all hot event topics on GovEvents.com. These topics are also garnering intense media focus with the ongoing battle between the Justice Department and Apple to provide access to data on the phone of the main suspect in the mass shooting in San Bernardino, CA. While the back and forth between the FBI and Apple has been well documented in the media, it is a complex issue in terms of what it really means for us as citizens and government professionals.[Tweet "Your Privacy and the iPhone -- what it really means for us. #GovEventsBlog"]

The background: Following the San Bernardino shooting, the FBI realized there may be critical evidence on the shooter's iPhone, which they have been unable to access.  The FBI hopes this information will shine a light on the motivation and any terrorist ties.

The reason the FBI cannot get into the phone without Apple's help comes down to one setting that anyone can turn on or off in seconds. Within Settings, users enter their passcode to lock the phone. Once that's done, a screen appears with the option to "Erase Data. Erase all data on this iPhone after 10 failed passcode attempts."  This makes traditional hacking attempts useless. However, the shooter had an older version iPhone and iOS, which, according to the FBI, means Apple has the ability to override this erase feature and access this phone. Newer phones, and those that have updated iOS, would not be accessible as this 'loophole' was eliminated as part of a 2014 operating system update. Continue reading →

Through the Looking Glass: Adventures in Social Media

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Social Media has become a critical component for marketing an event. It has also proven to have great worth in providing real time feedback on the event. But even with these benefits it can feel overwhelming to manage all of the work and data resulting from social media. Without focus, it can turn into a never-ending quest with many distractions. Like Alice traveling through Wonderland to find the white rabbit, we can get distracted by all of the new and interesting things we see along our way.[Tweet "Through the Looking Glass: Adventures in Social Media #GovEventsBlog"]

To make social media management easier, we need to focus on the data that really matters. This means looking beyond likes and shares and really digging into what people's social activity is telling us. If you know what you are looking for, you'll have a better chance of finding it. There is a good deal of work and analysis involved, but there is also a valuable level of insight that can be gained if you put in the time.

Here's a quick list of what to spend time looking at within your social media strategies.[Tweet "Quick list of what to spend time looking at within your social media strategies. #GovEventsBlog"] Continue reading →