US plans changes to information management policy

The US White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is proposing the first revisions in 15 years to the policy governing the management of federal information resources.

The OMB has issued a call for public comment on proposed changes to the policy, which governs processes including the budgeting and acquisition of information resource tools.

The policy also covers the responsibilities of government agencies for managing information, supporting the use of electronic transactions and protecting important information.

The proposed changes reflect the numerous new technologies and legal requirements that have emerged since the policy was last updated in 2000.

Specific notable changes include an introduction stressing the importance of ensuring trustworthiness and resilience of information management systems.

“Federal information systems must be built to anticipate the modern threat space — that is, the systems should employ technologies that can significantly increase the ‘built-in’ protection capability of those systems and make them inherently less vulnerable,” this introduction reads.

“Information technology changes rapidly and the Federal workforce managing IT must have the flexibility to address known and emerging threats while implementing continuous improvements,” commented OMB officials Anne Rung, Tony Scott and Howard Shelanski in a joint blog post.

“This update acknowledges the pace of change and the need to increase capabilities provided by 21st century technology while recognizing the need for strong governance and safeguarding of taxpayer funded assets and information.”

Image courtesy of Diego Cambiaso under CC