MITRE Authors Address Cloud Computing Resources for Biomedical Information Sharing

Journal of Biomedical Informatics, September 2009

MITRE authors Arnon Rosenthal, Peter Mork, Maya Hao Li, Jean Stanford, David Koester, and Patti Reynolds examine how the biomedical informatics (BMI) community can take advantage of cloud computing resources. The authors conclude that substantial economies of scale potentially yield costs much lower than dedicated laboratory systems or even institutional data centers, and they maintain that clouds belong on the list of approaches to be seriously considered for BMI. The article presents an analysis of the plausibility of various cloud vendors' claims regarding cloud computing resources. Rather than listing the absolute strengths and weaknesses of cloud-based systems (such as for security or data preservation), the article focuses on the changes from a particular starting point, such as individual lab systems.

Workshop Highlights Cyber Security Needs in the Energy Sector

Houston, TX, Spring 2009

MITRE, a member of Dartmouth College's Institute for Information Infrastructure Protection (I3P), participated in a workshop that addressed critical security issues in the energy sector. The I3P is a national consortium of leading universities, national laboratories and non-profit institutions dedicated to strengthening the cyber infrastructure of the United States. Additionally, MITRE's Deb Bodeau, an information security engineer and scientist, delivered a paper at a separate gathering in April, presided over by the National Institute of Standards and Technology. Bodeau, in her capacity as an IP3 researcher, presented an identity framework to facilitate information trustworthiness.

MITRE's Terry Blevins Appointed to The Open Group's Governing Board

San Francisco, CA, April 2009

Senior principal information systems engineer Terrence (Terry) Blevins has been elected to the Governing Board of The Open Group. As a vendor- and technology-neutral nonprofit consortium, The Open Group's role is to capture, understand, and address current and emerging IT requirements, establish policies and share best practices, facilitate interoperability within and between enterprises, develop consensus, and evolve and integrate specifications and open source technologies. Blevins, whose three-year term began March 1, will serve as Customer Council Representative to the Governing Board. He will be responsible for articulating the needs and perspectives of The Open Group's customer members—IT systems and solution suppliers, tool vendors, researchers, and consultants—in order to best leverage the guidelines, standards, and tools developed by the organization's various forums and work groups. Additionally, he will share responsibility for The Open Group's overall strategic direction, governance, and leadership. Blevins has been actively involved with the organization since 1996. He co-chaired the Architecture Forum, contributed content to the development of TOGAF™, and most recently served as chair of the Certification Standing Committee. "Terry's experience and opinion will continue to be of great value to The Open Group and our customer organizations," said CEO Allen Brown.

MITRE President and CEO Outlines Ways to Improve the IT Acquisition Process

Fort Belvoir, VA, March-April 2009

Al Grasso, president and CEO of The MITRE Corporation, wrote an article published in the spring edition of Defense AT&L. The article—"Information Technology Acquisition: A Common-Sense Approach"—discusses the realities and complexities of large-scale IT acquisition against the backdrop of rapidly evolving technology, business processes that are increasingly interconnected within and across federal agencies, and fiscal and human resource constraints. Grasso pinpoints three critical challenges to successful IT acquisition: governance (place emphasis on consistent management, cohesive policies and processes, and decision rights for a given area of responsibility), requirements management (invest sufficient resources in the requirements and concept definition phase), and program management practices (successful programs have a technically strong government program management office). He offers four ways to improve the process: focus oversight on best practices, take a portfolio approach to IT program management, attract and retain critical government professionals, and strengthen program management offices.

Federal Security Spotlight: Dangerous Programming Errors

Washington, DC, February 2009

MITRE principal software systems engineer Bob Martin was a guest speaker on Federal News Radio's Federal Security Spotlight on February 10, 2009. Martin, along with Alan Paller, director of research for the SANS Institute, discussed the recently-issued list of the 25 most significant programming errors that can lead to serious software vulnerabilities. The list details common mistakes made in the process of developing software—not the vulnerabilities that result from programming errors. These dangerous errors, found in government and industry software, can lead to security bugs and enable cyber espionage and cyber crime. A joint effort of MITRE, the SANS Institute, and experts from more than 30 U.S. and international cyber security organizations, the list is an invaluable tool for security professionals. Training programmers how to avoid writing in these errors could vastly improve cyber security.

MITRE Joins Web3D Consortium as Directing Member

Menlo Park, CA, January 2009

The Web3D Consortium, a forum for the creation of open standards for Web3D specifications, announced that The MITRE Corporation's Center for Advanced Aviation System Development (CAASD) has joined the Consortium as a directing member. In this role, MITRE team members will assist the Consortium in developing and maturing the X3D specification, a royalty-free open standards file format and run-time architecture used to display, communicate, and manipulate 3D scenes and objects using XML. MITRE has already made contributions to the evolution of the X3D specification. "These code contributions push the envelope, making continued progress even easier for other innovators," said Don Brutzman, directing member of the Consortium from the Naval Postgraduate School. MITRE senior software systems engineer David Callner said the company is "looking forward to working with the Consortium to help mold the X3D standard and increase its acceptance in the Web3D community."

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