WASHINGTON DATA BREACHES SPUR NEW PRODUCTS AT TRADE SHOW - washingtonpost.com


By Cecilia Kang
Washington Post Staff Writer
March 19, 2007

There was the stolen laptop that put the identities of millions of
veterans and soldiers at risk. Then flooding shut down part of the IRS building, prompting a scramble for electronic files and equipment.

In the wake of such publicized mishaps, security and privacy issues are taking center stage at this year's FOSE trade show, Washington's largest convention for federal, state and local government information technology contractors, as a host of companies peddle new products and services aimed at sealing and protecting the government's data and networks.

The two-day show at the Washington Convention Center begins tomorrow, and organizers hope to draw 20,000 people. The event comes as government spending is likely to be more restrained compared with that of previous years.

In the past two years, the rate of growth in spending on office
technologies has steadily declined and is projected to increase only
slightly over the next year, said Bill Loomis, an analyst at Stifel
Nicolaus.

The Office of Management and Budget has allocated $65.5 billion for information technology for the government in fiscal 2008, up 2.6 percent from President Bush's 2007 request of $63.8 billion.