508 COMPLIANCE
STATE & LOCAL GOVERNMENT: Prepare Now for Upcoming Website Accessibility Mandates. Is your local government website designed and organized in a way that makes finding information easy or even possible for citizens with visual, auditory, cognitive or other disabilities? Federal mandates calling to remove barriers that prevent interaction with or access to websites by people with disabilities are a growing concern for government agencies. New rules on Americans with Disabilities Act website compliance will be issued in 2018, and existing guidelines — such as ADA, Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 and Section 508 — increasingly are being enforced. Read more
[GCN.COM]
EGOV & DIGITAL STANDARDS: Website Accessibility – Why There’s Still Work to be Done on Government Portals. While there are many tools for disabled individuals to utilize computers and mobile devices (e.g., screen readers for the blind), there are still major challenges that stem from how content is provided. So what issues do individuals with disabilities face when accessing websites? According to Sachin Pavithran, chair of the U.S. Access Board and director of the Utah Assistive Technology Program, much of it comes down to how information is presented. “The bigger problems are that a lot of these websites have a lot of information,” he said. “Even though you can access it, the way the information is laid out could create a barrier because it’s hard to navigate due to the structure. That’s one of the biggest barriers right now: how information is laid out.” Read the rest
[GOVTECH.COM]
FED TECH: 7 Steps to Ensure Your Site Meets Citizen Expectations. Citizens today expect their digital interactions with government to be as straightforward and compelling as those on commercial applications and devices. To meet these new citizen expectations, government agencies need to look at their digital properties and ask themselves some tough questions. Here is a short checklist to ensure your agency is delivering an optimal digital experience for a public audience. Find out more
[NEXTGOV.COM]
ACCESSIBLE ANALYTICS: What Companies Lose by Ignoring Digital Accessibility. Without a digitally accessible business, you will lose out on customer opportunities. You also risk fines, legal fees, and brand damage due to noncompliance with accessibility laws, such as Section 508 of the US Rehabilitation Act, which requires that technology used by federal agencies be accessible, and the 21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act, which mandates that accessibility laws enacted in the 1980s and 1990s adapt to new digital, broadband, and mobile capabilities. Meeting the needs of all abilities has become a must-have instead of a nice-to-have. Read more
[DATA-INFORMED.COM]
==========
NOW ON SLIDESHARE: Tech Update Summary from Blue Mountain Data Systems June 2017 https://www.slideshare.net/BMDS3416/tech-update-summary-from-blue-mountain-data-systems-june-2017.
IT SECURITY SUPPORT: Blue Mountain Data Systems is actively involved in implementing FISMA and NIST standards with Federal Civilian Agencies. Due to our extensive experience in this area, Blue Mountain has developed processes and organizational techniques to help ensure security deliverables are completed on time, and performed in the most efficient manner possible. We ensure that NIST-800-53 control requirements are treated consistently during definition, analysis, implementation, auditing, and reporting phases of a system. Find out more about Blue Mountain Data Systems IT Security Support Services. Call us at 703-502-3416.
BLUE MOUNTAIN DATA SYSTEMS HAS THE EXPERIENCE: 1994 to Present – U.S. Dept. of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration. Responsible to the Office of Technology and Information Systems for information systems architecture, planning, applications development, networking, administration and IT security, supporting the enforcement of Title I of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act — ERISA. Within the EBSA, Blue Mountain is responsible for design, development and support for its various enforcement database management systems, as well as all case tracking and customer service inquiry systems. Blue Mountain also provides IT security services to the EBSA, in the form of FISMA Assessment and Authorization, System Security Plans, Risk and vulnerability assessments, monitoring and investigation support. Read more.
==========
