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75,087 cybersecurity incidents were reported to US-CERT by CFO Act
agencies in fiscal 2015
USPS less than thrilled about Census modernization
The Census Bureau has ambitious plans to save $5 billion by moderniz- ing the way it conducts the 2020 popu- lation count, but at least one other agency sees significant downsides.
In the past, workers had to physi- cally canvas all 11 million census blocks in the United States to gen- erate the mailing list for census forms.
In the run-up to the 2020 survey, bureau officials want to reduce that effort to 25 percent of the blocks by incorporating interagency records, third-party data, GPS mapping and aerial imagery for the rest.
In perhaps the most significant change for many people, the bureau will not send paper questionnaires to every household.
Instead, for the first time, respon- dents will be able — and encouraged
— to enter their information online by computer or mobile device, if all goes according to plan.
That scale of online surveying will vastly reduce the quantity of paper questionnaires that will be mailed, which means fewer deliveries by the U.S. Postal Service.
According to a 2011 Government Accountability Office report, mail- ings for the 2010 census generated more than $200 million in revenue for USPS. A March 14 post on the USPS Office of Inspector General blog noted that the Census Bureau’s decision to embrace online responses meant the “Postal Service won’t see its revenues from census mailings completely dis- appear, but they will shrink.”
Census officials hope that their approach will increase response rates by making the process more
convenient and user-friendly, and they project that 55 percent of respondents will enter their information online.
The USPS blog post, howev- er, raised questions that seem to reflect potential concerns about the move: “How do you feel about responding to the census online? Do you have security concerns about responding to the census survey digitally? Are there ways the Postal Service could be more involved in the census? What are you concerns and why?”
The post also includes a poll that asks readers whether they agree or disagree with the Census Bureau’s plans to move its survey online. As of March 21, the poll had attracted 39 votes that were split 21-18 between yeas and nays.
— Chase Gunter
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