Elizabeth Hyman Posts

This is Women’s History Month — a time to recognize the often overlooked vision, courage and accomplishments of our nation’s women. To kick it off, did you know that a famous Hollywood actress of the 1930s and ‘40s, Hedy Lamarr, was also a pioneer for women and technology? She co-invented spread-spectrum broadcast communications technologies. There are many wonderful examples —from Hedy Lamarr to Meg Whitman — of women leading the way in technol ...

This week, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 1123, “the Unlocking Consumer Choice and Wireless Competition Act.” The text included a last-minute addition that limited the right to unlock a cell phone to the individual purchaser. This was in contrast to a previous version of the bill that CompTIA supported, one that did not have a distinction between the individual purchaser and businesses that wish to engage in what is referred to as bulk cell phone unlocking for resale purpos ...

At midnight on Thursday, a default on the Federal government’s obligations was averted and the government re-opened after a 16-day shutdown.  Congress agreed to a short-term deal to fund the federal government through January 15th, and extend the debt ceiling to February 7th. So, what does this mean for a tech agenda in the remaining days of 2013?  To answer that question, one should first realize that with Congressional recess and holidays, there are only a little more than 20 w ...

This morning we awoke to the stark reality that our lawmakers and the president have failed to reach a deal, even in the short-term, to fund the federal government. The first shuttering of government doors in 17 years could go on for several days, if not to the next significant inflection point on the calendar – a vote on raising the debt ceiling, which should come between October 17 and November 1. The fact that the government will continue to pay our military, and that there are separat ...

Last week, the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) released a study on “Professionalizing the Nation’s Cyber Workforce? Criteria for Decision-Making.” The study examined three questions: Is cybersecurity ready to be professionalized across the nation? Which jobs within the cybersecurity field should be professionalized and to what degree? Should the federal government lead this effort single handedly? The study was commissioned by the Department of Homeland Security. NAS, unde ...

This week, CompTIA was invited to attend an event with Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA) and Congresswoman Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) at the American Legion Hall in Alexandria, VA. Kaine has introduced his first piece of legislation since joining the Senate last fall, called the “Troop Talent Act of 2013,” and Duckworth introduced the companion bill in the House. They were there to share information about the bill and urge the veterans and industry supporters in the audience to ask members of the ...

Use the power of technology to make government more responsive and effective, and understand the significance of high-skilled immigration to our national economy – both themes dominated our May 7th agenda when nearly 50 tech executives met in Newark, N.J., to hear from Newark Mayor Cory Booker and Robert Feldstein from New York Mayor Bloomberg’s office.  This was the official kick-off of the Tri-State TechVoice Chapter, a collaboration between CompTIA, the New Jersey Technology ...

On January 11th, CompTIA partnered with the North Carolina Technology Association (NCTA) to launch our third TechVoice chapter. About 60 technology executives attended a breakfast gathering and panel discussion in Durham, NC featuring Congressman David Price (D-NC), State Representative Marilyn Avila (R), information technology attorney Ed Turlington and myself. NCTA President and CEO Brooks Raiford moderated. With 2012 elections now completed and the fiscal cliff averted for now, the conversati ...

A broad swath of topics was covered at the Southern California TechVoice Chapter meeting on December 14 in Newport Beach, CA. This post-election analysis and forum was co-hosted by CompTIA’s Southern California TechVoice partner, the Orange County Tech Alliance. I was privileged to participate in a panel with California state assemblyman Don Wagner and Dan Schnur, director of the Jesse Unruh Institute of Political Science at the University of Southern California. Tim Jemal of Jemal Public Affair ...

Heading into 2013, three key tech policy issues to watch will be immigration, online sales taxes and cybersecurity, said Politico. While Congressional leaders debate the merits of allowing more students with advanced degrees to stay in the U.S., they will also be taking a closer look at online tax laws for companies of all sizes and coming to terms on cybersecurity legislation to protect our nation’s critical infrastructure.While small business advocacy groups have been pleading with Congress to ...