Facebook sent a letter Thursday to key lawmakers emphasizing the company's support for strong investments in science, technology and mathematics education for children.

The letter refers to the America Competes Act, which is awaiting reauthorization in the Senate. A version of the bill has already passed the House. In the letter, Facebook argues improving science and math education is vital to protecting America's economic security in the 21st century.

"The shortage of students entering STEM careers has long been recognized in Washington, Silicon Valley, and beyond. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. high school seniors recently tested below the international average for 21 countries in math and science and fewer American students than ever are graduating from college with math and science degrees," the letter states.

Google's recent federal security certification and efforts to ramp up its salesforce inside the Beltway have resulted in more agencies showing interest in Google Apps, according to the search giant's federal enterprise team.

Since earning Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA) certification in July, Google's enterprise team has seen a significant uptick in the number of federal agencies interested in deploying its cloud-based solutions, according to Google product marketing manager Dan Israel. Vendors must secure FISMA certification before they can provide software services to the federal government.

"Now that we're on the other side of that process, the benefits have been great," Israel said, noting that completing the exhaustive certification process "took some time, it was not a small effort to complete it." But he added, "FISMA's a law, not an option."

The U.S. military has banned the sale of a video game on its bases that allows users to play as the Taliban and shoot at American troops, according to a report from the AP.

The latest iteration of "Medal of Honor," from developer Electronic Arts, is set to hit stores on Oct. 12, but the game won't be available at military stores or the 49 GameStop stores located on bases. Soldiers will still be allowed to possess the game, but must purchase it off-base.

"We regret any inconvenience this may cause authorized shoppers but are optimistic that they will understand the sensitivity to the life-and-death scenarios this product presents as entertainment," said Maj. Gen. Bruce Casella, who commands the unit that oversees more than 180 shops located on bases.

Broadband providers will send their chief executives to Capitol Hill next week to argue that net-neutrality rules aren't necessary.

Cyber criminals are creating an average of 57,000 new fake websites every week designed to exploit high-profile brands and steal personal information from users, according to a recent investigation by PandaLabs.

Banks and online merchants such as eBay were the most common targets, as each of those sites requires users to input information that could later be used to commit identity theft. Other brands frequently targeted by fake websites include Western Union, Visa, Amazon and PayPal. The IRS is another common front used by online thieves seeking access to users' bank accounts.

PandaLabs technical director Luis Corrons told SecurityWeek that search engines are unable to keep up with the rapid proliferation of fake websites.

"Although search engines are making an effort to mitigate the situation by changing indexing algorithms, they have so far been unable to offset the avalanche of new websites being created by hackers every day," Corrons said.

PandaLabs is the anti-malware laboratory for Panda Security, a cloud-based security firm headquartered in Bilbao, Spain.

The website's controversial listing service remains blocked to users ahead of House hearing next week on sex trafficking. 

The Department of Homeland Security team tasked with protecting the government's computers must resolve hundreds of security vulnerabilities in its own networks, according to a report from the department's inspector general.

An audit of the United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team, or US-CERT, found more than 600 vulnerabilities that could compromise the agency's cybersecurity data, including 202 that were classified as high-risk. The majority related to systems in Virginia that hadn't been updated with the latest software and operating system security patches.

"Adequate security controls have not been implemented on the [Mission Operating Environment] to protect the data processed from unauthorized access, use, disclosure, disruption, modification, or destruction," states the report.

Researchers at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), which does R&D for the military, are researching technologies that could keep wireless connections operating and sounding clear amid strong interference.

The agency will host a closed-door conference on Sept. 20 to gather more information for its "Communications Ex" program, which examines how to maintain connectivity in extreme situations.

CommEx research aims to enable wireless communications amid interference ranging from familiar communications foibles such as a dropped call to military threats from attackers who take aim at the military networks.

The upcoming event is a "proposer's day" that will allow researchers to gain more information from people working on wireless tech projects.

Good morning!

Google-designed curriculum heading to classrooms worldwide; company instructs children to use Google if they want to stay safe

The company said Wednesday that it plans to fund a new push to get an Internet-use curriculum that it designed into classrooms around the globe. Google is teaming up with an organization for military families to spread the curriculum. Lessons are taught on YouTube and in handouts, with pointers for teachers, instructing kids to use Google search to check up on online offers and companies that seem suspicious.

Lesson one? Be careful what you post online because inappropriate photos will resurface, the guide says: "Whatever you do online sticks with you like a tattoo," it says. "Do you really want to have to explain those photos to a future employer?"

Lesson two: "Keep your private stuff private. Don't post personal information." Personal information, the guide goes on, includes "your name." The company's chief executive was criticized for issuing a similar word of caution last month, when he predicted, the Wall Street Journal reported, that "that every young person one day will be entitled automatically to change his or her name on reaching adulthood in order to disown youthful hijinks stored on their friends' social media sites."

The theme is a strong part of Google's curriculum: Students should "think before you post or share information ... even with your friends. You never know how it can be used against you, especially when a friend becomes an ex."

In advice on how to avoid cyberscams, the company tells students to perform a Google search to check up on companies who offer deals or prizes. "Sometimes, websites just want to steal your private information and use it for themselves," the company warns. "Most legitimate businesses will not ask for personal information … Period."

House Judiciary Crime Subcommittee to take up Craigslist issue.

After indicating for days that it would look at the problem, the committee made it official on Wednesday. The hearing is titled "domestic minor sex trafficking" and will be held next week. http://bit.ly/bBJQuq

Network for conservative entertainment launches with Tea Party series

"RightNetwork, whose first series, 'Running,' follows the fortunes of a couple of Tea Party-backed candidates for public office, is … trying a new model to establish itself," the AP reports. "Investors hope that the support of a conservative audience that has made Fox News Channel and radio hosts such as Rush Limbaugh successful could also work for entertainment programming, said Kevin McFeeley, RightNetwork's president." http://bit.ly/9ACiMD

The nation's worst Internet laws? NetChoice, a coalition that opposes barriers to e-commerce, made a list it will announce this morning. Online privacy legislation and hotel taxes on online companies are among the top picks. The list "sends a shot across the bow of legislators who are simply going too far,” said Steve DelBianco, executive director of NetChoice.

Sunlight: Federal spending data is "broken." The majority of data published online on federal spending is inaccurate and unreliable, according to a new analysis from the Sunlight Foundation. More than $1.3 trillion, or 70 percent, of the data on spending reported by federal agencies in 2009 is broken and inaccurate, according to a website launched Tuesday by Sunlight. The nonprofit transparency advocate accused the Obama administration of failing to comply with the law by not providing the public with accurate, timely and detailed information on government spending. http://bit.ly/cS36BQ

Today: Business groups will hold a call to urge caution on net-neutrality regs. Hosts are the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the National Association of Manufacturers and the Telecommunications Industry Association. The focus will be on why, as they maintain, broadband regulations hurt investment and innovation.

Today: Cybersecurity conference in D.C. "Thursday’s keynote is a conversation between Bruce Schneier, world-renowned security expert, and Stewart Baker, formerly NSA’s top lawyer and DHS’s head of policy analysis," reports Marvin Ammori of Free Press and the University of Nebraska. http://bit.ly/da7iwP

Executive notes

R&D credit welcomed by disgruntled tech sector. After a term spent alienating many in the technology sector with what they view as burdensome policies, President Obama's proposal to renew a research and development tax credit could act as a balm — but only a limited one, industry leaders said Wednesday.  http://bit.ly/arboO9

Palin's tweet raises endorsement speculation. Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R) has issued what may be a tacit endorsement of Christine O'Donnell, the Tea Party-backed outsider running against Delaware Rep. Mike Castle in the state's Republican Senate primary. Palin, a frequent Twitter user who has been known to discuss endorsements on her feed, retweeted a message Wednesday from conservative radio host Tammy Bruce in which Bruce called O'Donnell "great." "Her election must [be] a major focus for us all," Bruce wrote of O'Donnell. After Palin's retweet, that same message was distributed to her 244,000-plus followers. http://bit.ly/bEiwjD