The Federal government will close on Wednesday for a national day of mourning declared by President Trump following the death of former President George H.W. Bush, whose funeral will be held that day at the Washington National Cathedral. […]
Sens. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., and Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, on Friday introduced the Global Electoral Exchange Act, which would task the State Department with creating an international election security information sharing program. […]
The U.S. Army cyber force is putting its boots on. The service is expanding its cyber operations to reflect cyber warfare’s growing role on the battlefield, putting cyber warriors–specifically those engaged in electronic warfare (EW)–into the field with other soldiers. […]
U.S. Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein voiced a forceful argument on Thursday for tech device and service makers to build into their products the means for law enforcement to legally access decrypted content, but offered little that was new in the way of solutions to the problem which the Federal government has complained about for years. […]
The House has voted to approve bills that would two bills–one that would elevate and reauthorize the role of the Federal CIO, and another that would establish minimum standards for Federal agency website functionality and performance. […]
Today is Joshua Moses’ last day with the Office of Management and Budget. Moses, who is the chief of cybersecurity for the Office of the Federal CIO, has been with OMB since July 2015. […]
The United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit has affirmed a previous decision by a Federal district court that leaves in place a Federal government ban on using products provided by Moscow-based cybersecurity firm Kaspersky Labs. […]
DEFEND–the new acquisition approach for the Continuous Diagnostics and Mitigation (CDM) program– will allow agencies to quickly bring in cybersecurity products and provide support throughout the lifecycle, said Jim Piche, homeland sector director for the Federal Systems Integration and Management Center (FEDSIM) within the General Services Administration (GSA). […]
A new survey on the impact of the President’s Management Agenda (PMA) issued in March reveals positive responses to the document but also some of the biggest challenges on the PMA’s key drivers of IT modernization, data usage, and the workforce. […]
The Internet Association announced today that it hired Elizabeth Banker as VP and associate general counsel, and Alla Seiffert as cloud policy director and counsel. […]
In what may qualify as the second largest data breach ever, Marriott announced today that up to 500 million guests at the company’s Starwood Group hotels have had their personal data stolen. […]
The budding emergence of fifth-generation (5G) wireless networks is being preceded by the usual advance guard of hype that comes with any new stage of wireless development. But while some of the promises being thrown around by service providers won’t take shape for several years, if at all, 5G will provide tangible benefits that government agencies could start planning for now. […]
Federal CIO Suzette Kent this morning announced creation of the Federal Cyber Reskilling Academy–a joint effort of the Office of Management and Budget, the Department of Education, and the Federal CIO Council Workforce Committee–to kickstart the Federal government’s efforts to address gaps in the Federal cybersecurity workforce and help retrain Federal employees. […]
The U.S. Secret Service is planning to operate a facial recognition technology pilot program at the White House, according to a privacy impact statement released by the Department of Homeland Security on Nov. 26. […]
The House on Wednesday approved by voice vote HR 6032, the SMART IoT Act, which would direct the Department of Commerce to study and report to Congress within one year on the U.S. Internet-connected device industry, including on voluntary and mandatory standards that are being developed around the world for the IoT sector, which Federal agencies have jurisdiction over the sector, and any regulations or standards those agencies have put in place that impact the IoT sector. […]
When it comes to eliminating botnets, Jeanette Manfra, assistant director for Cybersecurity for the Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, stressed the importance of thinking differently and considering new solutions at the unveiling the 2018 International Anti-Botnet Guide today. […]
Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., is thanking the Senate Rules Committee for its work to improve the Senate’s cybersecurity posture by moving to begin encrypting data stored on Senate computers. […]
When it comes to customer experience in the Federal government, customers can be like your children: you love them and want to help them succeed, but you don’t get to pick them, and you have to work toward their high expectations. That was the message from Anahita Reilly, chief customer officer at the General Services Administration (GSA), during a speech today at Deloitte’s Creating a Future Forward event. […]
Dell said on Nov. 28 that it “detected and disrupted” unauthorized activity on its network on Nov. 9 that aimed to steal Dell.com customer information including names, email addresses, and hashed passwords, but not credit card or other sensitive data. Dell said “it is possible” that some data was stolen, but that “our investigations found no conclusive evidence that any was extracted.” Dell said its security measures in place–including hashing of customer passwords and a mandatory Dell.com password reset–are in place to limit the impact of any potential data disclosure. The company also said it has hired an digital forensics firm to conduct an independent investigate, and also has “engage law enforcement.” […]
The Department of Health and Human Services on Nov. 28 issued a draft strategy that the agency said is “designed to help reduce administrative and regulatory burdens on clinicians” stemming from use of health information technologies including electronic health records. […]
Thomas Michelli, acting deputy CIO for cybersecurity at the Defense Department, said late Tuesday that one idea being discussed at the Pentagon to improve supply chain security involves providing a “government furnished cloud” for contractors to use. […]
The Department of Veterans Affairs admitted this month that its 10-year, $10 billion-plus project to create an interoperable electronic health record system incurred a $350 million cost overrun right out of the gate–a potential red flag in the latest effort to develop an integrated records system that also works with the Department of Defense’s system. […]
The Continuous Diagnostics and Mitigation (CDM) program is looking to give agencies a cyber hygiene score, redesign its dashboard, and tie the program together with other cybersecurity efforts, said Kevin Cox, CDM program manager at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). […]
Elena Hernandez has left her post as press secretary for the House Committee on Energy and Commerce for the same position at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. […]
During Tuesday’s Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation subcommittee hearing, Federal Trade Commissioners were unanimous in their call for Congress to explore Federal data privacy legislation. […]
How do you get 1,000 folks out of bed in Las Vegas before 7:00 a.m.? […]
The Small Business Administration (SBA) is working with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to run a pilot program to fulfill Continuous Diagnostics and Mitigation (CDM) requirements in the cloud with an innovative approach to meet CDM’s goals. […]
The Department of Veterans Affairs said today it is targeting Dec. 1, 2019–a full year from now–to complete a technical fix to address problems that have plagued the agency’s ability to correctly calculate monthly housing allowance payments under the 2017 Colmery Veterans Educational Assistance Act, also known as the “Forever GI Bill.” […]
In a letter to Walter Copan, undersecretary of Commerce for Standards and Technology and director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, D-Mo., called on NIST to create a framework for the development and use of facial recognition technologies. […]
Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos highlighted the success of the Department of Education’s mobile applications during a speech on Tuesday, pointing to their convenience and ability to reach citizens in an effective manner. […]