As technology and public policy continue to meet at a crossroads in American society, Bruce Schneier, fellow and lecturer at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, proposed that the United States needs more public-interest technologists at the RSA Conference yesterday. […]
Gen. Paul Nakasone, head of U.S. Cyber Command and the National Security Agency (NSA), discussed how the recent shift in Federal cybersecurity strategies enabled a stronger response to foreign adversaries. […]
In a survey released today, Tripwire found that security professionals believe their teams are understaffed and that skilled cybersecurity workers are harder to find. […]
Several senators said today that high-profile private-sector data breaches like those disclosed by Equifax in 2017 and Marriott in 2018 serve to boost the urgency with which Congress should act to approve legislation that would implement the country’s first national private-sector cybersecurity regulations and procedures. […]
National Security Agency (NSA) Senior Adviser Rob Joyce said yesterday that any move to regulate social media platforms would have to start with quicker and more efficient connections between policy makers and policy enforcers such as the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, but also warned that any effective regulation of social media platforms would be difficult to achieve in the U.S. […]
The Cybersecurity Tech Accord announced yesterday that it has added 11 new companies to its pledge, bringing its total to 90 signatories. AnchorFree, Domain Tools, Flowmon Networks, MarkMonitor, NTT, Paladion, Percipiet.ai, Silent Breach, Tanium, Telecom Italia, and Unisys all signed on and pledged to “defend customers everywhere from malicious attacks by cybercriminal enterprises and nation-states.” […]
The Department of Defense’s many artificial intelligence programs–currently over 600 and counting–generally share one stated goal: the blend of humans and machines working as a team, in which AI systems become “partners in problem-solving,” as opposed to our new overlords. Whether in jobs such as cybersecurity, analyzing reams of data, images, and video, operating swarms of drones, or disaster assistance, the idea is to have AI and machine learning systems that augment and improve what personnel can do. […]
The General Services Administration (GSA) released the solicitation for the $5.5 billion 2nd Generation Information Technology (2GIT) blanket purchase agreements (BPAs), which will replace the existing NETCENTS-2 contract. Vendors have until April 18 to respond. […]
U.S. Comptroller General Gene Dodaro, who heads the Government Accountability Office (GAO), today publicly questioned the priority given by Federal agency heads to cybersecurity issues that have long been flagged by GAO on its “High Risk List,” the latest biennial edition of which was issued by the agency today. […]
With the 2020 election cycle on the horizon, Reps. Gerry Connolly, D-Va., and Jim Langevin, D-R.I., reintroduced the Fair, Accurate, Secure, and Timely (FAST) Voting Act. The legislation, according to the two Congressmen, aims to “enhance voting system security, improve voter participation, and encourage automatic voter registration.” […]
On Tuesday, Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., introduced the Federal Employees Paid Leave Act to give Federal employees 12 weeks of paid leave for the birth, adoption, or foster placement of a child within their families and for other medical reasons. […]
FBI Director Christopher Wray underscored that the private sector plays a pivotal role in helping the FBI counter cyberthreats at during a talk at the RSA Conference today, adding that the bureau has worked to build relationships with private companies to do so. […]
While Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) officials provided an estimated start date of March 2020 for the agency’s electronic health record (EHR) modernization effort, members of Congress called on VA to fully implement the program earlier than VA’s 10-year timeline during a hearing of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies on Wednesday. […]
The Government Accountability Office recommended that the Department of Defense address training gaps at U.S. Cyber Command to main a properly trained Cyber Mission Force (CMF) in a report released today. […]
Department of Homeland Security Inspector General John Kelly reported to the House Appropriations Committee’s Homeland Security Subcommittee today that DHS lacks the right technological systems to keep track of separated families and unaccompanied minors, and has difficulties hiring cybersecurity employees. […]
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Office of Inspector General (OIG) issued a fraud alert on March 1 to warn the public that scammers are spoofing DHS telephone numbers to obtain personally identifiable information and extort money from victims. […]
The Government Accountability Office, in a two-year update to its “High-Risk List” issued today, has removed Department of Defense (DoD) supply chain management from its list of 35 pressing Federal government issues, citing progress by the Pentagon on addressing supply chain risk. […]
The White House released a statement today saying that it opposes passage of H.R. 1, the For the People Act of 2019, including opposition to online voter registration and ethics reforms. […]
Joseph Cuffari, the Trump administration’s nominee to become Department of Homeland Security inspector general, told senators at his confirmation hearing today that he doesn’t have any experience in election security issues, but is ready to dive in. […]
Democratic members of Congress from the Washington D.C. area sent a letter to the heads of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) on Tuesday asking when the White House plans to implement the 1.9 percent annual pay raise for Federal civilian workers included in the spending bill passed in February that avoided a further partial government shutdown. […]
As mobile security threats continue to grow, an increasing share of companies are knowingly and willingly sacrificing security for profit and expediency, according to Verizon’s 2019 Mobile Security Index. […]
In a letter dated Feb. 27, Sens. Mark Warner, D-Va., and Marco Rubio, R-Fla., requested Dan Coats, director of National Intelligence, produce “an unclassified report on the participation of China and other adversarial nations in the international standard setting bodies (ISSBs) for fifth-generation wireless telecommunications technologies (5G).” […]
The United States Transportation Command (USTRANSCOM) is working to improve cybersecurity infrastructures to prevent breaches of industry partners, like those of USTRANSCOM contractors that began June 1, 2012 and resulted in 20 successful intrusions over a period of 12 months by Chinese hackers. […]
A survey released today by IT management software firm SolarWinds finds that Federal IT professionals view unintentional insider threat as the most significant source of security threats. […]
The U.S. cloud computing economy tripled in size from 2002 to 2017, and added $214 billion to the U.S. gross domestic product in 2017, according to an Internet Association (IA) report released Tuesday. […]
The Air Force Business Plan, released by the service on Monday, places a strong emphasis on enhancing the Air Force’s IT and cybersecurity capabilities. […]
During her keynote address at Monday’s Center for Strategic and International Studies event, Rep. Suzan DelBene, D-Wash., urged the U.S. government to increase its global engagement when it comes to tech–saying that was the only way to maintain U.S. technological leadership. With that in mind, DelBene offered a series of steps Congress can take to maintain U.S. global leadership. […]
The White House said in a statement today that President Trump intends to nominate Dale Cabaniss as director of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM). […]
The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy today announced the chartering of the National Quantum Coordination Office. […]
Not unlike Michael Jordan in the 1997 NBA Finals–battling illness and requiring cold medicine–General Services Administration (GSA) CIO David Shive today spoke about how implementing artificial intelligence (AI) technologies has reduced costs for GSA, and how the agency has made efforts to better engage with start-ups. […]