With K-12 educational institutions increasingly targeted by ransomware and other cyber attacks during the coronavirus pandemic, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) is pushing the Department of Education to update its plans – which currently date from 2010 – for addressing cyber risks faced by schools. […]
Congressional backers of another big shot of funding for the Technology Modernization Fund (TMF) are not ready to take no for an answer. After a proposed $1 billion of additional funding for TMF was stripped late last month from House Democrats’ committee-level proposals for the Build Back Better Act, a new amendment to the legislation offered by Rep. John Yarmuth, D-Ky., would add $250 million of TMF funding as part of a larger $500 million proposal to advance IT modernization programs. […]
After more than two months of angling and dealmaking, the House of Representatives voted to approve the $1 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act – also known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Framework – on November 5, sending the bill along with its $2 billion in cyber funding and $65 billion in broadband appropriations to President Biden’s desk for final approval. […]
Federal agencies as a group are “close” to completing work to put in place the first two of the Continuous Diagnostics and Mitigation (CDM) program’s four key capabilities, said Betsy Kulik, senior advisor for the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency’s (CISA) CDM program, at a November 4 online event organized by FCW. […]
After a lengthy review process, the Department of Defense today issued an update to its Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) program – dubbed CMMC 2.0 – that will simplify some of the cybersecurity requirements for contractors in the Defense Industrial Base (DIB) looking to do business with the government. […]
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) today issued a Binding Operational Directive (BOD) to significantly boost the nation’s cyber hygiene by creating a catalog of known exploited vulnerabilities and forcing Federal agencies to remediate them. […]
As Federal agencies approach the six-month mark since President Biden issued his Cybersecurity Executive Order (EO) in May, Federal officials are pointing to the zero trust, supply chain risk management, and data aspects of the EO as the greatest opportunities to make a difference in shoring up security. […]
Five months after the debut of the Biden administration’s sweeping Cybersecurity Executive Order, Federal agencies are “highly engaged” in grappling with the order’s mandate for migration to zero trust security architectures, both on the planning and funding fronts. […]
With an evolving cyber threat landscape and adversaries that are growing more sophisticated by the day, National Security Agency (NSA) Director Gen. Paul Nakasone – who also heads United States Cyber Command (CYBERCOM) – today pointed to partnership and collaboration as the best way to protect the nation from cyber threats. […]
An official at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) is applauding the work of a private cybersecurity firm that, in collaboration with CISA, helped victims of the BlackMatter ransomware group, according to a new report from the New York Times. […]
Dr. Laurie Locascio, the White House’s nominee to be the next director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), told senators this week that she will prioritize cybersecurity of internet of things (IoT) devices, and bridging the cyber workforce gap if she is confirmed to head the agency. […]
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) announced today that it has awarded $2 million to bring cybersecurity training programs to rural communities and diverse populations. […]
The Senate Appropriations Committee released nine appropriations bills for fiscal year (FY) 2022 on October 18 including a Homeland Security funding bill that would give the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) a 30 percent budget increase over FY2021 levels, to $2.638 billion. […]
The Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) released a joint advisory on Oct. 18 warning organizations that the BlackMatter ransomware group is targeting U.S. critical infrastructure entities. […]
The Joint Cyber Defense Collaborative created in August by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has the potential to greatly help Federal government authorities and private sector firms better “connect the dots” on global threats in cyberspace, said National Cyber Director Chris Inglis in remarks on October 13 during CISA’s National Cybersecurity Summit event. […]
Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) Executive Director Brandon Wales said today that the private sector needs to do more to help the government combat ransomware attacks, and expressed hope that the recently formed Joint Cyber Defense Collaborative (JCDC) effort between government and industry will go a long way toward providing a coordinated approach to deal with those and other cybersecurity threats. […]
With Federal agencies needing to move the bulk of their workforce to remote or hybrid environments since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency’s (CISA) Continuous Diagnostics and Mitigation (CDM) program has worked with agencies to account for the increase in attack vectors and take a more proactive risk management stance, CDM Program Lead Richard Grabowski said. […]
With an increased focus on cybersecurity after a spate of high-profile cyberattacks on U.S. government and business organizations since late last year, members of Congress are continuing to call for a clearly defined national cyber deterrent policy. Three prime movers on cybersecurity legislation Congress – Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, and Reps. John Katko, R-N.Y., and Yvette Clarke, D-N.Y. – explained the need to codify a cyber deterrence policy at the Aspen Cyber Summit Oct. 6. […]
The Democratic and Republican leaders of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee have unveiled their long-awaited legislation to update the 2014 Federal Information Security Modernization Act that provides cybersecurity marching orders to Federal civilian agencies. […]
A Senate Homeland Security Committee hearing brought together several experts from the intelligence community today to discuss the homeland security landscape 20 years after the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001. […]
A recent report by the Aspen Institute found that despite existing efforts to improve diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), the cybersecurity field remains mostly homogenous among technical practitioners and policy thinkers. […]
President Biden on August 25 gathered Federal government cybersecurity leaders and a deep roster of corporate leaders at a White House meeting that he said aimed to “raise the bar” on cybersecurity across the government, critical infrastructure, and private sectors. […]
With the COVID-19 pandemic changing the work landscape, potentially forever, cybersecurity officials are advising that workplaces prepare to build resiliency into these hybrid work landscapes and make sure they are working strategically to secure the connections. […]
The Cyberspace Solarium Commission released its Annual Implementation Report August 12 showing significant progress on recommendations that have been implemented, are nearing implementation, or are on track for implementation, but also showing some work that remains undone. […]
The Senate’s Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act – the bipartisan infrastructure plan currently working its way through the amendment process – totals about $2 billion in cybersecurity funding, the White House said in an August 3 fact sheet about the legislation. […]
The much-anticipated $1 trillion Senate bipartisan infrastructure bill unveiled on August 1 shows big cybersecurity funding wins for state and local governments with a $1 billion for a cybersecurity grant program, and electric utilities that will be receiving $1.25 billion through a cybersecurity grant program to protect the electric grid. […]
The House of Representatives passed the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Industrial Control Systems (ICS) Capabilities Enhancement Act on July 20, and the bill now has bipartisan companion legislation in the Senate. […]
The Senate Armed Services Committee said on June 22 it completed its markup of the Fiscal Year (FY) 2022 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which includes a $1 billion increase in funds for programs developing AI, microelectronics, advanced materials, 5G, and biotechnology. […]
New bipartisan legislation introduced in the Senate this week would staff the newly-created Office of National Cyber Director (NCD) and authorize non-reimbursable detailees for NCD to support coordinating national cybersecurity policy and strategy. […]
The Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Transportation Security Administration (TSA) today issued a second Security Directive aimed at securing critical pipelines that transport hazardous liquids and natural gas from cyber intrusions, in response to recent cybersecurity threats against U.S. pipeline systems. […]