Organizations need a cybersecurity strategy to protect both infrastructure and customer data from growing cybersecurity threats. The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) developed the Cyber Essentials as a guide for small businesses and local government leaders to develop an actionable understanding of where to start implementing organizational cybersecurity practices. […]
Katie Arrington is currently on leave as the Department of Defense’s (DoD) chief information security officer (CISO) for acquisition and sustainment, a DoD spokesperson confirmed to MeriTalk. […]
A Data Decrees memo signed by Defense Deputy Secretary Kathleen Hicks set the five Department of Defense (DoD) priorities for how it should use data, and a pair of Chief Data Officers (CDO) said this memo has helped enable change by codifying the importance of data inside the Pentagon. […]
Brig. Gen. Jeth Rey has been appointed the new director of the U.S. Army’s Network Modernization Cross-Functional Team (CFT), succeeding former director Maj. Gen. Peter Gallagher, who retired from the Army in May. […]
The Department of Interior needs to do more to share data across several systems that it uses to oversee oil and gas development on leased Federal lands, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) said in a new report. […]
Senators Maggie Hassan D-N.H. and John Cornyn R-Texas, have introduced the Federal Cybersecurity Workforce Expansion Act which aims to help strengthen U.S. cyber defenses and bolster the Federal government’s cyber workforce. […]
As cyberattacks become more frequent and prevalent, the National Security Agency’s (NSA) Director of Cybersecurity Rob Joyce says the biggest vulnerability for both the private and public sectors is technical debt. […]
The National Science Foundation (NSF), in coordination with a consortium of 35 wireless communication corporations, announced the fourth testbed in a diverse portfolio of large-scale wireless research platforms located throughout the United States. This wireless research platform is intended to drive innovation in rural broadband connectivity in Ames, Iowa. […]
Cybersecurity experts from Federal, state, and local governments agree that in wake of increased cyberattacks during the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s increasingly important to protect healthcare data through an elevated cybersecurity posture. […]
Reps. Tom O’Halleran, D-Ariz., and John Curtis, R-Utah, have introduced the Accelerating Rural Broadband Deployment Act, which would increase internet access in rural America by relaxing government regulations. Sens. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., and Steve Daines, R-Mont., introduced a companion bill in April of this year. […]
Federal Chief Data Officers (CDOs) are the stewards of the government’s most vital asset, data. These leaders strive to improve the management, use, protection, dissemination, and generation of data in government decision-making. On June 24, a panel of Federal CDOs, on an AFFIRM webinar, discussed the challenges they face when dealing with data and the importance of data governance and management. […]
What does it cost to open up a new top-level executive branch office to coordinate the government’s sprawling and ever-growing cybersecurity efforts? If you guessed $15 million, you’d be right in line with the thinking of the House Appropriations Committee, which released on June 23 the draft fiscal year 2022 Financial Services and General Government (FSGG) funding bill that includes $15 million to launch the new Office of the National Cyber Director. […]
The mission must continue – and that means networks must be up and secure, no matter what. Now more than ever before, networks can provide visibility at every layer, so agencies can identify and respond to service interruptions immediately. Network-as-a-sensor capabilities enable this deep awareness. […]
The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the rate at which the entire Department of Defense (DoD) had to learn how to collaborate and operate more effectively regardless of location. The solutions in place to respond to this crisis inadvertently set the bar for how the DoD wanted to operate on a day-to-day basis post-pandemic. […]
The United States Air Force (USAF) is looking for a contractor to provide long-haul communications and system network administration for its Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA) Squadron Operation Center (SOC) Enterprise, according to a request for proposal (RFP) posted to SAM.gov June 17. […]
The Department of Defense’s (DoD) Joint All Domain Command and Control (JADC2) data-sharing strategy is currently undergoing a “posture review” to review current gaps and vulnerabilities as part of its implementation phase, a DoD official said June 21. […]
With the focus turning to securing critical infrastructure and a backdrop of an increased number of cyberattacks, a survey of the cybersecurity in the water and waste management sector shows a number of facilities with incomplete cybersecurity programs, the Water Information Sharing and Analysis Center (ISAC) found in an April 2021 study. […]
Sens. Mark Warner, D-Va., and Susan Collins, R-Maine, asked Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona to ensure that schools nationwide are aware that they can use Federal funding from COVID-19 relief bills to improve cybersecurity. […]
The Department of Defense (DoD) awarded a $495 million contract to Verizon to provide high-speed and secure network services to assist the agency’s High Performance Computing Modernization Program (HPCMP) and Defense Research and Engineering Network (DREN). […]
A bipartisan group of senators reintroduced the International Cybercrime Prevention Act, which would give law enforcement tools to harden cyber defenses. […]
The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) awarded the first phase of the 8(a) STARS III Governmentwide Acquisition Contract (GWAC). This fourth-generation $50 billion contract primarily focuses on emerging technologies and performance outside of the continental United States. […]
For decades, Federal chief information security officers (CISOs) focused on protecting a traditional perimeter and the users within. Today, however, they recognize that there are a seemingly endless number of third-party partners, vendors, and customer accounts, as well as service accounts – accounts which are either not directly tied to employees, or non-human accounts– which could result in compromises. […]
A nonprofit group is pushing for the creation of a National Advanced Industry and Technology Agency that would be responsible for creating policies to “ensure long-term U.S. advanced industry leadership,” according to a June 17 release. […]
The Transportation Security Agency (TSA) is in the process of developing another cybersecurity directive for critical infrastructure pipeline owners and operators, following the initial directive it issued to them following the Colonial Pipeline ransomware attack. […]
Federal Chief Data Officers (CDO) examined the processes, technologies, and strategies that should be in place to help agencies not just manage data but master and leverage it as a strategic asset, during AFCEA Bethesda’s Breakfast Webinar series on June 15. […]
Sens. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, Patty Murray, D-Wash., and Angus King, I-Maine, introduced a bipartisan bill that aims to close the digital divide and promote “digital equity” utilizing $250 million in annual grants, according to a press release. […]
As government agencies shape their goals and priorities for the new administration, they continue to target waste, fraud, and abuse. Rob Owens, deputy inspector general for Management and Policy at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), explained this week how HHS is targeting waste, fraud, and abuse by utilizing geospatial analytics and visualization as part of a Geographic Information System (GIS). […]
The SolarWinds software supply chain hack – disclosed in December 2020 – represented a new scale of nation-state cyber aggression, with thousands of organizations compromised, including at least nine Federal agencies. And just last month, the Colonial Pipeline ransomware attack further highlighted the national security risks created by cyber aggression. […]
The Department of Defense (DoD) has made progress in improving software and cybersecurity associated with its weapons systems, but the programs still struggle to implement and execute modern software development practices, according to a recent Government Accountability Office (GAO) report. […]
In 2016, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) began replacing its outdated biometric identity management system but needs to fully implement key IT acquisition best practices to fully implement the entire Homeland Advanced Recognition Technology (HART) system by 2021, which is three years behind schedule due to technical challenges. […]