California’s state Assembly is attempting to turn back time on net neutrality by voting yesterday to approve a controversial bill that brings the state closer to enacting the Obama-era Federal net neutrality laws that were gutted by the FCC earlier this year. […]

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Thursday issued a solicitation for “a web-based subscription to a Commercial-Off the Shelf (COTS) social media monitoring tool that provides emailed alerts to SEC staff based on keyword searches for relevant topics with ability to monitor social media sites.” […]

The Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) awarded $3.5 million in research and development funding to improve detection capabilities of X-ray technology used for checked baggage systems at U.S. airports. […]

Walter McDonald, director of IT Program Services at the Department of Education, today clarified that a potential Technology Business Management (TBM) playbook that Education has aided GSA in constructing is still in a draft stage, and not scheduled for public release in three to four weeks, as initially indicated. […]

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is updating two of its major publications regarding mobile device security, and NIST’s National Cybersecurity Center of Excellence (NCCoE) is expanding into uncharted territory. […]

All 23 of the Federal civilian CFO Act agencies covered under the Department of Homeland Security’s Continuous Diagnostics and Mitigation (CDM) Program will be connected to the governmentwide cybersecurity threat dashboard by September, CDM Program Manager Kevin Cox said today. […]

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) today launched a new webpage highlighting the importance of rural e-connectivity, as well as ways USDA is helping to deploy high-speed broadband infrastructure in rural America. […]

The State Department’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) has issued a new report that flags security control issues for a data analytics test network and internal case management system operated by the Bureau of Consular Affairs’ Office of Fraud Prevention Programs (OFPP), and reported that OFPP is taking steps to resolve the problem. […]

The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) inspector general found that a share folder within one of the agency’s regions did not meet National Institute of Science and Technology (NIST) standards for account management, which left sensitive data at risk. […]

The Senate late Tuesday approved by voice vote the nomination of Karen Evans as Assistant Secretary of Energy for Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and Emergency Response (CESER)–a newly created position at the agency. […]

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) today issued a memo rescinding previous guidance it gave to Federal agencies to enforce certain provisions of three executive orders (EO) issued by President Trump regarding the Federal workforce, after those provisions were deemed unlawful by a U.S. District Court Judge last Saturday. […]

The ransomware attack on the city of Atlanta in March of this year, which brought down numerous online city services for several days, should be seen as a warning for similar attacks on municipalities in the future with even more drastic impacts as city services become more reliant on IT systems, a senior Department of Homeland Security official said Tuesday. […]

Government use of facial recognition technology put one in the win column last week, when U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers nabbed a man using a fake passport to enter the country at Dulles International Airport in Virginia. […]

Genevieve Morris on Aug. 24 resigned as chief health information officer (CHIO) of the Department of Veterans Affairs’ Office of Electronic Health Record Modernization (OEHRM). […]

The Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology Directorate (DHS S&T) said today that it will conduct a series of systematic reviews this fall, in coordination with the Campbell Collaboration and in partnership with Australia, Canada, Sweden, and the United Kingdom, aimed at preventing acts of targeted violence and terrorism. […]

Matthew Travis, deputy undersecretary of the Department of Homeland Security’s National Programs and Protection Directorate (NPPD), said today that DHS’s recently-established National Risk Management Center (NRMC) represents the agency’s plan to play “the long game” in defending U.S. critical infrastructure sectors from attacks. […]

The General Services Administration has tapped the Department of Education to share with other Federal agencies Education’s successes in adopting the Technology Business Management (TBM) framework to arrive at a holistic understanding of IT processes, according to representatives of Education’s Office of the CIO. […]

The National Science Foundation (NSF) is betting big on quantum computing, to the tune of up to $25 million. […]

Members of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce called on the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to conduct biennial reviews and provide dedicated funding to the Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVE) program after finding erratic contracts and little planning documentation. The request was made via a letter to DHS Sec. Kirstjen Nielsen on Monday. […]

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Facebook, and Microsoft hosted a joint briefing on Friday, Aug. 24, for the National Association of Secretaries of State (NASS) and the National Association of State Election Directors (NASED) regarding “actions being taken to combat malicious interference operations.” […]

Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., asked Attorney General Jeff Sessions in an Aug. 21 letter to update the Justice Department’s (DoJ) guidance on use of cell-site simulator technologies–sometimes referred to as Stingray devices–to take into account information from a manufacturer that use of the devices may completely disrupt communications of targeted phones including emergency 911 calls and other features.   […]

The National Institute of Standards and Technology’s (NIST) National Cybersecurity Center of Excellence (NCCoE) is seeking comments on a draft practice guide that explores how multifactor authentication can help reduce fraudulent online purchases. […]

The General Services Administration’s Enterprise Infrastructure Solutions (EIS) contract aims to aid modernization, support secure connections through various methods, and allow agencies to focus better on their mission, according to participants on a webinar titled “Building and Securing Government’s Connected Future with EIS,” hosted by FedInsider and sponsored by CenturyLink. […]

On the heels of Kelly Olson’s promotion to head the General Services Administration’s Technology and Transformation Services (TTS) organization (LINK to yesterday’s story), the agency is setting into motion a series of leadership changes impacting its FedRAMP operation, among others. […]

The Federal Trade Commission has issued a warning about a new scam that targets men by claiming to know a personal secret about them and demanding a ransom in bitcoin. […]

The Federal government’s “Cloud First” strategy didn’t get quite the results the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) was looking for the first time, so now OMB is about to unveil “Cloud Smart,” which updates the seven-year-old strategy with an eye toward energizing agencies that have lagged in making the transition. […]

Kelly Olson, chief of staff for the General Services Administration’s (GSA) Technology and Transformation Services (TTS) organization, will take over as acting director of TTS and Deputy Commissioner of GSA’s Federal Acquisition Service (FAS) beginning Monday, August 27. […]

The Department of Homeland Security is working with multiple Federal agencies to develop a new “risk radar” that will help agencies’ top executives contextualize cybersecurity risk and clarify where they need to apply focus and resources, according to Mark Kneidinger, director of the Federal Network Resilience division of DHS’ Office of Cybersecurity and Communications (CS&C). […]

The Federal Aviation Administration has issued a request for information (RFI) for moving its FAA Enterprise Network Services program (FENS) to Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA) High standards. […]

Members of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee quizzed the Trump administration’s nominee to head the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) about agency reorganization, cybersecurity, and acquisition issues during a generally supportive nomination hearing today. […]