The volume of phishing-based cyberattacks rose by 29 percent in 2021 over prior-year levels and was driven in part by an increase in phishing-as-a-service schemes, according to new research from cloud security services provider Zscaler and its ThreatLabz research operation. […]
The General Services Administration (GSA) is working on a series of playbooks for Federal agencies to use as they proceed with implementing plans to migrate toward zero trust security architectures, and expects to begin releasing those within a couple of months, a senior GSA technology official said today. […]
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) is seeking industry feedback on two reference documents, one for Secure Cloud Business Applications (SCuBA) and a framework for organization visibility data, according to an April 19 CISA blog post. […]
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the U.S. Treasury Department issued a joint cybersecurity advisory (CSA) on April 18 warning of North Korean state-sponsored actors targeting attacks on crypto and blockchain technology providers. […]
The Department of Education was one of three agencies to receive funding from the General Service Administration’s (GSA) Technology Modernization Fund (TMF) for Zero Trust services, and the agency’s chief information officer Steven Hernandez said the agency is prioritizing the control pillar of the zero trust architecture with the funds. […]
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) said today it adding to its Joint Cyber Defense Collaborative (JCDC) group several private sector firms with expertise in protecting industrial control systems (ICS) and operational technology (OT). […]
The U.S. Army’s new Risk Management Framework (RMF) 2.0 has proved to be a “big game-changer,” not just in terms of managing risk, but also in building a strong cybersecurity community within the agency, an Army official said today. […]
The modernization of identity, credential, and access management (ICAM) has long been critical to improving Federal agency cybersecurity, and is only becoming more urgent due to President Biden’s cybersecurity executive order (EO) and associated policy directives requiring agencies to move to zero trust security architectures, government officials said on April 19 at a virtual event organized by FedInsider. […]
Reps. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., Ro Khanna, D-Calif., and Gerry Connolly, D-Va., introduced legislation to get ahead of the quantum computing curve protecting Federal agencies from the hacking risks connected to the emerging tech. […]
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is working to apply its Cybersecurity Framework to the ground-based segments of space operations, an April 18 NIST report says. […]
As the Russian invasion of Ukraine continues through its second month with no let-up in sight, Federal cybersecurity and law enforcement officials are warning that they still see indications of potential Russian cyberattacks on United States critical infrastructure, and are reiterating their “Shields Up” warning to meet those potential threats. […]
With state and local governments (SLGs) becoming more tempting targets for cyberattacks every day, Federal and SLG experts are increasingly urging the importance of communication between the public and private sector in order to achieve a unified and stronger American cybersecurity posture. […]
Longtime Navy veteran Tracy L. Hines was promoted from captain to Rear Adm. (lower half) and assigned to be the Navy Cyber Security Division Director in Navy’s Washington, D.C., Office of Naval Operations, DoD announced April 6. […]
When implementing zero trust security architectures, an official from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) said today that the real change is not a technology change, but instead a “cultural change” within the organization. […]
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), along with the FBI, Department of Energy (DoE), and National Security Agency (NSA), is warning that advanced persistent threat (APT) actors are seeking to gain full access to industrial control systems (ICS) and Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems, CISA warned in a cybersecurity advisory April 13. […]
The long road to implementing zero trust security architectures may be driven by top-down policy directives and prioritizing technology pillars, but the art and science of communication and collaboration are showing up as vital inputs into organizing Federal agency technologists and network users to move toward the government’s zero trust goals. […]
With the 60-day deadlines for some of the objectives from the Office of Management and Budget’s Zero Trust memo now in the rearview, Federal agencies should have a zero trust implementation plan in place, with a focus on initial data categorization and laying the groundwork for a zero trust architecture. […]
The Department of Justice (DoJ) announced Tuesday the seizure of RaidForums, one of the largest online cybercriminal forums globally, and criminal charges against its founder and chief administrator, Diogo Santos Coelho. […]
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) said the agency is aiming to begin a rulemaking process to implement mandatory cyber incident reporting rules for critical infrastructure owners and operators included in the Fiscal Year 2022 omnibus spending bill signed into law by President Biden last month. […]
Code for America received two separate investments, totaling $100 million over seven years, to set up its Safety Net Innovation Lab and work with state and local government agencies to modernize their social safety net administration services to make access to government services more equitable, the nonprofit announced April 12. […]
The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) said in a memo this week that it’s offering updates and resources for hiring cybersecurity talent across the Federal workforce, including through a resource hub with tools that aim to streamline the process. […]
Protecting healthcare data is essential, but cybersecurity experts say it is one of the hardest industries to protect due to its larger attack surface – and the fact that lives are at risk. […]
The United States Special Operations Command (SOCOM) is hosting a Security at the Edge Cyber Challenge, with the multiple-phase challenge seeking to identify technologies that are capable of providing security-at-the-edge capabilities, according to a special notice posted on SAM.gov. […]
Microsoft Corp. said it has disrupted cyberattacks from a group linked to the GRU – Russia’s foreign military unit – that were targeting Ukrainian entities and media organizations, as well as government institutions and foreign policy think tanks in the United States, according to an April 7 company blog. […]
Senior Federal and industry cybersecurity leaders agreed that the Office of Management and Budget’s (OMB) August 2021 memorandum M-21-31 to implement new event logging and share threat information has proven to be a significant step in bolstering cybersecurity across Federal civilian agencies. […]
Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chair Jessica Rosenworcel wants the recently restarted FCC Interagency Cybersecurity Forum to focus on creating harmony between how the private sector and the Federal government implement cybersecurity controls. […]
The Senate adopted the House-passed version of the National Cybersecurity Preparedness Consortium (NCPC) Act by unanimous consent, sending the bill to the President’s desk for his signature. […]
The Senate has confirmed Laurie Locascio, President Biden’s nominee to be the next undersecretary of Standards and Technology at the Department of Commerce, through an April 7 voice vote. The title typically comes with the dual role of Director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology. […]
Federal agencies are continuing to work towards implementing zero trust security architectures, but which of the Office of Management and Budget’s (OMB) security pillars will take precedence in zero trust development? […]
Do you know someone who works hard to drive innovation and ensure our nation’s cybersecurity? MeriTalk wants you to submit nominations for our Cyber Defenders Awards, to honor those individuals who have made significant contributions across cyber programs in Federal IT. […]