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American hack

The leader of the Federal government’s investigation of the Russia-backed hack of government and private sector networks via SolarWinds Orion products said Feb. 17 that the attack “compromised” nine Federal government networks – matching with earlier estimates from Federal law enforcement and intelligence agencies that “follow-on” activity by the hackers after initial breaches via software downloads were seen in “fewer than 10” Federal agencies. […]

cybersecurity

Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, is asking the FBI and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to provide more information on the recent attempt by cyber criminals to poison the water supply at an Oldsmar, Fla. water treatment facility. […]

What’s the biggest lesson to be learned from the recent thwarting of an attempt by cyber criminals to poison the water supply in Oldsmar, Fla.?

According to the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), the hackers likely took advantage of an outdated operating system to gain access, and the agency said “continuing to use any operating system within an enterprise beyond the end of life status may provide cyber criminals access into computer systems.” […]

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) created a Positioning, Navigation and Timing (PNT) Profile using its Cybersecurity Framework that can be used as part of a risk management framework to assist organizations in managing risk to systems, networks, and assets that use PNT services. […]

Cybersecurity

In an audit of the Defense Department’s (DoD) cybersecurity requirements for weapon systems in the operations and support (O&S) phase of the DoD acquisition lifecycle, the DoD Inspector General (IG) highlighted five weapon systems that have been successfully updating cybersecurity requirements and meeting Risk Management Framework requirements. […]

Cybersecurity flag

After Sens. Mark Warner, D-Va., chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, and Marco Rubio, R-Fla., the committee’s ranking member, called for the designation of a single official to lead the U.S. response to the Russia-backed hack of thousands of government and private-sector networks via SolarWinds Orion products, the White House confirmed to the senators that Deputy National Security Advisor Anne Neuberger is leading the effort. […]

Cybersecurity

Anne Neuberger, deputy national security advisor for cyber and emerging technology on President Biden’s National Security Council (NSC), said this week that the administration is working on a new national cybersecurity strategy and that it will likely feature some of the recommendations that have already been made by the President’s National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee (NSTAC) but not yet implemented. […]

cybersecurity
Army
cybersecurity

Sens. Mark Warner, D-Va., chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, and Marco Rubio, R-Fla., the committee’s ranking member, are urging the Biden administration to “assign a clear leader” to lead the United States’ response to the Russia-backed hack of thousands of government and private-sector networks via SolarWinds Orion products. […]

Cybersecurity
Cyber

The Department of Defense’s (DoD) Cyber Crime Center (DC3) is launching a pilot program for Defense Industrial Base (DIB) companies to participate in their Vulnerability Disclosure Program (VDP), which shares vulnerability data and aims to improve cyber hygiene. […]

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By Fiscal Year 2026, every contractor seeking to do business with the Department of Defense (DoD) will be required to have at least a Level 1 Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC), Katie Arrington, the Pentagon’s CISO for acquisition and sustainment, said Feb. 3. […]

Cybersecurity

The House Committee on Homeland Security today designated cybersecurity as a key priority for the committee in the 117th Congress, and specifically noted the Russian-backed hack of thousands of government and private sector networks via a compromise of SolarWinds Orion products.  […]

NIST

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) announced that its first bug bounty program has “proved the value of the secure hardware architectures developed under [DARPA’s] System Security Integration Through Hardware and Firmware (SSITH) program while pinpointing critical areas to further harden defenses.” […]

State Department
Cyber Attack

The Department of Defense’s (DoD) Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) has invested in a cybersecurity platform to upgrade their “cyber threat detection and intelligence-gathering capabilities,” according to a Jan. 25 press release. […]

State Department
Cybersecurity

Sens. Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., and John Cornyn, R-Texas, reintroduced a bill that would support the National Guard in helping state and local governments improve their cybersecurity, citing “the SolarWinds attack and continued cyberattacks connected to the COVID-19 pandemic.”  […]

Veterans Affairs
cybersecurity
Pentagon Military Defense DoD

While the Department of Defense (DoD) is still adjudicating comments on its latest Cyber Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) guidelines, Katie Arrington, CISO for the department of Acquisition at DoD, said the department would be ready to release its first Request for Proposal (RFP) by mid-March. […]

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Cybersecurity

President Biden is asking intelligence agencies for a “full assessment” of Russian involvement in breaches of thousands of government and private-sector networks via SolarWinds Orion products, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said Jan. 21. […]

Cyber

Department of Defense information networks (DoDIN) are working to apply a Comply-to-Connect (C2C) initiative that will boost cybersecurity across DoD with future directives by the DoD CIO addressing components of the initiative. […]

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