innovation

Across the Federal government, said Peter Ranks, deputy CIO for the information enterprise at the Department of Defense (DoD), and Jeanette Manfra, former assistant director for cybersecurity at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, more holistic IT modernization is necessary both during and following government’s reliance on widespread telework. […]

Ron Wyden Oregon

In a letter to the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., raised questions on cybersecurity issues across the intelligence community (IC), and suggested that the IC may need to fall under the purview of the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) authority of requiring all Federal agencies to adopt specific cybersecurity technologies and policies. […]

NSA

The National Security Agency (NSA) is conducting a pilot program through a commercial managed service provider that provides secure domain-name system (DNS) services to a group of defense industrial base (DIB) companies. […]

While the Census Bureau was already adjusting to embracing new tech for the 2020 Census, the COVID-19 pandemic has raised new concerns and pushed the agency to increase its focus on IT, data, and cybersecurity matters to properly manage risks.
Per a June 9 report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO), the Census Bureau must closely manage its tech to ensure that the pandemic and other delays don’t impact the quality of its 2020 Census results. […]

The critical importance of Federal IT operations in sustaining vital government operations during the COVID-19 pandemic is nearing the status of universal truth. What’s much less obvious to the naked eye – and meant to be that way – are the security operations underpinning and defending the vast Federal technology enterprise. As the nation takes its first steps on the road to recovery, MeriTalk is bringing to light the untold stories of those efforts. In the latest chapter of CIO Crossroads, we examine the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency’s (CISA) Continuous Diagnostics and Mitigation (CDM) program. […]

Continuous Diagnostics and Mitigation (CDM) Program Manager Kevin Cox said today that the program’s mission has mostly continued without a hitch through the COVID-19 pandemic, while also serving to better inform the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and Federal agencies about the security implications of maximum telework. […]

NIST

The National Institute of Standards and Technology’s (NIST) National Cybersecurity Center of Excellence (NCCoE) announced June 8 that it has invited 10 technology providers and industry experts to collaborate on the Protecting Information and System Integrity in Industrial Control System Environments Project. […]

Cloud Computing Brainstorm 2019 - Sean Connelly

Sean Connelly, Trusted Internet Connections (TIC) Program Manager at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), detailed at MeriTalk’s CDM Central: Tales from the Frontlines virtual event today how TIC and the Continuous Diagnostics and Mitigation (CDM) program work together to bolster Federal cybersecurity. […]

CDM Central - Government Keynote - Grant Schneider

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency’s (CISA) Continuous Diagnostics and Mitigation (CDM) program has been a key tool for managing cybersecurity risks since Federal employees began maximum telework in March by helping to maintain situational awareness on networks, said Federal CISO Grant Schneider at MeriTalk’s CDM Central: Tales from the Frontlines digital event today. […]

Unified Platform, a software platform designed to consolidate cyber capabilities and data processing led by the U.S. Cyber Command (CYBERCOM), is set to cost five times its initial program estimate and the program has skipped over key assessments, according to a June 3 Government Accountability Office (GAO) report. […]

Assessors for the new cybersecurity standard for contractors of the Department of Defense have not yet been selected, but a Department of Homeland Security official praised DoD’s efforts and said his department is looking toward their example. […]

electric grid
Cybersecurity

The Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) released a new cyber essentials toolkit to help small businesses and Federal agencies understand and address cybersecurity risks. […]

Russia U.S. Hacking

The National Security Agency has identified Russian military cyber actors – part of the General Staff Main Intelligence Directorate’s (GRU) Main Center for Special Technologies (GTsST) – have exploited a vulnerability in Exim mail transfer agent (MTA) software since at least August 2019. […]

Cybersecurity

The Accreditation Body responsible for orchestrating the implementation of the Defense Department’s (DoD) new cybersecurity standard for contractors released two requests for information on May 27 as the organization looks to begin training assessors this summer. […]

Cybersecurity

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) made several recommendations to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and others to improve coordination of cybersecurity requirements among Federal agencies to protect data shared with state government agencies. […]

capitol washington dc senate house congress-min

The United Kingdom’s cybersecurity agency said this week it will review the role of China-based network equipment maker Huawei in UK-based 5G networks – a move that comes days after the United States announced it will further restrict Huawei’s access to the U.S. technology supply chain. […]

Washington DC capitol federal government-min

As Congress begins work on future COVID-19 relief bills, a group of bipartisan legislators wrote to House and Senate leadership urging them to include funding for state and local government (SLG) IT infrastructure in future relief bills. […]

Federal money spending government

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) identified in a new report 168 new actions that Congress and Federal agencies could to take to improve efficiency and effectiveness across the Federal government, including two new recommendations involving information technology. […]

Capital, House of Representatives, Congress, Senate

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Federal IT operations are providing a resilient fabric that enables accelerated delivery of vital services to citizens during an unprecedented public health crisis. As government IT operations reach their new steady-state and map the path to further modernization, MeriTalk is surfacing the untold stories – and lessons – of those efforts. In the latest installment of CIO Crossroads, we examine the Labor Department’s performance eight weeks into the fray. […]

Ransomware accounted for 61 percent of malware-based data breach incidents over most of 2019, according to the Verizon 2020 Data Breach Investigations Report, reflecting that financial gains are the top motivator for three-quarters of threat actors. […]

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