An Office of the Inspector General (OIG) report cites prosecuting cybercrime in the age of encryption, maintaining election security, and protecting its own IT systems as areas of top management and performance challenges facing the Department of Justice (DOJ). […]
Jeanette Manfra, assistant director for cybersecurity at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), is leaving CISA at the end of the year, an agency official confirmed to MeriTalk. […]
With election security firmly in place as the popular policy de jour on Capitol Hill in the ramp-up to the 2020 election cycle, House members from both sides of the aisle voiced support at a Nov. 19 hearing for more focus on cyberattacks targeting election infrastructure, with a particular focus on ransomware exploits. […]
An annual report issued by the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Office of Inspector General (OIG) flags leadership stability and cybersecurity issues among the “most serious management and performance challenges” facing the agency currently. […]
To improve the future of cybersecurity posture for the United States, experts agree that improving on basic security measures and shifting culture to compete with industry in the workforce are essential elements. […]
The House Science Committee voted to approve H.R. 4990, the Election Technology Research Act of 2019, on Nov. 14. […]
Rep. Jim Langevin, D-R.I., a co-chair of the House Cybersecurity Caucus and one of the few widely acknowledged experts in Congress on cybersecurity, said on Nov. 14 that a lack of data “baselines” on security issues continues to hamper efforts in Congress – and the nation as a whole – to improve security. […]
Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, suggested on Nov. 14 that Congress and the Trump administration could get more done to improve Federal cybersecurity if more agencies critical to that effort were headed by Senate-confirmed secretaries, rather than acting secretaries. […]
Kevin Cox, program manager for the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Continuous Diagnostics and Mitigation (CDM) program, today discussed the program’s progress in generating AWARE (Agency-Wide Adaptive Risk Enumeration) algorithm scores for Federal agencies to track relative security status, and about how the program plans to refine the scoring process in the future. […]
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is a target for cybercriminals, but the agency is failing to adequately protect itself, according to a Nov. 13 report by the NASA Office of the Inspector General (OIG). […]
The Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee approved by voice vote today the Harvesting American Cybersecurity Knowledge through Education Act (HACKED Act) (S 2775), which aims to boost the Federal cybersecurity workforce with new guidelines for agencies, clearer career paths for the workforce, and improved coordination between agencies. […]
A bill introduced by Rep. Mikie Sherrill, D-N.J., on Nov. 8 would establish a new Center of Excellence (CoE) and fund elections systems research at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the National Science Foundation (NSF). […]
Election security will remain an operational priority for the Cybersecurity Infrastructure and Security Agency (CISA) “for the foreseeable future,” a CISA official said at a Nov. 12 event. […]
A Cybersecurity Infrastructure and Security Agency (CISA) interagency workgroup – focused at least in part on supply chain and control systems security issues – aims to have an executive committee meeting early next year to discuss cybersecurity challenges in both the public and private sectors. […]
The Brennan Center for Justice argued in a Nov. 12 report that the Federal government needs to hold election technology vendors to higher cybersecurity standards in order to receive Federal certification. To that end, the Center offered up a new framework for oversight. […]
In a Nov. 7 letter, Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., urged Secretary of Defense Mark Esper and National Security Agency (NSA) Director Gen. Paul Nakasone to conduct a cybersecurity audit of mobile voting app Voatz to “determine whether it can reliably protect the votes of U.S. servicemembers against foreign hacking.” […]
The U.S. Election Assistance Commission Office of the Inspector General (OIG) on Nov. 1 released an audit plan for $380 million grant funding appropriated in 2018, which includes audits of election security grant funds for six states. […]
A new study suggests that organizations should shift their cybersecurity focus to defending non-Windows infrastructure, such as Linux, while deemphasizing attribution of Advanced Persistent Threats (APTs) to any particular nation-state. […]
Sen. Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., announced Nov. 7 that she has joined the Senate Cybersecurity Caucus, a bipartisan group that is intended to “provide a platform for Senators and their staffs to stay informed on major policy issues and developments in cybersecurity.” […]
Marc Barrachin, managing director of New Product Development at S&P Global Market Intelligence, and Algirde Pipikaite, project lead of Industry Solutions at the Centre for Cybersecurity, World Economic Forum, renewed calls for a global standard for reporting cyberattacks in a Nov. 6 Harvard Busines Review article. […]
As the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) focuses on returning to the moon by 2024, cyber resiliency belongs in every step of the process, according to NASA CIO Renee Wynn. […]
Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., told Defense Secretary Mark Esper in a Nov. 6 letter that the Defense Department (DoD) must act quickly to weed out Chinese-made surveillance gear in use at DoD facilities. […]
The Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) today released its Cyber Essentials guide, which it describes as “a starting point for small businesses and government agencies to understand and address cybersecurity risk as they do other risks.” […]
A bill introduced in the House by Reps. Anna Eshoo, D-Calif., and Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., on Nov. 5 – the Online Privacy Act of 2019 – would create new user private rights, place the onus on companies to protect user data they collect, and establish a new Federal agency to “enforce privacy protections, and strengthens enforcement of privacy law violations.” […]
The Federal government’s civilian, military, and intelligence agencies issued a statement Nov. 5 reiterating Federal support for election security at national, state, and local levels. […]
The National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO) endorsed S.?2749, the?DOTGOV?Act of 2019 on Nov. 4. The legislation, introduced by Sens. Gary Peters, D-Mich., and Ron Johnson, R-Wis., ranking member and chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, respectively, and Sens. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., and James Lankford, Okla., aims to “strengthen local government cybersecurity defenses by switching to the .gov domain for websites and email addresses.” […]
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) reported on Oct. 31 that the Energy Cybersecurity Act of 2019 would cost $832 million to implement over the next 10 years, with $355 million of that spent during the first five years. […]
Defending Digital Campaigns (DDC), a new nonprofit dedicated to providing affordable cybersecurity products, services, and information, announced its first president, CEO, and board members on Oct. 31. […]
Senators and Federal government officials sparred over the country’s 5G-readiness and supply chain security at a hearing today of the Senate’s Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. […]
Several senators introduced legislation on Oct. 30 that aims to “strengthen local government cybersecurity defenses by switching to the .gov domain for websites and email addresses.” […]