The FBI needs access to encrypted files in order to protect the nation against cyber crime, according to Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein. “Encryption is essential,” Rosenstein said “It is a foundational element of data security and authentication. It is central to the growth and flourishing of the digital economy. We in law enforcement have no desire to undermine encryption. But ‘warrant-proof’ encryption poses a serious problem.” […]
The FirstNet national communications network for first responders still faces challenges to ensure the network’s reliability, security, and interoperability. Mark Goldstein, director of physical infrastructure issues at the Government Accountability Office, said that FirstNet struggles with providing network coverage to rural and hard-to-reach areas, ensuring the network’s overall resiliency and cybersecurity, managing frameworks for verifying user identity, and prioritizing the users on the network. […]
Rep. Will Hurd, R-Texas, is working on the text of his bill to create the Cyber National Guard, a scholarship program that will help train students for cybersecurity jobs in the Federal government. Students who apply for the Cyber National Guard would receive scholarship money for cybersecurity training programs. Once the students graduate, they would spend the same number of years working for a Federal agency as they did receiving scholarship money to attend school. […]
The State Department is seeking to use blockchain technology to improve its IT platforms and to restructure the agency. The reorganization plan seeks to reduce the workforce, save Federal money, and maximize employee productivity. […]
Federal agencies are refocusing their IT efforts in order to look at problems from an enterprise perspective rather than by individual bureau. “When you’re looking at the bureau you have money kind of stuck and stovepiped in that level,” said Melonie Parker-Hill, division chief of the enterprise operations center at the State Department. […]
With the new focus on innovation in Federal IT, agency CIOs said they will modernize whether they like it or not. The increased conversations about modernization have changed the way agency CIOs talk to their leadership about IT, according to Pamela Dyson, CIO of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). […]
The Department of Homeland Security has confirmed to MeriTalk that Barry West will serve as the acting deputy CIO, as well as be appointed to a limited-term senior executive service position as senior adviser. […]
South Korean officials announced that they suspect that North Korean hackers stole U.S. and South Korean military documents. A South Korean newspaper reported that hackers stole 235 gigabytes of documents from South Korean military networks in August and September of 2016. The documents included U.S. and South Korea personnel reports and a plan to assassinate North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. […]
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation collection of personally identifiable information was hacked 54 times between Jan. 1, 2015, and Dec. 1, 2016, according to an Inspector General report. […]
Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Oct. 6 that the Federal government needs to classify cyberattacks on the United States as acts of war. Clinton referred to the Russian hacks on the Democratic National Committee as a reason for the U.S. to retaliate against such breaches. […]
The Environmental Protection Agency launched the Smart Sectors Program to help companies use new technologies to protect the environment. The program uses a sector-based approach that provides benefits, such as increased long-term certainty and predictability, creative solutions based on sound data, and more policies to improve environmental protection. […]
President Donald Trump issued a memorandum on Oct. 5 that requires Federal agencies to set up an information sharing network to correspond about threats to national security. […]
The Federal government is finding new ways to make Federal spending data more transparent to citizens by launching the Treasury Department’s Data Lab, and considering a bill that would add open data requirements to Federal grants. […]
Senators in hearings this week denounced Equifax’s handling of the data breach that is now estimated to have affected 145 million Americans. Equifax Chairman and former CEO Richard Smith testified before the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs on Oct. 4. […]
Industry experts told Congress on Oct. 3 that regulations are necessary to secure the Internet of Things. “Is the industry doing enough to ensure the security of IoT devices?” Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., asked at the IT Subcommittee hearing on the Cybersecurity of IoT. […]
Rep. Will Hurd, R-Texas, called for the administration to nominate more permanent agency chief information officers. “I’m worried that we don’t want to stall some of the progress that we’ve achieved over the last couple of years,” Hurd said. […]
The Federal Communications Commission announced that states that want to opt out of the FirstNet radio access network for first responders must do so by Dec. 28. Opt-out notices must be sent by the governors of the states or territories to FirstNet and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration. […]
The Department of Homeland Security plans next month to stand up a governmentwide dashboard that will give the agency visibility into all of the Federal networks. The dashboard is part of the Continuous Diagnostics and Mitigation program, which was supported in the White House’s IT Modernization report. […]
President Donald Trump declared October 2017 National Cybersecurity Awareness Month. The announcement follows the Equifax breach in September, which affected about 143 million U.S. consumers. Trump signed a Cybersecurity Executive Order in May in an effort to strengthen Federal cybersecurity and hold agency heads accountable for security issues. […]
The General Services Administration announced Sept. 28 the launch of the FedRAMP Tailored Baseline for Cloud Service Providers with Low-Impact Software-as-a-Service Systems. […]
Esri has deployed the CrowdRescue Puerto Rico Infrastructure Map, which displays crowdsourced reports about damage from Hurricane Maria affecting the U.S. territory. The map enables a visualization of closed roads, collapsed bridges, flooding, mudslides, areas where communication is unavailable, areas that don’t have power, areas without drinking water, and areas with downed power lines. […]
The Commerce Department is asking for public opinion on its Next Generation 911 Grant Program, which would modernize 911 services so that citizens can use IP-based, broadband-enabled technologies to coordinate emergency responses. […]
Sens. John Thune, R-S.D., and Gary Peters, D-Mich., plan to announce legislation that would pave the way for increased innovation in self-driving vehicle technologies. “Ultimately, we expect adoption of self-driving vehicle technologies will save lives, improve mobility for people with disabilities, and create new jobs,” they said in a statement. […]
Cybersecurity standards for Internet of Things devices need to be improved in order to secure medical devices that have created the “Internet of Bodies.” Terrell McSweeny, commissioner of the Federal Trade Commission, said that more regulation needs to be written before connected medical devices become commonplace. […]
Agencies have begun to focus more on how to leverage shared services after the release of the Cybersecurity Executive Order, which advocates for agencies to share platforms for common operations like human resources and finances. […]
Government doesn’t take the dangers of metadata security seriously enough, members of industry said at an Institute for Critical Infrastructure event on Sept. 26. They cited the passage of SJ 34, which reduced regulations on Internet service providers’ use of metadata generated by their customers. […]
In order to get more government agencies to transition to the cloud, agency experts said that the procurement process has to become easier and clearer. […]
The Department of Health and Human Services is distilling cyber threat intelligence for a health care audience, according to HHS CISO Chris Wlaschin, who spoke at an Institute for Critical Infrastructure Technology Briefing on Sept. 26. He said the Healthcare Cybersecurity Communications and Integration Center is not meant “to replace current capabilities or functionality or services provided by” the Department of Homeland Security’s National Cybersecurity Communications and Integration Center. […]
The working capital fund created by the Modernizing Government Technology Act is the acquisition tool that agencies need to meet Data Center Optimization Initiative goals. […]
The Deloitte data breach that compromised the confidential emails and plans of some of its clients affected Federal agencies. Deloitte serves clients in finance, media, and government, which all had data in the breached email system. The affected organizations include major companies and U.S. government departments. […]