A new report from the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) found that the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) puts veterans’ sensitive information and facility security at risk by not following requirements about documenting personal identity verification (PIV) cards returned by contract personnel. […]

Reps. Bill Foster, D-Ill., John Katko, R-N.Y., Jim Langevin, D-R.I., and Barry Loudermilk, R-Ga., have introduced legislation that aims to modernize the United States’ digital identity infrastructure and protect Americans from having their personal information stolen. […]

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is looking to improve its airport screening technology – and its use of machine learning within that technology – in an effort to make the process easier and faster for travelers while enhancing security effectiveness. […]

Although zero trust has become a bit of a buzzword in the IT world, experts agree that zero trust is “foundational” to all security approaches and that foundation needs to continue to grow in tandem with emerging tech. […]

The advent of new leadership in the White House and the still-unfolding impact of the Russia-backed hack of thousands of government and private-sector networks via SolarWinds Orion products are leading to a fresh consideration of options to improve Federal cybersecurity, panelists said on Feb. 9 at the Resiliency Colloquium event organized by MeriTalk, ACT-IAC, and the Partnership for Public Service. […]

While 82 percent of Federal IT managers surveyed by MeriTalk agree that the amount of streaming data their agency manages is on the rise, 59 percent also said that their agency is struggling to secure its data consistently between on-premises and cloud. […]

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) lacked the IT systems necessary to accurately track migrant families separated under the agency’s Zero Tolerance Policy, according to a DHS Office of the Inspector General (OIG) report released on Nov. 25. […]

A spotty risk management strategy, along with poor security control assessment procedures, are undermining the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC)’s ability to identify and detect network security threats, according to an FDIC Office of the Inspector General (OIG) report released on Oct. 23. […]

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Office Inspector General (OIG) discovered in a July 31 report that a VA healthcare facility in Long Beach, California, failed to adhere to VA and Veterans Health Administration (VHA) privacy and security policies in the midst of a patient electronic health record (EHR) complication. […]

The IRS should continue improving its electronic authentication security controls to better protect public-facing applications, the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) said in a report last week. […]

Security is the great white whale of Federal IT–even as we make progress, it is just out of reach. Late last month, Zscaler announced it had prioritized rigorous security standards by achieving the Service Organization Control (SOC) 2, Type II Certification. […]

The National Institute of Standards and Technology recently published the Guide for Cybersecurity Event Recovery to help organizations develop a plan for recovering from cybersecurity incidents. […]

The National Institute of Science and Technology (NIST) recently published a basic model aimed at helping researchers better understand the Internet of Things (IoT). […]

The Office of Personnel Management is relieved of the duties of conducting security clearances. Those duties instead go to a brand new agency, the National Background Investigations Bureau. […]

“Technology has dramatically changed policing,” said Terry Gainer, former U.S. Senate Sergeant at Arms. “We now have data-driven departments.” […]

A new Federal agency is in the works to take over the security clearance process from the Office of Personnel Management, according to former intelligence officials with knowledge of the discussions. Word of the plan to create a new National Investigative Service Agency comes as security officials this week are scheduled to brief leaders of […]

Should email and other personal electronic data be protected by the Fourth Amendment in the same way that a written letter or other personal effects are protected? This and other questions like it were debated today before the House Judiciary Committee. The hearing comes as HR 699, the Email Privacy Act, approaches a House vote. […]

The market for virtual reality headsets—like the popular gaming system known as Oculus Rift, or the many headsets that are now shipping with consumer drones—is poised for rapid growth starting this holiday season. In fact, Juniper Research estimates that global sales of VR headsets will hit 3 million next year and as much as 30 […]

MeriTalk caught up with Department of Homeland Security Chief Privacy Officer Karen Neuman Nov. 19 at MeriTalk’s Big Data Brainstorm in Washington, D.C. Listen to the podcast. […]

With cybersecurity threats mushrooming across the Federal government, members of a House committee said this week that the Education Department is failing to protect the data of millions of Americans. DoEd’s systems have been penetrated many times by the inspector general, and the department has failed to correct many recommendations from the IG and General […]

Microsoft Chief Executive Officer Satya Nadella took Washington, D.C., by storm Tuesday and detailed the software giant’s rapid transformation from being the target of choice for hackers because of poor security and coding practices to becoming one of the computing world’s leading information security and cyber intelligence firms. The distinction is an important one for […]

Department of Veterans Affairs Chief Information Officer LaVerne Council announced Nov. 6 that Brian Burns has accepted an offer to become the agency’s next chief information security officer. Burns takes over for Dan Galik, who has served as acting CISO since Stan Lowe retired in August. Burns will also continue in his role as deputy […]

With Internet security on everyone’s mind and secure cloud on everyone’s bucket list throughout the Federal government, Verizon is expanding secure access to cloud services for Federal customers on its private IP network. Federal agencies now can securely connect to a growing roster of FedRAMP-certified cloud providers via Verizon’s Secure Cloud Interconnect (SCI) service. Featuring […]

Ron Ross, a fellow at the National Institute of Standards and Technology, leads the Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA) Implementation Project. He developed the first set of unified information security standards and guidelines for all Federal agencies. Ross recently participated in Q&A for Meritalk.com. MeriTalk: Please describe how you developed the first set of […]

The Office of Personnel Management got a wakeup call earlier this year when it discovered millions of files had been hacked, but its nightmare isn’t over yet. The FBI has opened a criminal investigation into the theft of 21.5 million security clearance files. OPM is still plugging the holes and millions of Federal workers, their […]

Despite the growing threat and success of cyberattacks on government and commercial sites, the information community around the world is failing to recruit talented women with the expertise to create a tougher information security wall, a new report says. The 2015 global report, “Women in Security: Wisely Positioned for the Future of InfoSec,” by (ISC)² […]

Greg Godbout, the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) at the EPA since April, is bringing a new way of thinking to the Federal IT community. His goal is to create a more agile system and improve everyday processes, serving the customers, not the stakeholders. Formerly the Executive Director and Co-Founder of 18F at the General Services […]

The Father of the Internet sees the potential of the Internet of Things. But there are also risks associated with having billions of connected devices, Vint Cerf said at the Fourth Annual Cyber Security Brainstorm. “The headline I worry about is ‘100,000 Refrigerators Attack Bank of America,’” said Cerf, who helped develop the TCP/IP protocols […]

Preventing cyber attacks requires focusing on adversaries rather than the technology used to stop those adversaries, the retired deputy director of the National Security Agency (NSA) said Wednesday at MeriTalk’s Fourth Annual Cyber Security Brainstorm. “It’s about more than technology,” said Chris Inglis, who retired from the NSA last year and now teaches at the […]

There are two things that Defense Department Chief Information Officer Terry Halvorsen wants to change: The pace at which the Defense Department adopts cloud computing and the level of automation in today’s cyber defenses. Both are easier said than done, but not impossible. And Halvorsen is optimistic that the Pentagon can begin making real progress […]