Defense

  • The Veterans Affairs Department's computers and networks get a clean bill of health from third-party experts. The analysis comes about a year and a half after the VA came under intense scrutiny at a House Veterans Affairs Committee hearing for having major cybersecurity vulnerabilities. Federal News Radio Executive Editor Jason Miller tells In Depth with Francis Rose about the report and what it means for veterans' data.

    January 27, 2015
  • Earlier this month, the Defense Information Systems Agency announced a major reorganization. It says the changes would help drive cybersecurity into everything the agency does. But DISA will never have unlimited resources, so it's now moving toward a "risk management" approach to cybersecurity: Accepting risk in some areas so that it can make sure that what really matters is highly secure. The risk management executive is a new position within the agency's organizational chart. DISA Risk Management Executive Mark Orndorff talked about the new cyber philosophy with Federal News Radio DoD Reporter Jared Serbu.

    January 27, 2015
  • The Defense Department knows it wants to reduce the size of its headquarters, but it doesn't know exactly how. John Pendleton, director of defense capabilities and management issues at the Government Accountability Office, tells In Depth with Francis Rose how the Pentagon should plan to trim down its management offices.

    January 27, 2015
  • Mark Orndorff, risk management executive & chief information officer for the Defense Information Systems Agency, joins Federal News Radio for a free online chat to discuss his agency's new risk management organization and DoD's evolving approach to cybersecurity.

    January 27, 2015
  • The massive reorganization the Veterans Affairs Department has unveiled begins with a simple premise: everyone should work from the same starting point. VA said it has now created a single map made up of five regions that the Veterans Health Administration, the Veterans Benefits Administration, the National Cemetery Administration and several other offices will work from instead of the nine separate regional maps that existed previously.

    January 26, 2015
  • Defense Information Systems Agency's top cybersecurity official, Mark Orndorff, will join us for both a radio interview and a live online chat this week.

    January 26, 2015
  • The new Installation and Mission Support Center will be based at Joint Base San Antonio, the Air Force announced this week - disappointing other contenders in the communities around Scott AFB in Illinois, Joint Base Langley-Eustis in Virginia and Wright-Patterson AFB in Ohio.

    January 26, 2015
  • A new Pentagon report shows a troubling proportion of DoD's IT systems appears to be vulnerable to low- or intermediate-level hackers, leaving aside the advanced persistent threats everyone's worried about.

    January 26, 2015
  • Mandiant issued a report finding the Veterans Affairs Department network domain controllers had no evidence of data theft, such as the loss of credentials, personal information or personal health information or VA sensitive information. But some congressional sources are skeptical of Mandiant's findings, calling it too narrow to be sure the network and veterans data is safe.

    January 26, 2015
  • The Defense Information Services Agency has reorganized its services to be more customer focus and have accountability over what technology they provide.

    January 23, 2015
  • House Veterans Affairs Committee Chairman Jeff Miller wants new ways to punish SES members accused of misconduct, including possible pension reductions, limits on paid leave. He also wants to curtail VA's bonus award system.

    January 23, 2015
  • VA will seek at least $1.1 billion from Congress to rescue a Denver hospital project that was supposed to cost $600 million. The final price tag won't be known for several more months. VA also asked the Army Corps to conduct a complete examination of its major construction programs across the country.

    January 23, 2015
  • When the Department of Veterans Affairs started building a new state-of-the-art hospital in Denver, it was supposed to cost $600 billion and be finished by 2014. Today, it's less than half complete, the price tag has doubled and it's likely to go even higher. As Federal News Radio's Jared Serbu reports, the VA is turning to the Army Corps of Engineers to help avoid similar blunders in the future.

    January 22, 2015
  • Army scientists and engineers are advancing sensors research in hopes of giving future soldiers enhanced situational awareness. Soldiers of 2025 and beyond may wear sensors to help detect and prevent threats like dehydration or elevated blood pressure. Dr. Donald Reago is the director of the Night Vision and Electronic Sensors Directorate at Fort Belvoir, Virginia. He joined Tom Temin on the Federal Drive with more on the possibilities.

    January 22, 2015