Cybersecurity
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New guidance on protecting non-sensitive information from federal contractors is out from the CIO and CAO Councils. It would require that contractors follow a specific NIST Special Publication for protecting their information. The Office of Management and Budget is asking agencies and vendors now for feedback. Final guidance is expected later in the fall. Nick Nayak is former chief procurement officer at the Homeland Security Department. He tells In Depth with Francis Rose that the councils are looking to address incident reporting, information system assessments, and information security continuous monitoring.
August 12, 2015 -
A cyber breach at the Food and Drug Administration back in 2013 -- and hacks against other Health and Human Services Department components -- could have been stopped if the department's chief information officer and chief information security officer function separately. That's according to a new report from the House Energy and Commerce Committee. It says CISOs would do a better job protecting their agencies from cyber threats from the department's legal office rather than the CIO office. John Teeter is a former deputy chief information officer and acting CIO for HHS and is now a health IT consultant. He tells In Depth with Francis Rose about the different responsibilities for CIOs and CISOs and how they work together.
August 11, 2015 -
IT leaders in both the government and private sector recognize that the numbers and potency of cybersecurity threats are accelerating. More than 75 percent of respondents surveyed by the Aspen Institute and Intel Security said they believe a national defense force should respond to cyber attacks that damage critical infrastructure. Steve Grobman is the chief technology officer for Intel Security. He joined Tom Temin on the Federal Drive to review what else the survey found.
August 11, 2015 -
Daniel Turissini, chief technology officer and chief information security officer of SolPass LLC, argues the federal government’s current approach to cybersecurity is too focused on analysis, containment and recovery, and not enough on prevention.
August 11, 2015 -
Secretary Jeh Johnson is reorganizing the National Protection and Programs Directorate (NPPD) and elevating the role of the National Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Center (NCCIC). He named Andy Ozment and John Felker to run the NCCIC.
August 10, 2015 -
Adm. Paul Zukunft says he’s highly optimistic that more money is coming to help recapitalize his fleet. The House and Senate have yet to agree to a 2016 appropriations bill for the Department of Homeland Security, but he said his discussions with leaders of both parties from the two congressional appropriations committees suggest his service will get a robust plus-up.
August 10, 2015 -
At the Health and Human Services Department, chief information officers are so concerned with operating IT networks that they skimp on cybersecurity, according to report by the House Committee on Energy and Commerce. It says chief information security officers should report to agencies' top lawyers.
August 07, 2015 -
Stan Lowe, VA’s deputy assistant secretary in the Office of Information Security, becomes the second senior executive to leave this week.
August 07, 2015 -
The Office of Personnel Management’s inspector general wrote a letter to acting Director Beth Cobert highlighting concerns about the lack of cooperation from the Donna Seymour’s office. Cobert and federal CIO Tony Scott continue to support Seymour’s efforts to improve OPM’s cybersecurity posture.
August 06, 2015 -
From IT offices to law enforcement bureaus, the federal government says it needs more cybersecurity specialists. But competition is tough. Several federal agencies treated winners of the National Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition as VIPs when they visited Washington in late July. Stops on the tour included the National Security Agency, the Pentagon and the Cyber Crimes Center, part of Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Homeland Security Investigations. Listen to the full story by clicking the button below the slideshow.
August 06, 2015 -
Following the hack of Office of Personnel Management databases, a group of tech-industry experts is offering to help the government secure its computer networks. The IT Alliance for Public Sector assembled a task force made up of 20 big companies like Symantec, Microsoft and Lockheed Martin. The group says the government must act boldly and alter its culture and approach. Pam Walker is the senior director of Homeland Security at I-TAPS. She joined Emily Kopp on the Federal Drive to review the group's recommendations.
August 06, 2015 -
Despite overwhelming agreement that cybersecurity legislation is needed, Senate lawmakers couldn’t agree on how such a bill would look. Lawmakers did approve the nomination of Denise Turner Roth to be GSA administrator.
August 06, 2015 -
The back-and-forth is on hold now in the Senate over the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act. The bill encourages private companies and government agencies to share information with each other about potential cyber threats. Both amendments to the CISA are holding it back.One would give the Office of Personnel Management an extra 37 million dollars to fix its IT networks a year ahead of schedule. The other would give victims of OPM's data breaches a few more years of free credit monitoring. Ryan Lucas is an intelligence reporter for CQ Roll Call. He tells In Depth with Francis Rose what's in the bill and whether the disagreements can be resolved.
August 05, 2015 -
GSA and the Naval Sea Systems Command released a blanket purchase agreement and the first task order under that contract vehicle to provide a host of credit monitoring and identity protection services for those affected by the OPM data breach. The number of potential victims increased to 28 million.
August 05, 2015 -
The federal government is falling behind in its efforts to hire a new cohort of cybersecurity experts. And agencies can't keep up with the perks some top-tier private companies offer. That's according to research the Partnership for Public Service and Booz Allen Hamilton put out earlier this year. A few agencies recently hosted the winners of the National Collegiate Defense Cyber Competition to show them what they might expect from a government job. More now from Federal News Radio's Emily Kopp.
August 04, 2015
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