Cybersecurity

  • The two cyber breaches at the Office of Personnel Management have got the attention of the media and federal managers. It’s also landed on the plates of many chief information officers. “Everyone in the government…

    July 13, 2015
  • It'll be a tough road ahead for the next director of the Office of Personnel Management after Katherine Archuleta resigned. That person will enter an agency trying to recover from the biggest known breach of federal employee data in history. But what can they do to ensure success? Danny Werfel has been there, done that. He was brought in to lead the Internal Revenue Service in 2013 after its administrator stepped down due to a series of scandals. Now a director in the Public Sector practice at The Boston Consulting Group, he joined Emily Kopp on the Federal Drive to share his experience.

    July 13, 2015
  • A cyber breach to the Office of Personnel Management's background check database is much larger than originally expected. 21.5 million people are affected. The agency's response to employees has revolved mostly around identity protection. But the focus on the espionage aspect of the attack has not gotten as much support from the agency. Retired Air Force General Michael Hayden was director of the National Security Agency and director of the Central Intelligence Agency. He tells In Depth with Francis Rose that if he had a chance to get that kind of information about government workers of another country -- he'd do it instantly.

    July 10, 2015
  • The Office of Personnel Management faces the daunting task of trying to make victims of its data breaches whole. Altogether there are more than 22 million people whose sensitive information was compromised in the hacks on OPM's personnel and security clearance systems. Alan Lopatin is the chairman of the Federal Postal Coalition whose member groups represent about five million federal employees and retirees. He tells Federal News Radio's Emily Kopp why he's advocating for more protection for data breach victims even before the latest details came to light.

    July 10, 2015
  • The cyber domain is often referred to as a new frontier in global conflict -- one that nations are still learning to fight in. But one expert says there are actually plenty of historical examples of conflict in cyberspace -- and that leaders need to study them if they want to understand what it means to win or lose in that domain. Jay Healey is a nonresident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council and senior research scholar at Columbia University. He tells In Depth guest host Jared Serbu what it means to win in a cyber war.

    July 10, 2015
  • OPM Director Katherine Archuleta steps down one day after after her agency announced the results of the investigation into the breach of its background investigation databases. OMB Deputy Director for Management Beth Cobert will become acting director beginning Saturday.

    July 10, 2015
  • The Office of Personnel Management was improving the cybersecurity of its IT systems, when it discovered hackers had breached two of its networks.

    July 10, 2015
  • The Office of Personnel Management announced today that 21.5 million people were affected by the second breach of its background investigation databases. This includes 19.7 million people who applied for a background check, as well as another 1.8 million people whose personal information was included on clearance applications, such as spouses.

    July 09, 2015
  • FBI director James Comey testified before the Senate and renewed his fight to allow law enforcement access to encrypted data on apps and communication devices. That’s after Apple and Google decided to offer strong encryption by default on their mobile operating systems, and as criminal and terror groups worldwide increasingly go dark by encrypting their communications. Comey wants “a secure back door,” something Paul Rosenzweig says might not be possible. He’s the founder of Red Branch Consulting and former Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy in Homeland Security. He joined Tom Temin on the Federal Drive with his takeaways.

    July 09, 2015
  • As news of a second major cyber breach at the Office of Personnel Management spread, the Office of Management and Budget gave agencies a month to fix their systems. Federal CIO Tony Scott ordered agencies to take immediate and specific actions in the so-called 30-day sprint. Now, those 30 days are almost up. Ralph Khan is vice president of Federal at Tanium. He joined Tom Temin on the Federal Drive to assess whether these measures have had any effect.

    July 09, 2015
  • The National Treasury Employees Union announced Wednesday it was suing OPM, saying the agency violated the constitutional rights of union members.

    July 08, 2015
  • A second federal employee union is suing the Office of Personnel Management over the two recent cybersecurity breaches. The National Treasury Employee Union files a lawsuit in federal court today. NTEU says OPM violated its members' constitutional rights by not protecting their personal and private information. Colleen Kelley is the union's national president. She explains her union's decision to take OPM to court.

    July 08, 2015
  • The Homeland Security Department is rushing to give civilian agencies tools to share information about cybersecurity threats nearly as they happen, Secretary Jeh Johnson said Wednesday.

    July 08, 2015
  • Katherine Archuleta's recent time in the congressional hot seat is a wake-up call for all agency executives. Chief information officers that oversee cyber at their agencies are scrambling to meet the 30-day cyber sprint imposed by Federal Chief Technology Officer Tony Scott. Steve Cooper is the chief information officer at the Commerce Department. He tells Federal News Radio Executive Editor Jason Miller why now is the opportunity for the entire agency to look at the way it does cyber.

    July 07, 2015
  • Commerce CIO Steve Cooper says his department is moving proactively to identify cybersecurity risks and eliminate vulnerabilities.

    July 07, 2015