Cybersecurity

  • Personally identifiable information for nearly 800,000 Postal Service employees was compromised in 2014. And cyber attacks also left 25,000 employees at the Homeland Security Department at risk last year. Karen Evans is the director of the U.S. Cyber Challenger and former E-Government administrator. In her top 3 for 2015, she tells In Depth with Francis Rose why the time is now for agencies to step up their cyber defense systems.

    January 14, 2015
  • Even before recent swell of cyber attacks, the FBI was looking to beef up its cyber division to help better handle such threats. The agency is in the midst of a drive to find and hire more cybersecurity experts and turn them into special agents. Applications are due Jan. 20. Robert Anderson is executive assistant director of the FBI. He joined Tom Temin on the Federal Drive to explain the push for new cyber agents.

    January 14, 2015
  • The FBI rapidly rolled out new devices-the vast majority running hardened Android operating systems-to the bureau's 56 field offices over the last four months. But officials are experimenting with commercial mobile devices for secret and top-secret data too.

    January 14, 2015
  • While it's far from a full-fledged cyberattack, the "technical malfunction" that besieged an Office of Personnel Management Web portal Monday underscores a governmentwide problem that's not easy to fix, according to experts.

    January 13, 2015
  • CENTCOM's Twitter and YouTube accounts are back up and running after Islamic State sympathizers hacked the sites yesterday. The Defense Department says the attack lasted for about 30 minutes. The sites posted threatening messages about American troops and showed pro-Islamic State images. Retired Navy Rear Adm. Jamie Barnett is a partner for the cybersecurity practice at Venable. On In Depth with Francis Rose, he explained what the cybervandalism means for CENTCOM and national security.

    January 13, 2015
  • The Defense Information Systems Agency launches reorganization, including the new Joint Task Force-DoD Information Networks. The new cyber organization will reach initial operating capability on Jan. 15, taking over 14-to-19 tasks from U.S. Cyber Command.

    January 13, 2015
  • The Office of Personnel Management disabled a Web portal used by federal retirees Monday to address a malfunction that may have left some retirees' personal information exposed.

    January 12, 2015
  • The 2015 budget came with more than money for federal agencies. You got some homework, too. Namely 15 Cross-Agency Priority (CAP) goals important to the White House. They cover everything from cybersecurity to climate change. Brenna Isman is a project director at the National Academy of Public Administration. She joined Tom Temin on the Federal Drive to discuss some of the CAP goals agencies will be working toward over the next year or so.

    January 12, 2015
  • Before leaving office, Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) released a thorough study of the cybersecurity mission at the Homeland Security Department. Coburn says DHS is struggling to protect federal networks from intrusion. And he says its efforts at working with the private sector on cyber protection are sketchy. Melissa Hathaway, president of Hathaway Global Strategies, a former director of the Joint Interagency Cyber Task Force during the Bush Administration and a member of the National Security Council for President Barack Obama, joined Tom Temin on the Federal Drive with reaction and some ideas for where DHS should go next.

    January 12, 2015
  • Continuing the break with State of the Union tradition, President Barack Obama will spend most of the coming week previewing more of the proposals he will outline in the address, including on identity theft, electronic privacy and cybersecurity, the White House announced Saturday.

    January 12, 2015
  • Cyber attacks come in three different flavors, at least when it comes to figuring out who's behind the attack. That's according to Jay Healey -- he's director of Cyber Statecraft Initiative at the Atlantic Council. On In Depth with Francis Rose, he explained the three flavors of cyber attribution.

    January 09, 2015
  • Congressman Elijah Cummings wants KeyPoint Government Solutions to provide him with a briefing and answers to 13 questions about the December cyber vulnerability that put more than 48,000 federal employees at a greater risk of identity theft.

    January 07, 2015
  • Air Force CIO Lt. Gen. Bill Bender said the service is baking in role-based authentication capabilities as part of its move to the MilCloud. He said the Joint Regional Security Stacks (JRSS) will help the Air Force move out of its AFNet architecture.

    January 07, 2015
  • Agencies should consider these six steps to help keep their employees safe and informed during emergencies, says Aviv Siegel, the CTO and co-founder of AtHoc, in a new commentary for Federal News Radio.

    January 07, 2015
  • Disability fraud and deceased benefit fraud are two of the biggest threats to the integrity of the Social Security Administration, according to the agency's Inspector General. Patrick O'Carroll says preventing those types of fraud before they start is his number one priority this year. He shared his Top 3 for 2015 on In Depth with Francis Rose. He tells Federal News Radio's Sean McCalley how his office plans to meet its goal.

    January 06, 2015