Cybersecurity

  • 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
  • The insider threat will be more in focus in 2015, according to many of the cyber experts we talked to for this year's Top 3 for 2015. But the insider threat isn't always someone -- or some people -- intentionally doing bad things to hurt your organization. Mischel Kwon is president of Mischel Kwon Associates, and former director of the United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team at the Department of Homeland Security. She shared her Top 3 for 2015 on In Depth with Francis Rose. Kwon says "nerd wars" are the fastest growing form of insider threat.

    January 06, 2015
  • CyberCompEx. It sounds like a new medicine. Actually it's a social network site just for cybersecurity people in and out of government. The Homeland Security Department's Research and Development Division recently announced CyberCompEx. Developed in conjunction with Monster Government Solutions, CyberCompEx will serve as a portal for students, professionals, employers and others interested in the cybersecurity. Karen Evans is the National Director of U.S. Cyber Challenge and one of the architects of the site. She joined Tom Temin on the Federal Drive to discuss the new site.

    January 05, 2015
  • That September cyber breach affected more current and former Postal employees than the 800,000 first reported.

    January 05, 2015
  • As Congress comes back next week, the Defense Department expects to make a huge push to end sequestration -- or at least blunt its effects. Part of the case the Pentagon will make is that its "cost culture" strategy is making a difference in how it's spending the money it does have. Dave Wennergren is Senior Vice President for Technology at the Professional Services Council, and former Assistant Deputy Chief Management Officer at the Defense Department. He shared his Top 3 for 2015 on In Depth with Francis Rose. He said that cost culture will spread from the Pentagon to all across government.

    January 02, 2015
  • A data breach at the Department of Veterans Affairs is the latest in the long line of cyber events in the Federal government. Jane Holl Lute is President and Chief Executive Officer of the Council on Cybersecurity, and former Deputy Secretary of the Homeland Security Department. In her Top 3 for 2015, she writes low cost, basic cybersecurity prevents 80 percent to 90 percent of all known attacks. On In Depth with Francis Rose, she explained whether or not she's confident that equation will stay the same this year since incentives for the bad guys will continue to grow.

    December 30, 2014
  • Four new pieces of cybersecurity legislation give federal IT leaders some new tools to deal with network and information security. But that law may be responding to threats -- or problems -- that are being overcome by events. Responding to the security and privacy challenges of the Internet of Things may require a new level of thinking and legislation. Dave McClure is chief strategist of the Veris Group, and former Associate Administrator of the Office of Citizen Services and Innovative Technologies at the General Services Administration. In his Top 3 for 2015 and on In Depth with Francis Rose, he says the coming year will be the breakout for the Internet of Things.

    December 30, 2014
  • New cybersecurity legislation President Obama signed recently may just be the start of Congress's efforts to improve the government's cyber defenses. The 114th Congress will look at other ways to give government IT leaders tools they need to improve security. Major General Dale Meyerrose (US Air Force ret.) was the first Chief Information Officer of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. In his Top 3 for 2015, he suggests Congressional response isn't enough. On In Depth with Francis Rose, he said he believes ongoing tensions that social media highlights don't get enough attention from leaders in the federal government.

    December 30, 2014
  • Although most agencies are making progress in securing their information and protecting themselves from cyber threats, they're still falling short of the Cross-Agency Priority (CAP) Goals set by the Obama administration.

    December 30, 2014
  • The Department of Veterans Affairs investigated a security hole in a telehealth program. VA said personal information for more than 7,000 vets was been exposed, but the Federal Times reports both the VA and the vendor that provided the service said no data was stolen. Keith Trippie, chief executive officer of The Trippie Group, was former executive director of the Enterprise System Development Office at the Department of Homeland Security. In his Top 3 for 2015, he tells In Depth with Francis Rose even with the security risks telehealth initiatives will help government serve citizens better and save the government money in a couple different ways.

    December 29, 2014
  • A flurry of cybersecurity bills passed through Congress after six years of no legal progress at all on the cyber front. Individually, none of the five cyber bills stand out above the rest. That's according to Chris Smith, vice president of for technology at AT&T Government Solutions, and former chief information officer of the Agriculture Department. On In Depth with Francis Rose, he said it's the passage of all five at once that's significant.

    December 29, 2014
  • The Justice Department is taking its cyber crime-fighting efforts to a new level with the addition of a new cybersecurity unit. The unit will be operating under DoJ's Computer Crime and Intellectual Property section, and will serve to offer legal advice for cyber crime investigations worldwide.

    December 29, 2014
  • Information Sharing Environment is helping to shape the policy and technology pieces to help implement the two-year-old White House's strategy on information sharing and safeguarding. The back-end attribute exchange is an expanding component to solve this challenge.

    December 26, 2014
  • Adrian Gardner, FEMA's chief information officer, said he spent the last nine months looking at the agency's IT networks and systems to figure out their weaknesses and strengths. He said he plans on a three-stage approach to bring FEMA's technology into the 21st century.

    December 25, 2014