Department of Homeland Security
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The agency turns to teams of experts to review how departments are meeting the Trusted Internet Connections (TIC) initiative. DHS plans to expand the use of Blue Teams to the implementation of continuous monitoring and two-factor authentication under Homeland Security Presidential Directive-12.
July 16, 2012 -
Longstanding problems with integration put DHS' mission to protect the country at risk, former leaders and lawmakers said. Nine years after it was created, the department still struggles to make its many components and agencies work as one.
July 13, 2012 -
The Government Accountability Office assessed the performance of seven federal agencies in migrating some of their services to the cloud as required by the Office of Management and Budget. Five of the seven agencies succeeded in meeting OMB's requirements and the other two are expected to be compliant by year's end.
July 13, 2012 -
Budget pressures and a change in mission leads to cuts in U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Border stations in California, Montana, Idaho and Texas face closures that will affect 48 border patrol members.
July 12, 2012 -
The Veterans Affairs Department said it saved $40 million by using this centralized approach to managing contractors. vendor management organizations also help agencies buy more strategically. OFPP plans to expand strategic sourcing and sets a $2 billion savings goal by 2015.
July 12, 2012 -
The Federal Network Security branch is performing Red and Blue teaming exercises to expose the soft spaces in agency networks and harden them. DHS has conducted five Red Teams and 28 Blue Team exercises in 2012. Federal CIOs and CISOs must request the Red Teams to analyze their networks. The agency receives a report on the biggest risks it faces.
July 11, 2012 -
Mark Weatherford became undersecretary for cybersecurity last fall. Since then, he has hired eight senior officials to fill high-profile positions.
July 09, 2012 -
In an executive order issued Friday, President Barack Obama laid out an all-hands-on-deck approach to developing policies for preserving government communications in the event of a national disaster or emergency. The order creates the Executive Committee on National Security and Emergency Preparedness Communications — or NS/EP communications — to be staffed with high-ranking officials from eight agencies and departments
July 06, 2012 -
In 2011, companies reported 198 cyber incidents to the Homeland Security Department — a nearly 383 percent increase above 2010, according to a June 28 report from the Industrial Control Systems Cyber Emergency Response Team (ICS-CERT). Companies reported nine such incidents in 2009., when DHS opened ICE-CERT to help protect private-sector operators critical infrastructure from "emerging" cyber threats.
July 04, 2012 -
The director of the Federal Network Security Branch becomes the fifth senior-level official to leave in more than a year. Danny Toler will assume his responsibilities at least in the interim.
July 02, 2012 -
The department responsible for keeping the government safe from cyber threats could use some help of its own when it comes to securing mobile devices.
June 29, 2012 -
Homeland Security releases policy and guidance on how departments and vendors will implement continuous monitoring and get away from static reports on the cyber health of their systems. DHS is hoping Congress approves a $200 million funding request to buy five different commercial cyber tools, a dashboard and a security data warehouse in 2013.
June 28, 2012 -
The pressing need for cybersecurity legislation has led to widely divergent paths in the House and Senate. The House has opted for a more incremental approach, while the Senate has crafted comprehensive legislation
June 27, 2012 -
Homeland Security is getting serious about making sure all federal agencies get on board with continuous network monitoring. Keeping a vigilant eye out is the best way to fend off cyber attacks, DHS officials say.
June 27, 2012 -
Rosemary Wenchel is the new deputy assistant secretary for cybersecurity coordination at DHS. She replaces Adm. Mike Brown, who retired in January.
June 22, 2012