Modernization

Connolly, Hice Announce Bill to Improve Performance Planning at FITARA Hearing

The Performance Enhancement Reform Act would require greater collaboration among agency officials and more detailed descriptions of resources required to meet goals.

Cybersecurity

Days after sanctions, House to vote again on Cyber Diplomacy Act

A bill to establish a cyberspace ambassador and an Office of Cyber Issues at the State Department is due to receive a vote on the House floor next week, according to two lawmakers sponsoring the bill.

Cybersecurity

The Hack Roundup: White House Sanctions Russia over SolarWinds

Agencies involved in response also issued advisories on the hackers' tactics while Microsoft offered federal customers free trials of an auditing tool.

Cybersecurity

USTRANSCOM prepares for third-party cyber compliance assessments

U.S. Transportation Command is preparing a proof of principle for a cyber compliance program in preparation for broad adoption of CMMC.

Ideas

Defending Against Cybersecurity Moles Inside Your Agency

The move to a virtual workforce has been a boon to industrious hackers.

Cybersecurity

White House sanctions Russia over SolarWinds campaign, election interference

The White House today announced a sanctions package targeting the Kremlin, Russian technology companies and financial institutions for hacking and misinformation efforts.

Digital Government

No Domestic Surveillance Authorities Needed, NSA Director Reiterates

Instead, Gen. Paul Nakasone and other intelligence community leaders want better public-private partnerships to address “blind spots” in the cyber realm.

Modernization

Congress Gave OMB $1B for IT Upgrades. Now It Wants to Know How It Will Be Spent

Lawmakers want to know which projects will get prioritized and which will be recused from repaying the fund.

Cybersecurity

Nakasone deflects senators' invitations to seek domestic spying powers

Lawmakers have continued to prod the NSA chief to request new surveillance authorities that might prevent another SolarWinds-type breach.

Ideas

From COBOL to Cloud: DOD’s Digital Journey

Migrating big systems can be a huge project. But technologies are standing by to help you achieve it.

Modernization

IRS Commissioner Calls for Multiyear Funding to Help Recoup Potential $1T Tax Gap

Charles Rettig told senators the agency needs increased resources to address aging tech systems and years of personnel cuts. 

Cybersecurity

Agencies Have Till Midnight April 15 to Apply New Microsoft Exchange Patches

Four of the 95 vulnerabilities Microsoft released as part of its monthly “patch Tuesday” were identified by the National Security Agency.

Cybersecurity

Microsoft patches new Exchange CVEs, credits NSA with discovery

The new vulnerabilities found in Exchange servers running on-premises are separate from zero-day exploits discovered and announced in March.

Ideas

The Biden Administration’s Cybersecurity Roadmap

Making some changes to how the federal government buys cyber tools is one of the things the new Homeland Security secretary has mentioned.

Cybersecurity

IC warns that U.S. adversaries are ramping up cyber attacks

The worldwide threat assessment by the U.S. intelligence community comes one day before the heads of several agencies are scheduled to testify during open and closed session to the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence.

Cybersecurity

Former DHS Secretary Details SolarWinds Hackers’ Access to His Email

Chad Wolf said the information was all unclassified but the compromise was still disturbing.

Cybersecurity

White House Names National Cyber Director, CISA Chief

The administration also announced nominees for other Homeland Security Department leaders.