Cybersecurity
Senator wants VA to stop using SSNs
After a data leak involving Veteran information, a Wisconsin senator wants the agency to stop using Social Security numbers as identifiers.
Cybersecurity
Senate encryption bill expected next week
The chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee is hopeful that his bi-partisan three-page encryption bill text will be released next week.
Ideas
Beating FISMA Stigma: 3 Steps to Reduce Friction Between IT Managers and IGs
Agencies that experience ongoing adversity between these internal offices should consider taking steps in the following three areas.
Cybersecurity
Could a Name Change Clarify What DHS' Cyber Team Actually Protects?
A rebranding could help telegraph that our digital lives and physical safety now are intertwined, says the directorate head.
Cybersecurity
Can Obama’s cyber commission outlast his administration?
President Obama's recently announced Commission for Enhancing National Cybersecurity has ambitions to produce an actionable framework that will carry over to the next administration and seeks to invigorate a younger, more diverse cybersecurity workforce pipeline.
Cybersecurity
Government Officials Just Really Like the Word 'Cyber'
Hacking is not hacking—it’s cybercrime.
Cybersecurity
Pentagon flew handful of drones over U.S. in last decade
A DOD oversight report, released in response to a Freedom of Information Act request from FCW and other outlets, sheds light on the complications that arise when the military puts its drones to use domestically.
Digital Government
The Government Is Secretly Huddling With Companies to Fight Extremism Online
A coalition of civil rights groups wants to be included in the meetings to keep the feds in check.
Cybersecurity
NSA overhaul includes acquisition
"We increasingly need to reach out to commercial companies," many of which are unfamiliar with federal acquisition regulations, said Jennifer Walsmith, NSA's senior acquisition executive.
Cybersecurity
Federal Agencies are Using Last Summer’s ‘Cyber Sprint’ to Justify Sole-Source IT Contracts
Some of these so-called sole-source contracts appear to violate federal contracting rules, according to procurement experts.
Cybersecurity
Study names countries most vulnerable to cyberattacks
In a new study, the U.S. ranks 10th among 44 countries most vulnerable to a cyberattack, and a former top Justice official said companies need to focus on resiliency.
Cybersecurity
Survey: Most IT Execs Say Their Companies Can Only Handle ‘Simple’ Cyberincidents
It's time to be afraid.
Cybersecurity
Einstein, cyber workforce priorities for DHS chief
DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson hopes to build his legacy by shoring up the cyber workforce and driving management reforms.
Cybersecurity
IRS Finally Pulls Offline ID Protection Service Exploited by Hackers
The thieves stole 800 PINs and subsequently used them to file fraudulent tax returns, which the IRS says were flagged and stopped.
Cybersecurity
How Hackers Can Spoof Your Fingerprints
Just months after millions of Americans had their fingerprint data stolen by hackers, a pair of researchers found a cheap and easy way to copy them.
Cybersecurity
DHS sets up shop in Silicon Valley
Supporters have high hopes for the DHS Science and Technology Directorate’s new Silicon Valley outpost, but for now, the office is a modest affair.
Cybersecurity
CORRECTED: The Ransomware Threat to Agencies
Ransomware is running rampant across systems in state and local government, businesses and homes across the country.
Digital Government
Is Digital Privacy Becoming a Partisan Issue?
It’s historically brought together Democrats and Republicans—but the Apple-FBI fight is starting to align along party lines.
Modernization
China Is Watching the FBI-Apple Battle Very Closely
Even if the U.S. government abandons its insistence on a backdoored iPhone, Beijing may not.
Cybersecurity