Digital Government

FBI: Weaker Encryption Is a Worthwhile Tradeoff for Law Enforcement Access to Data

Government officials sparred with privacy advocates over encryption, but acknowledged that “back doors” come with risks of intrusion.

Cybersecurity

Contractors Say Proposed Hack Reporting Rules Aren’t Strict Enough

'This is exactly the interpretive, decentralized behavior that has produced the current state of network security vulnerabilities.'

Cybersecurity

OPM’s IT Security Overhaul Remains Under Scrutiny

In a new report made public today, the agency’s internal watchdog blasts the agency for dismissing the findings of an emergency report issued earlier this summer.

Cybersecurity

IRS hacks, college data, IoT warnings and more

News and notes from around the federal IT community.

Cybersecurity

The 100 Most Common Ashley Madison Passwords. Warning: Some of These Are NSFW

You might think people seeking to cheat on their spouses would use strong passwords. But no.

Cybersecurity

The brave new world of cyber insurance

Getting cyber insurance is a "last line of defense" that can also help secure a company before a hack even happens. But the industry needs more information, and Uncle Sam might have a big role to play.

Cybersecurity

FBI and DHS Warn of Security Risks from the Internet of Things

Wearables, thermostats and insulin dispensers and other everyday objects are not hack proof.

Cybersecurity

How OPM hopes to cultivate cyber talent

A partnership with truED allows feds to take online courses at substantially reduced rates.

Cybersecurity

Hackers Spy on UK for ISIS, Eavesdrop on Cal State Sex Assault Class, and Hijack Energy Dept. Systems

Just another week in ThreatWatch, our regularly updated index of noteworthy data breaches.

Cybersecurity

ISIL Breached UK Ministerial Email Accounts

Government (Foreign) // UK

Cybersecurity

Hackers Entered Energy Department Computers More than 150 Times

Energy // Government (U.S.) // United States

Cybersecurity

The Answers to These 8 Questions Could Solve Government's Cyber Woes

One week left to submit ideas.

Emerging Tech

No Touching: Agencies Could Soon Collect Fingerprints from Hand Waves

"Contactless fingerprinting" is seen as more hygienic than ink and paper or computer pads.

Modernization

All the Ways the Government Can Use Your Phone to Watch You

If law enforcement officers want to surveil your cellphone, they have two ways to do it.

Cybersecurity

OMB readies next phase of cyber sprint plan

The follow-on to the cyber sprint that came after the OPM hack might mandate that, by the end of fiscal 2016, all agencies use Internet service providers signed onto Einstein 3A.

Cybersecurity

The coming private cyber 'war'

Will U.S. companies, fed up with getting hacked and not getting the government backup they want, launch cyberattacks against foreign actors – and would that qualify as “warfare”?

Cybersecurity

City of Boston License Plate Reader Data Was Inadvertently Accessible to the Public

Government (U.S.) // Massachusetts, United States

Digital Government

The FBI’s Charm Offensive on Encryption

“The FBI is not an alien force imposed on the American people,” the agency’s director says, as feds clash with Silicon Valley over encryption standards.