Cyber Defense
FCC votes to reverse telecom security rulemaking issued under Biden
The vote has drawn significant concern from congressional Democrats, who say it will weaken the security posture of telecom systems. The initial measure was enacted in response to Chinese hacks of U.S. telecom providers discovered last year.
National cyber strategy coming ‘as quickly as possible,’ official says
“It’s going to be a short statement of intent and policy, and then it will be paired very quickly with action items and deliverables under that,” National Cyber Director Sean Cairncross explained.
CyberCorps talent pipeline buckles under Trump hiring freezes
The cornerstone program for training and placing student talent into government cybersecurity positions has been hobbled by recent federal employment logjams, jeopardizing workforce pipelines and leaving many recruits burdened by debt.
UN cybercrime treaty enables authoritarian regimes, top think tank argues
The agreement is scheduled to be signed in Vietnam next week, but the concept has raised concerns for some time.
US cyber policy goals have regressed during Trump 2.0 in ‘unprecedented setback,’ landmark report says
Cuts to various agencies and the politicization of disinfo-tracking work have slowed implementation goals set out five years ago by a congressionally authorized cybersecurity policy group.
CISA wants more international involvement in cyber vulnerability catalog, official says
Nick Andersen, the agency’s assistant executive director for cybersecurity, says the CVE project would benefit from a "more holistic look" with international partners.
US can focus on both offensive and defensive cyber, top NSC official says
Offensive measures are “an important tool of the toolbox that we’ll be unafraid to use,” Alexei Bulazel said. “But that’s not to say we don’t need to do normal blocking-and-tackling cyber defense.”
White House cyber office calls for ‘whole of nation’ effort to deter nation-state hackers
Newly-confirmed ONCD director Sean Cairncross wants to work with the private sector to develop a toolkit for stopping foreign hackers and boosting U.S. cyberdefenses.
The federal government’s data protection depends on resilience — not just cybersecurity
COMMENTARY | An increasingly AI-driven threat landscape demands a resilience-first mindset across federal agencies.
Noem terminates 24 FEMA workers for failing to address cyber vulnerabilities
An internal FEMA email obtained by Nextgov/FCW ordered all agency employees to change their passwords “due to recent cybersecurity incidents and threats.”
Wyden calls for review of US court systems’ cyber posture after case system hack
Since the incident, several district courts have instructed filers not to submit sealed documents, amid risks that the systems protecting them may not be secure.
Microsoft announces plan to transition to quantum resilience by 2033
Microsoft is taking a phased approach to ensuring its products meet a post-quantum cryptography standard.
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Government layoffs are making us less safe in cyberspace, experts fear
There’s been a mass exodus of government cyber expertise during the Trump administration.
Basic cybersecurity lapses are leaving US infrastructure exposed, top experts warn
To make U.S. networks more “toxic” to adversaries, “we need to have an ability for authentication to have some meaning,” former NSA director Gen. Paul Nakasone said.
Operational tech is ‘underprioritized’ in cyberdefense, experts tell Congress
Witnesses' calls for better investment in securing such systems come just two months before a key cybersecurity information-sharing law is set to expire.
OMB draft memo sets agency and vendor quantum security standards
The Office of Management and Budget is drafting a new memorandum to outline steps for the federal government’s migration to a post-quantum cryptographic standard.
How the federal government can tackle its on-prem sensitive data dilemma
COMMENTARY | The new cyber battleground isn’t just in the cloud — it’s also in legacy on-prem servers teeming with forgotten data that are ripe for exploitation.
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Former Biden cyber chief defends Cyber Trust Mark in the face of FCC review
Anne Neuberger told Nextgov/FCW the Cyber Trust Mark, as it stands, is the most effective path to labeling secure devices and reducing reliance on insecure tech from China.
Secure by Design is just the start, CISA official says
A program manager for the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency said ongoing threat vigilance is needed post-implementation of the agency’s Secure by Design framework.
Trump cyber executive order aims to amend ‘problematic’ parts of Biden, Obama cyber orders
The order strips certain Biden-era cyber directives and looks to orient federal cyber policy around concrete technical measures, including secure software development, quantum-resistant encryption and labeling standards for IoT devices.
