Cybersecurity

White House Unveils 32 Countries Invited to Participate in Ransomware Meeting

India, the United Kingdom, Australia and Germany will have leadership roles during the two-day event. Russia was not invited.

Cybersecurity

OMB Gives Agencies Three Months to Help CISA Monitor Networked Devices

The memo adds heft to the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency’s longstanding push for more visibility into federal networks.

Cybersecurity

Biden Signs School Cybersecurity Bill

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency will study the cyber risks facing elementary and secondary schools and develop recommendations to assist schools in facing those risks.

Digital Government

CIA Creates China Center To Shift To Great Power Competition

“It’s taking the top slot from the counterterrorism mission over the past 20 years,” said John Doyon, executive vice president of INSA.

Ideas

Mitigating Cloud Risks Starts With Full Visibility of Shadow IT

New survey findings highlight the need for a data-centric approach to cloud security in the era of remote work.

Cybersecurity

CISA Finalizes Guidance for Securing Federal Networks for Remote Users

The latest guidance is the third of four use cases to be released as part of the Trusted Internet Connection 3.0 initiative.

Cybersecurity

Senate Committee Passes Major FISMA Changes—Including a New Definition of ‘Major Incident’ 

The Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee also passed an incident reporting bill with increased liability protections for companies, drawing praise from industry.  

Cybersecurity

DOJ to Hit Government Contractors with ‘Very Hefty Fines’ If They Fail to Disclose Data Breaches

Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco promised to use an existing law to go after contractors that don't follow required cybersecurity standards.

Cybersecurity

Deputy National Security Adviser Lays Out Goals for Upcoming 30 Nation Meeting on Ransomware

Top cyber officials highlighted the importance of defensive measures as lawmakers move on related initiatives, including a bill to identify systemically important critical infrastructure.

Emerging Tech

DHS Issues Roadmap to Help Organizations Prepare for Quantum Computing Threat

Officials say there’s a lot agencies and other entities should be doing, even though it may be more than a decade before a quantum computer can decode current levels of encryption.

Cybersecurity

FCC Issues Order on Security Reviews Ahead of U.S.-China Engagement

The commission’s new rule on foreign ownership and investment comes amid an industry call for international alignment on the use of voluntary standards to secure the supply chain of information and communications technology

Cybersecurity

FCC Renews Effort to Block Robocalls to 911 Call Centers

Under a proposed rule, voice service providers would cross reference autodialed calls with numbers on the do not call list to block any robocalls to emergency lines.

Ideas

5 Lessons Learned as the CISO for the U.S. Postal Service

Agencies cannot stop hackers from targeting them. But we can—and should—develop risk management strategies.

Ideas

Prioritizing Breach Prevention for a Secure Government  

A more secure government happens when hackers are stopped before they can touch critical data and systems—when a breach is prevented, not mitigated.

Cybersecurity

NSA Cyber Chief Warns Hackers Increasingly Use Commercial Tools to Stay Hidden 

Advanced persistent threat actors are becoming harder to spot and making attribution more difficult.

Digital Government

After 3 Years, Key IRS Systems Still Aren’t Properly Encrypted

The inspector general attributed the delays in the agency’s data at rest encryption program to additional mandates and poor adherence to program management best practices.

Modernization

Congress Gets First Look At Upcoming TMF Awards

The federal CIO offered a few details of the project proposals received and upcoming award announcements.

Cybersecurity

CISA Warns of Vulnerabilities in Banned Chinese Surveillance Tech

The Federal Communications Commission is set to vote on tightening its national security reviews of foreign suppliers.