Homeland Security

Biden’s Nominee to Lead CISA Interested in Reforming FISMA

Members of the Senate Homeland Security Committee pressed Jen Easterly and other key nominees on supply chain security and workforce challenges.

  • By Mariam Baksh

DHS Faces Rising Costs as Planned Biometrics Cloud Gets Pushed Back

Three years behind schedule, the move from legacy IDENT to the new Amazon-hosted HART system is now slated for the end of 2021.

  • By Aaron Boyd

Colonial Pipeline CEO: Cybersecurity Mandates From TSA Might Help

Hackers breached the company after gaining access to a virtual private network not protected by multifactor authentication.

  • By Mariam Baksh

IG: CISA-Run Monitoring Program Has Not Improved DHS’ Cybersecurity Posture

The department’s inspector general also found vulnerabilities in the department’s technology due to poorly defined patch management roles and configuration settings.

  • By Mariam Baksh

Pipeline Companies Have One Week to Identify Cybersecurity Coordinators Under TSA Directive

The directive now mandates incident reporting and reviews described in the administration’s voluntary guidelines for the sector.

  • By Mariam Baksh

Agencies Are Getting Good at Buying AI But Still Have Trouble Securing It

A Homeland Security Department procurement official said securing and fielding advanced technologies is “not going to get any easier.”

  • By Aaron Boyd

Cryptocurrency Crackdown Won’t Stop Ransomware, CISA Official Says

Cybersecurity professionals stress the importance of proactive defense to combat the growing number of attacks.

  • By Mariam Baksh

DHS Plans Next Rally to Advance Facial Recognition Tech

Modern systems are getting good at verifying people who are wearing face masks—and DHS wants to make them better.

  • By Brandi Vincent

House Panel Passes Bill to Explore Bringing State and Local Cybersecurity Workers into CISA

The Homeland Security Committee cleared several bills to address cybersecurity following the attack on Colonial Pipeline.

  • By Mariam Baksh

Cyber Response Bill Advances in Senate

The legislation includes a fund to help impacted organizations pay for remediation efforts.

  • By Frank Konkel

Energy Department Leading White House Interagency Response to Pipeline Attack

The hack highlights jurisdictional issues on pipeline cybersecurity.

  • By Mariam Baksh

DHS Drops Proposal to Expand Immigration-Related Biometrics Collection

The Biden administration withdrew the controversial rule, which garnered more than 5,000 comments when it was proposed last fall.

  • By Mila Jasper

Secret Service Director Calls for More Staffing, Retention and Cybersecurity Funding 

The director thanked employees for their hard work and resilience over the past year. 

  • By Courtney Bublé

TSA Wants New Ideas to Speed Up Checkpoints

The agency is looking for established technologies that could eliminate physical pat-downs and shoe removals.

  • By Aaron Boyd
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The Future of Defense Networks

NSA to Defense Sector: Think Twice Before Connecting Operational Technology to the Internet

The agency recognized benefits such as enabling remote work but notes the inherent risks and costs of putting industrial control system components online.

  • By Mariam Baksh

Homeland Security Secretary Backs Call for Mandatory Disclosure of Ransomware Payments

DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said the department will work with a task force developed by the private sector on ways to tamp down the increase in ransomware attacks. 

  • By Mariam Baksh

Feds Eliminate Fee for '.Gov' Web Addresses

Smaller localities in particular have said that the $400 annual cost was a barrier to adopting the government-specific URL.

  • By Bill Lucia

Coast Guard Wants Better User Experience for Communications Tech Used on Ships

The Coast Guard is proposing a cooperative research and development agreement to test alternative equipment or architectures that might improve mobile network connectivity.

  • By Mila Jasper

House Solarium Commission Members Press for More CISA Funding

“Congress was right to give the agency new authorities that allow it to better defend our interests in cyberspace, but without requisite funding, we’re setting CISA up for failure," the lawmakers wrote.

  • By Frank Konkel

DHS Launches Internal Probe to Root Out 'Domestic Violent Extremism' Within Its Ranks

Department will work "with urgency and focus to address" insider threats, secretary says.

  • By Eric Katz

Federal Agencies Detail Russian Tactics Used in Recent Cyber Intrusions

The FBI, Homeland Security Department and Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency issued an alert on Russian government cyber tradecraft and mitigation techniques for targets.

  • By Aaron Boyd