Independent Agencies

Empowering Regulators Could Stop the Next Equifax Breach, Watchdog Says

Giving the regulatory agencies more power to punish companies after breaches could make industry invest more in cybersecurity, according to the Government Accountability Office.

  • By Jack Corrigan

Phone Scammers Are Impersonating the Social Security Administration, Too

The Federal Trade Commission warns that even if a call doesn’t seem like a scam, it probably is.

  • By Brandi Vincent

FDIC’s Top 3 Challenges Are All Tech Related

Among the financial regulator’s biggest challenges, IT modernization and cybersecurity topped the list.

  • By Aaron Boyd

How Social Security Administration Plans to Protect Your Identity

The agency is looking for ways to identify citizens with random characters instead of Social Security numbers on agency mail.

  • By Jack Corrigan

Government Data Detectives

A special report on how agency data shops are fighting fraud.

  • By Nextgov Staff

USPS Fixed Vulnerability That Exposed The Data of 60 Million People

Just in time for the mail deluge of the holidays.

  • By Caitlin Fairchild

Miss Out on SEC’s $2.5 Billion IT Contract? Here’s a Second Chance.

The commission wants to add more small businesses to its massive ONE IT contract after announcing awards just last month.

  • By Aaron Boyd

Postal Service's Informed Delivery Feature Could Be Helping Fraudsters

A new way to steal credit cards.

  • By Caitlin Fairchild

FDIC Still Isn’t Protecting Its Sensitive Information, Audit Finds

The agency isn’t patching vulnerabilities quickly enough or fixing longstanding information security weaknesses.

  • By Joseph Marks

Postal Inspector General Needs Email Security Services by January

The Postal Service’s internal watchdog is looking for a cloud-based email authentication service to meet a Homeland Security mandate.

  • By Aaron Boyd

SEC Wants to Keep Tabs on Social Media Posts That Could Move Markets

The commission is looking for an off-the-shelf tool to flag important social media posts on public sites across the web.

  • By Aaron Boyd

How Regulators Are Dealing with Antitrust Laws and Data Privacy

When people turn over data to "pay" for Facebook's services, are they getting a good deal?

  • By Doug Pollack

Smart TVs Are Tracking Viewers And These Lawmakers Are Concerned

Your TV knows just how many cooking shows you watch.

  • By Caitlin Fairchild

Social Security Wants Help Keeping Tabs on the Software Market

The Social Security Administration wants to know if a small business can provide fast market intelligence reports when the agency is ready to buy.

  • By Aaron Boyd

Americans Say They’re Ready For Robots To Deliver The Mail

A survey conducted by the Postal Service Inspector General polled citizens on how they would feel if a robot delivered the mail with—or instead of—a human.

  • By Aaron Boyd

FEC Gets the Ball Rolling on Online Political Ads Rules

If passed, the rules would require websites to disclose who paid for online political ads urging viewers to vote for or against a specific candidate.

  • By Jack Corrigan

USAID Launches Program To Bring More Women Online

The WomenConnect Challenge is offering $1 million to projects that address why women in low- and middle-income countries are offline.

  • By Jack Corrigan

No, Rex Tillerson Does Not Have $1.85M To Give You

The secretary of state’s name is being used in an email scam, the FTC warns.

  • By Aaron Boyd

FEC Will Take Up Online Political Ad Transparency

The Federal Election Commission may soon require online ads that urge viewers to vote for or against a specific candidate to include a disclaimer about where they originated.

  • By Jack Corrigan

Smart Cars Collect a Lot of Data. FTC Wants to Know How It's Used.

While some types of information may make drivers safer, others are more geared toward selling ads.

  • By Jack Corrigan