Cybersecurity
China, Russia and Iran capable of disrupting 2024 elections, intel assessment warns
Three nations have the means of deploying campaigns attempting to scramble election outcomes in November, according to the intelligence community’s annual worldwide threat assessment.
Cybersecurity
CISA targeted through Ivanti VPN vulnerabilities, reports say
The DHS agency has been issuing warnings about Ivanti products since at least 2020.
People
Exit interview: Mitch Herckis
In an exclusive interview, the former branch director for federal cybersecurity in the White House Office of the Federal CIO, discussed challenges, White House cyber priorities and his office’s efforts to integrate zero trust into the federal government.
Emerging Tech
Biden calls for ban of AI voice impersonations in State of the Union address
The President became the subject of an AI-generated robocalling scam in January.
Digital Government
New bill aims to bring SNAP card security up to credit card standards
Security standards for SNAP cards have not kept pace with industry advancements, lawmakers say.
Exclusive
Cybersecurity
Flaws in public records management tool could let hackers nab sensitive data linked to requests
The GovQA platform, created by IT company Granicus, contained vulnerabilities that could have let cybercriminals retrieve tranches of sensitive files tied to public records requests, a security researcher revealed to Nextgov/FCW.
Cybersecurity
Government facilities were third largest ransomware target in 2023, FBI says
The FBI’s IC3 findings also show government official impersonation scams are on the rise.
Cybersecurity
House panel to weigh bill barring data brokers from making transfers to foreign rivals
The measure, backed by the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s leaders, considers similar data types listed in a recently signed data security executive order.
Digital Government
CISA is still maintaining radio silence with social media as Super Tuesday kicks off
The lack of communication stems from an ongoing Supreme Court case that one top senator says Biden administration lawyers have been “too timid” in addressing.
Cybersecurity
CISA is coordinating with election security partners for Super Tuesday voting
The principal agency responsible for election security is asking public and private sector election administrators to share potential threat information as voters go to the polls.
Cybersecurity
Biden’s new data security order leaves industry officials, privacy advocates scratching their heads
Implementing the executive order will involve crafting new legal mechanisms for data transfers while assuaging ongoing privacy concerns.
Cybersecurity
FCC staff targeted in phishing attack that cloned agency login site
A cybercriminal group built a duplicate webpage used by employees to validate their login credentials.
Acquisition
GSA officials have ‘fundamental disagreements’ with OIG in legality of Chinese camera purchases, per House committee
The agency’s procurement of Owl Labs cameras as part of a pilot program came under scrutiny in January.
Policy
Biden admin to seek surveillance court blessing to renew Section 702 program through next year
The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court will receive the White House filing next month.
Policy
Civil liberties groups urge Congress to keep 702 measures out of upcoming funding votes
Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act is set to expire on April 19 unless reauthorized by Congress.
Cybersecurity
Biden executive order aims to stop adversaries from obtaining, exploiting Americans’ personal data
Data brokers under the order are barred from selling bulk caches of sensitive Americans’ data to multiple foreign countries, including China and Russia.
Cybersecurity
Energy to fund 16 infrastructure cybersecurity projects
The White House’s cybersecurity strategy implementation plan asks the agency to identify pilot projects for energy infrastructure security.
Cybersecurity
NIST debuts the finalized update to its Cybersecurity Framework
The streamlined blueprint has already gotten positive feedback from private sector organizations.
Cybersecurity
White House urges software developers to use memory-safe programming languages
A number of headline-making cyberattacks started with memory safety flaws, a White House cyber official said.
People