The transition to zero trust security architectures is integral to the U.S. Department of the Army’s modernization efforts, said Army CIO Raj Iyer during an FCW virtual roundtable on October 27 where he explained security challenges that the service branch is facing and how the move to zero trust security concepts will help. […]
Routinely, data breaches demonstrate the pitfalls of relying on detection to identify malicious activities taking place on a network. Federal cyber experts discussed the importance of prevention over detection to combat cyber threats and how zero trust can enhance cyber solutions on Oct 28 at an event hosted by FCW. […]
In the face of increasing cyberattacks on U.S. critical infrastructure and growing service demands on the electric grid, members of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee’s Government Operations and Border Management Subcommittee discussed the need for greater Federal investments in protecting the grid and ensuring abundant power supplies at an October 27 hearing. […]
With an evolving cyber threat landscape and adversaries that are growing more sophisticated by the day, National Security Agency (NSA) Director Gen. Paul Nakasone – who also heads United States Cyber Command (CYBERCOM) – today pointed to partnership and collaboration as the best way to protect the nation from cyber threats. […]
The Defense Departments (DoD) Joint AI Center (JAIC) is looking to fill the position of the DoD Responsible AI (RAI) program lead to develop and promulgate policies, practices, guidance, and metrics for DoD for developing and procuring AI. […]
Long-time Federal government IT and cybersecurity leader Karen Evans is heading to the Cyber Readiness Institute (CRI) – a New York-based nonprofit that aims to advance the cyber readiness of small and medium-sized businesses in order to improve the security of global supply chains – as the organization’s managing director. […]
The adoption of robotic process automation (RPA) technologies in business and management areas of the Defense Department (DoD) is “catching fire,” and RPA is firming up to become a gateway for the use of more sophisticated technologies such as artificial intelligence, a DoD official said on Oct. 26 at an online event organized by FCW. […]
Robotic Process Automation (RPA) has gone in just a few short years from a few scattered pilot projects to an essential tool deployed by dozens of agencies. In the process, Federal agency IT leaders have found that automation at scale comes with challenges, and they shared some of their best practices for and lessons learned for integrating RPA into existing systems at an FCW virtual workshop on October 26. […]
After fits and starts reaching back over the last two years, the State Department has unveiled plans to establish a new Bureau of Cyberspace and Digital Policy, along with an envoy for critical and emerging technology, State Department spokesperson Ned Price announced at a press briefing this week. […]
Microsoft is warning that it has seen Nobelium – the Russian nation-state threat group responsible for the SolarWinds software supply chain hack – trying to recreate the same approach that allowed it to gain access to Federal government systems, according to an Oct. 24 blog post from the company. […]
The Intelligence and National Security Alliance (INSA) released a new paper on October 25 that details what it calls onerous implementation requirements of the government’s Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) Program, and offered eight recommendations to improve the program. […]
With cyberattacks on the rise, Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., introduced legislation in the House this week that would require the secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to assess the agency’s cybersecurity incident response procedures and propose improvements. […]
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has appointed Washington Secretary of State Kim Wyman as CISA’s Senior Election Security Lead. […]
An official at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) is applauding the work of a private cybersecurity firm that, in collaboration with CISA, helped victims of the BlackMatter ransomware group, according to a new report from the New York Times. […]
The Office of Management and Budget has released a 2021 action plan for Federal agencies to make progress on a list of goals under the Federal Data Strategy published in 2019, but given there are little more than two months to go in 2021, OMB characterized the year-end goals as “aspirational.” […]
The National Counterintelligence and Security Center (NCSC) announced that it will prioritize industry outreach efforts in U.S. technology sectors as they relate to economic and national security, including tech-heavy areas such as AI, bio-economy, autonomous systems, quantum information science and technology, and semiconductors. […]
The White House appointed Jonah Force Hill, a longtime cyber advisor and strategist, to become the National Security Council’s (NSC) Director of Cybersecurity and Emerging Tech Policy, according to Hill’s LinkedIn. […]
Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., Roger Wicker, R-Miss., Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and John Thune, R-S.D., have introduced a bill to create a new council that would oversee Federal investments and policy development of next-generation communications technology including sixth-generation – or 6G – wireless tech. […]
The Defense Department’s (DoD) information system for tracking capability documents that identify new or enhanced capabilities in weapon systems doesn’t have reliable data on how many programs have gone through a revised process. […]
The House of Representatives passed the DHS Software Supply Chain Risk Management Act of 2021 this week with a 412-2 vote. […]
Sens. Gary Peters, D-Mich., and Rob Portman, R-Ohio, introduced a bill Oct. 21 that would look to better secure and protect the data that Federal contractors collect when using artificial intelligence (AI) and make clear that the government is the ultimate owner of contractor-collected AI data. […]
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has authorized $554 million for broadband deployment through the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund. […]
A recent Government Accountability Office (GAO) report on development of quantum information technologies covers the general waterfront on the current status of the technologies, but notes that development of game-changing systems are probably still ten years and billions of dollars of further investments away. […]
Dr. Laurie Locascio, the White House’s nominee to be the next director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), told senators this week that she will prioritize cybersecurity of internet of things (IoT) devices, and bridging the cyber workforce gap if she is confirmed to head the agency. […]
House Oversight and Reform Committee Chairwoman Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., and Rep. Stephen Lynch, D-Mass., chairman of the National Security Subcommittee, are pressing the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) to figure out a fix for the backlog of records requests at the National Personnel Records Center (NPRC), and suggested IT upgrades as a possible solution. […]
Nickolas Guertin, who President Biden nominated to be the Department of Defense’s (DoD) next director of Operational Test and Evaluation (DOT&E), sees testing for cyber threats and building cyber testing into the test and evaluation process a priority for the next DOT&E. […]
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has taken on a number of recent initiatives to build a diverse cyber workforce, which DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) Director Jen Easterly outlined today during the third week of the CISA Cybersecurity Summit. […]
Data experts Eileen Vidrine, chief data officer (CDO) at the U.S. Air Force, and Jeremy Wilson, multi-factor authentication statewide program manager for the State of Texas, gathered on Oct. 19 at the Dell Technologies North America Forum to share their insights on data protection measures and the importance of keeping data secure. […]
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) announced today that it has awarded $2 million to bring cybersecurity training programs to rural communities and diverse populations. […]
Government agencies continue to modernize IT environments putting data to work for employees, citizens, and the warfighter. During a webinar hosted by Dell Technologies on Oct 19, Federal chief intelligence officers (CIOs) shared best practices for selecting the right infrastructure for high-value workloads.