It’s not often that anyone aspires to “go slow” to reach their goals, but for Shane Barney, Acting Chief Information Security Officer for the U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services, it’s part of the plan. […]

As every serious runner knows, preparing for a big race can be a daunting task; it takes time, patience, and determination to succeed.  Once the training schedule begins, the runner must be diligent with sticking to the task.  By neglecting even one workout, the runner can risk losing progress, and not finish the race. […]

The Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) rare public alert last week about a large-scale Russian cyber campaign targeting U.S. infrastructure raised a piercing alarm about vulnerabilities in the nation’s power grid, and underscored what officials have meant when talking about the need for a whole-of-government and whole-of-nation approach to cyber defense. Protecting against a major attack, managing the damage once one hits, and responding to an attack are beyond the reach of any one agency or sector, they argue; the job requires concerted efforts from the public and private sectors. […]

Agencies are rolling out aspects of the Continuous Diagnostics and Mitigation (CDM) Program with varying degrees of speed and success, but the inherent benefits of the program are not being questioned. […]

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has been working in unison with the Office of Management and Budget to assess the risk management posture of the Federal government. They’ve been using a combination of agency self-reporting and independent verification to evaluate each agency’s mitigation techniques as well as the nation’s overall security standing. DHS’ latest […]

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is seeking nominations for new members of various Federal boards, including the Information Security and Privacy Advisory Board (ISPAB). NIST listed the eight Federal advisory boards with openings, which also include the NIST Smart Grid Committee, and the Visiting Committee on Advanced Technology, in a Federal Register notice. […]

Artificial intelligence (AI) deployments in the Federal government are already making government smarter, based on examples shared during the second of a three-part series on AI launched last month by the House Subcommittee on Information Technology. Federal agency leaders from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the General Services Administration (GSA), National Science Foundation (NSF), and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) discussed how AI is being implemented to improve the mission of their agencies and what is required to ensure the technology continues to be viewed as a problem solver. […]

Last month the Congressional Subcommittee on Information Technology began a three-part series of hearings to break through the myths and the hype to gain a real understanding of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the role it can play in the Federal government. […]

When Mike Hermus leaves his position as Department of Homeland Security (DHS) CTO on March 2, Kevin Wince, the DHS executive director for Enterprise Architecture (EA), will step up as acting CTO. […]

MeriTalk has confirmed ringside rumors that Jeff Eisensmith is looking to hang up his gloves at DHS.  After more than five years going toe-to-toe with America’s cyber adversaries, we’d like to wish America’s leading CISO the very best as he punches out.  […]

Last year brought a great deal of change to Washington, D.C., from a new administration moving into the White House to D.C. United building a new stadium. As 2018 starts up with seemingly limitless IT opportunities ahead, MeriTalk takes a look back on the top Federal IT stories from 2017. […]

When Joby Emmons arrived for his first day as general counsel at IdeaScale, he was told: “Your first job at IdeaScale is to get us FedRAMP authorized.” […]

North Korea’s persistent efforts on nuclear weapons development and some loose talk about red buttons have raised new fears internationally about the possibilities of nuclear conflict. At home, government agencies also are addressing the questions about what to do in the case of a nuclear detonation. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), for example, will hold one of its Public Health Grand Round teaching sessions Jan. 16 on how medical professionals should respond–and although the event has been planned for months, it’s timing suddenly seems to be on the mark. […]

Following a House hearing on the cyber workforce shortage, the Department of Homeland Security released information about cyber training programs. […]

Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Elaine Duke released a binding operational directive on Sept. 13 requiring agencies to identify and plan to remove all Kaspersky Lab products within the next 90 days. “The Department is concerned about the ties between certain Kaspersky officials and Russian intelligence and other government agencies, and requirements under Russian law that allow Russian intelligence agencies to request or compel assistance from Kaspersky and to intercept communications transiting Russian networks,” DHS noted. […]

The Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Continuous Diagnostics and Mitigation (CDM) program is entering its fourth year and introducing a third phase. Now, the Trump administration’s increasing focus on cybersecurity adds growing pressure to the program and its scope. […]

Leading cybersecurity experts will come together on Wednesday, Sept. 20 at the Newseum in Washington, D.C., to discuss the changing cyber landscape and ways the private and public sectors can partner to strengthen a proactive cyber defense. MeriTalk’s sixth annual Cyber Security Brainstorm, “Cyber Everywhere: Collaboration, Automation and Integration,” will focus on keeping our nation’s government one step ahead of advancing adversaries. […]

The entire Federal government is feeling the pains of cyber workforce shortages. But the Department of Homeland Security, which is tasked with protecting national security without the cool factor of the FBI and National Security Agency, hurts more than most, according to testimony at a House Homeland Security Committee hearing on Sept. 7. […]

The National Institute of Standards and Technology and the Department of Homeland Security announced the next phase of the “Smart and Secure Cities and Communities Challenge,” a partnership to bring together Smart City initiatives and DHS’s security expertise and resources, at the Global City Teams Challenge Expo. […]

The designation of the nation’s election systems as critical infrastructure will not infringe upon state and local authority to run elections. In a recent memo to Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Members, Ranking Member Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., relayed communications from the Department of Homeland Security that reiterated that fact. […]

The House Homeland Security Committee on July 26 unanimously passed two bills to improve the government’s cybersecurity posture: the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Act of 2017 and the Cyber Vulnerability Disclosure Reporting Act. The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Act creates a new agency within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to deal with […]

MeriTalk compiles a weekly roundup of contracts and other industry activity. Here’s what happened this week in the Federal Information Technology community. […]

The underreporting of cyber incidents is a chief issue across Federal agencies, according to Kevin Cox, Continuous Diagnostics and Mitigation program manager for the department of Homeland Security. However, when the CDM Federal dashboard launches in July, agencies will be able to view not only their own cybersecurity issues, but also those of their fellow agencies. […]

The investigation into the culprit behind the WannaCry ransomware attack is ongoing, according to a Department of Homeland Security official. […]

The recent DHS mobile device study warns that Federal government mobile devices could become an avenue to attack back-end computer systems containing the data of millions of Americans and sensitive information related to Federal government functions. However, despite the various threats and vulnerabilities targeting the mobile ecosystem, Lookout’s recent white paper found many mobile users are vulnerable to a number of known threats and smartphone applications have access to capabilities that could violate corporate policies or pose significant compliance risks. […]

The FBI is more focused on retaining and training existing employees than hiring young people who might be more technologically adept, according to Howard Marshall, deputy assistant director of FBI’s Cyber Division. […]

The U.S. Marshals Service, which operates within the Department of Justice, is facing the same problems as many of its fellow Federal agencies—recruiting new people, training existing employees, and modernizing IT. […]

President Donald Trump appointed Richard Staropoli, former chief information security officer at Fortress Investment Group, to serve as chief information officer for the Department of Homeland Security. […]

Secretary of Homeland Security John Kelly has not seen the most recent draft of President Donald Trump’s executive order on cybersecurity, even though retired Gen. Michael Hayden, former director of the National Security Agency and CIA, stated last week that it had been written. […]

Twitter announced April 7 that it is dropping a lawsuit it filed against the Department of Homeland Security the previous day. The company was suing DHS after the agency demanded to know the identity of the person or persons behind the Alt Immigration Twitter account. Twitter dismissed the suit because DHS withdrew its request for information, according to a notice of voluntary dismissal. […]