Tag Archives: Department of Homeland Security

FBI Director Christopher Wray has warned the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs that vulnerable targets in the U.S. could be attacked with the use of drones, Reuters reported Wednesday. Wray told legislators during a Senate committee hearing on Oct. 10 that such an attack is possible because drones can be purchased and operated easily.

John Zangardi, chief information officer of the Department of Homeland Security, has said there is a need for the department to implement a more flexible hiring process as it administers various modernization initiatives, FedScoop reported Friday.

Jeanette Manfra, a cybersecurity official at the Department of Homeland Security, told Federal News Network in an interview published Tuesday that DHS prioritizes efforts to build up its cyber workforce through education. Manfra, assistant secretary for the national protection and programs directorate at DHS’ office of cybersecurity and communications, said her office will assess this month whether personnel need to undergo the Federal Virtual Training Environment and other courses.

The Department of Homeland Security has released a new strategy aimed at protecting the country from electromagnetic pulse and geomagnetic disturbance threats. The strategy highlights the department's approach to addressing potential threats that may arise from electromagnetic incidents, and embodies the intelligence community's assessment on the matter, the DHS said Tuesday.

Email security company Valimail reports that roughly half of federal government domains have implemented an email security protocol in compliance with a directive that the Department of Homeland Security issued nearly a year ago. Valimail’s recent study reveals that the Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting and Conformance standard has been deployed to cover 655 out of 1,315 government domains and has been configured to “enforcement status”— meaning the security protocol is set to reject fake emails.

The Department of Homeland Security over the weekend issued a statement regarding a Bloomberg report alleging that around 30 U.S. companies, including Amazon and Apple, have been victimized by a hardware hack carried out by a special unit of the Chinese Army. The DHS said that “at this time we have no reason to doubt the statements from the companies named in the story.” Amazon and Apple have rejected the Bloomberg story. Super Micro Computer, Inc., the manufacturer of the servers that have reportedly been compromised, has issued a denial as well.

Kirstjen Nielsen, secretary of Homeland Security, said in a statement that the recently passed FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018 would increase the government's capacity to protect U.S. citizens from drone-induced threats. She highlighted that existing regulations constrained the Department of Homeland Security's jurisdiction to address drone threats prior to the bill's passing, the DHS said Thursday.
 

The Senate has passed the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Act of 2018, which renames the Department of Homeland Security's National Protection and Programs Directorate as the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, Federal News Radio reported Thursday. Christopher Krebs, undersecretary for the NPPD, approved the bill’s passage, saying that the new name “clarifies and clearly signifies our mission” and will “help significantly in terms of recruiting.”

Undersecretary Chris Krebs of the Department of Homeland Security said during a recent panel on election cybersecurity that his agency is prepared to fend off any attempts by foreign adversaries to meddle in U.S. elections. At the same panel, National Counterintelligence and Security Center Director William Evanina talked about cyber operations being carried out by China on social media with the goal of affecting American popular opinion, Nextgov reported Wednesday.

The departments of Homeland Security and Energy have announced in a meeting with the Oil and Natural Gas Sector Coordinating Council the launch of a program that aims to protect pipelines and other critical infrastructure from cyber threats.

Chrisopher Krebs, undersecretary of the National Protection and Programs Directorate, said Wednesday that the collaborative effort between NPPD, the Transportation Security Administration and DOE will provide a better understanding of the threat landscape and plan more targeted and prioritized risk management activities.