Marc Raimondi, a spokesman for the Department of Justice (DOJ), said the DOJ’s office of the chief information officer has stopped the method the threat actor uses to access the department’s Microsoft O365 email environment after learning of the malicious activity related to the SolarWinds cyber incident on Dec. 24th.
Read More »All 24 Agencies Receive ‘A’ Grades in 11th FITARA Scorecard’s Software Licensing Metric; Rep. Gerry Connolly Quoted
The software licensing metric in the Federal Information Technology Acquisition Reform Act (FITARA) scorecard will now be retired after all 24 agencies received an ‘A’ in the category in its 11th iteration. “FITARA remains an effective tool at catalyzing IT advancement across the enterprise of the federal government. Let’s ensure we use it to continue to raise the bar," said Rep. Gerry Connolly.
Read More »US, ‘Five Eyes’ Allies Seek Public-Private Sector Commitment to Encryption Policies
The U.S. attorney general and four government officials representing Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the U.K. have signed a joint statement seeking renewed commitment on encryption and data security. William Barr and the allied signatories wrote in the statement dated Oct. 11th that they support strong encryption approaches that help protect privacy, personal data, trade secrets, intellectual property and cybersecurity.
Read More »GAO: State Dept. Needs Greater Agency Involvement in Planning Cybersecurity, Emerging Tech Bureau
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) is recommending for the Department of State to involve more agencies in the development of a new bureau focused on emerging technologies and cybersecurity. The State Department informed Congress of its intent to create the Bureau of Cyberspace Security and Emerging Technologies (CSET) to better address foreign threats to the critical infrastructure and trade operations.
Read More »Novetta Recognized for National Security Efforts Under NCIS RISER Program; Bill Dorr, Kevin Heald Quoted
Novetta has been recognized by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) Technical Services Field Office Identity Activities Branch (TSFO-IA) for the company’s contributions to the RISER Program, which won “Best Technical Advancement” during the FedID awards. RISER is Government-off-the-Shelf (GOTS) software for rapid ingestion of biometric data from fingerprint cards.
Read More »VA Appoints Todd Simpson Deputy Assistant Secretary for DevSecOps
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has appointed Todd Simpson as deputy assistant secretary for DevSecOps to enhance cybersecurity within the department’s application development lifecycle, FedScoop reported on Thursday.
Read More »Richard Donoghue Appointed DOJ Principal Associate Deputy Atty General
Richard Donoghue, U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York, has been named principal associate deputy attorney general at the Department of Justice.
Read More »Team Telecom Offers Recommendation to FCC on Pacific Light Cable Network’s Application
Team Telecom has recommended that the Federal Communications Commission deny Pacific Light Cable Network’s (PLCN) application to establish direct undersea cable connection between the U.S. and Hong Kong citing national security risks. “PLCN’s high capacity and low latency would encourage U.S. communications traffic crossing the Pacific to detour through Hong Kong before reaching intended destinations in other parts of the Asia Pacific region,” DOJ said in the report.
Read More »Rona Bunn Named Full-Time CIO at International Trade Administration
Rona Bunn, acting chief information officer of the International Trade Administration, has been appointed to assume her role on a full-time basis, G2Xchange FedCiv reported Tuesday. She holds over two decades of technical leadership experience, having formerly served as chief of the Department of Justice's (DOJ) automation staff.
Read More »US Marshals Service Suffers Cyber Breach
A cyber breach of a U.S. Marshals Service system resulted in the exposure of personal data of approximately 387,000 former and current prisoners at the end of 2019, Nextgov reported Monday.
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