Meritalk’s CDM Central Cyber Defenders conference kicked off Dec. 3 with a conversation between VMware’s Garrett Lee and Steven Hernandez, Chief Information Security Officer at the Department of Education (DoEd). […]

The Continuous Diagnostics and Mitigation (CDM) program won praise from tech-sector officials at MeriTalk’s CDM Central virtual conference on Dec. 3. for its mostly unheralded work in helping Federal agencies make quick fixes to security during this year’s coronavirus pandemic. CDM Program Manager Kevin Cox offered insights as part of MeriTalk’s CIO Crossroads program in June into how his office jumped in to help agencies in need. […]

The Continuous Diagnostics and Mitigation (CDM) program – the Federal government’s primary program to improve civilian agency cyber security – is running short on money and putting its four prime contractors on half rations until the funding situation improves. […]

The crown jewels of Federal agency network and data assets need better protection from cyber adversaries, but the jury is still out as to whether and when the government’s primary security program to protect them – the Continuous Diagnostics and Mitigation (CDM) Program – will provide the kind of protections that those assets require. […]

With network attack surfaces expanding, aggressive adversaries circling, and the Federal government more reliant than ever on the effective functioning of information technology to deliver citizen services, mitigating cyber threats and improving cyber security is a top priority. […]

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency’s (CISA) Continuous Diagnostics and Mitigation (CDM) program is aiming for big progress in Fiscal Year 2021 on upgrading agency and Federal-level dashboard infrastructure and improving the quality of data coming from agency network sensors, along with continuing to get a better handle on how agencies employ cloud infrastructure and cloud security. […]

A Government Accountability Office (GAO) report found that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Indian Health Service, and Small Business Administration (SBA) are using security tools given to them by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) as they’re intended: to identify hardware and software on their networks that may have vulnerabilities and insecure configurations. But GAO said the agencies have more to do manage their network in order to optimize the value of the tools. […]

MeriTalk connected with David Siles, Global Field Chief Technology Officer at Rubrik, to discuss the Continuous Diagnostics and Mitigation (CDM) program and the importance of data protection and cloud management in the Federal government’s new telework environment. […]

A vast majority of Continuous Diagnostics and Mitigation (CDM) stakeholders agree the DHS program is more important than ever considering the COVID-19 pandemic and the Federal government’s transition to “maximized telework.” […]

Continuous Diagnostics and Mitigation (CDM) Program Manager Kevin Cox on July 21 discussed the importance of data quality in the CDM ecosystem that stretches from sensors on Federal agency networks, up to agency-level dashboards, and then through to a Federal-level dashboard that gives the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) a wide view of the civilian Federal agency security posture. […]

Continuous Diagnostics and Mitigation (CDM) Program Manager Kevin Cox said this week that the program is placing particular focus on helping agencies better understand and architect security structures for cloud and mobility-based data. […]

A collection of trade groups representing the nation’s biggest tech firms is urging Senate leadership to match or exceed the $1 billion in funding for the Technology Modernization Fund (TMF) approved by the House last month as part of the HEROES Act pandemic-relief legislation. […]

As public and private sector organizations face a heightened threat landscape amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Richard Driggers, deputy assistant director for cybersecurity at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), explained how agency efforts have scaled to meet governmentwide cyber needs. […]

The critical importance of Federal IT operations in sustaining vital government operations during the COVID-19 pandemic is nearing the status of universal truth. What’s much less obvious to the naked eye – and meant to be that way – are the security operations underpinning and defending the vast Federal technology enterprise. As the nation takes its first steps on the road to recovery, MeriTalk is bringing to light the untold stories of those efforts. In the latest chapter of CIO Crossroads, we examine the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency’s (CISA) Continuous Diagnostics and Mitigation (CDM) program. […]

Continuous Diagnostics and Mitigation (CDM) Program Manager Kevin Cox said today that the program’s mission has mostly continued without a hitch through the COVID-19 pandemic, while also serving to better inform the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and Federal agencies about the security implications of maximum telework. […]

For the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), its Continuous Diagnostics and Mitigation (CDM) program and its Quality Service Management Office (QSMO) both serve roles for the agency to provide service excellence to Federal customers. […]

Sean Connelly, Trusted Internet Connections (TIC) Program Manager at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), detailed at MeriTalk’s CDM Central: Tales from the Frontlines virtual event today how TIC and the Continuous Diagnostics and Mitigation (CDM) program work together to bolster Federal cybersecurity. […]

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency’s (CISA) Continuous Diagnostics and Mitigation (CDM) program has been a key tool for managing cybersecurity risks since Federal employees began maximum telework in March by helping to maintain situational awareness on networks, said Federal CISO Grant Schneider at MeriTalk’s CDM Central: Tales from the Frontlines digital event today. […]

Since the Continuous Diagnostics and Mitigation (CDM) program launched the minimal viable product version of its new dashboard last month, more Federal agencies have seen the value in choosing a cloud-hosted dashboard due in part to the need for more scalability in light of the coronavirus pandemic, CDM Project Manager Judy Baltensperger said today at MeriTalk’s CDM Central: Tales from the Frontlines virtual event […]

Underpinning the delivery of citizen services, funding, and an all-important sense of normalcy during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Federal IT enterprise has provided firm footing in uncertain times. As the nation takes its first steps on the road to recovery, MeriTalk is chronicling the untold stories and lessons of the ongoing IT odyssey. In the latest chapter of CIO Crossroads, we explore the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s IT operations three months into the fray.  […]

Kevin Cox, program manager for the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency’s (CISA) Continuous Diagnostics and Mitigation (CDM) program, confirms that Federal agencies are increasingly integrating CDM into their overall security operations for greater visibility and control. That’s in line with findings from MeriTalk’s latest research, which found 59 percent of agencies incorporating CDM into their broader cyber strategy, rather than viewing it as a standalone function. […]

The story of the Continuous Diagnostics and Mitigation (CDM) program is far from finished, and its importance in ensuring the security of Federal networks has only increased during the last three months as maximum telework has become the norm. As the CDM program assumes an even higher priority for agencies, how can Federal officials and industry stakeholders stay connected and focus on the program’s coming chapters? […]

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Federal IT operations are providing a resilient fabric that enables accelerated delivery of vital services to citizens during an unprecedented public health crisis. As government IT operations reach their new steady-state and map the path to further modernization, MeriTalk is surfacing the untold stories – and lessons – of those efforts. In the latest installment of CIO Crossroads, we examine the Labor Department’s performance eight weeks into the fray. […]

As the Federal government has shifted to telework, the security of its cloud and mobile environments has grown even more critical. Concerningly, the majority of Federal stakeholders believe the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Continuous Diagnostics and Mitigation (CDM) program isn’t able to keep pace with cyber threats, a new report from MeriTalk found. […]

The Department of Homeland Security’s Continuous Diagnostics and Mitigation (CDM) program may qualify as one of the most ambitious network security program ever conceived, with a focus on girding Federal agency networks with state-of-the-art security at both the agency and DHS levels – and not just for today’s threats, but also to meet the ever-expanding threat landscape down the road. […]

CGI won a $267 million, six-year contract with the Department of Homeland Security’s Continuous Diagnostics and Mitigation (CDM) program to provide cybersecurity services to more than 75 Federal agencies, according to an April 29 press release from CGI. […]

ECS last week delivered the first version of the new Continuous Diagnostics and Mitigation (CDM) dashboard for Federal agencies to the CDM program’s systems integrators, said Joanna Dempsey, Director of Cyber Solutions at ECS. Dempsey spoke on an April 28 MeriTalk webinar, “The Next-Gen CDM Dashboard: Real-Time Cybersecurity Insights.” […]

As the Continuous Diagnostics and Mitigation (CDM) program prepares for minimum viable product launch for agency dashboards in April 2020 and gears up to deliver the minimum viable Federal dashboard later this year, the project is undergoing major updates to improve user experience. […]

For Federal agencies, a zero-trust model means not only knowing who might be on their networks accessing data and information, but making sure a user has an authorized reason to access that information. […]

MeriTalk recently connected with Cisco’s Will Ash, Senior Director of Security Sales, and Peter Romness, Cybersecurity Solutions Lead, U.S. Public Sector CTO Office, on the current cyber threat landscape, how Zero Trust plays into agencies’ evolving cyber defense plans, and the importance of public-private sector collaboration. […]