Though lessons learned from the Office of Personnel Management data breach have resulted in many improvements in cybersecurity practices, the 2015 breach and subsequent cyber incidents led members at a House Oversight Committee hearing to question the pace of Federal data protection efforts. “Right now it is an uphill fight,” said Department of Defense CIO Terry Halvorsen. […]
The Office of Personnel Management released a series of suggestions to improve agency IT in the next administration, including modernization efforts that need to be made to the National Background Investigations Bureau. […]
The Office of Personnel Management launched CyberCareers.gov. The website, which was created as part of the Federal Cybersecurity Workforce Strategy, focuses on learning policies that will assist Federal agencies in building the cybersecurity workforce. […]
The Office of the Inspector General at the Office of Personnel Management audited the agency’s security programs and practices under the Federal Information Security Modernization Act and found a significant deficiency in OPM’s security management structure. […]
The Office of Personnel Management report on the status of telework in 2016 found that the number of Federal employees who telework has continued to increase. From 2013 to 2015 telework participation increased from 39 percent to 46 percent of eligible employees. […]
The Office of Personnel Management needs to make its payroll data available through its Enterprise Human Resources Integration initiative, according a recent Government Accountability Office report. […]
The White House Office of Personnel Management announced that Charles S. Phalen Jr. will be the director of the National Background Investigations Bureau starting Oct. 1. […]
The Office of Personnel Management has 70 terabits of stored data that it plans to use for behavioral analysis. “We spent a lot of money to get those logged files,” said Clif Triplett, senior cyber information technology adviser for OPM. “We want to try to harvest the value.” […]
The United States Office of Personnel Management announced four contracts with CACI Premier Technology; CSRA; KeyPoint Government Solutions; and Securitas Critical Infrastructure Services. […]
Due to the breadth and depth of cyberattacks and breaches in the Federal government, most especially the Office of Personnel Management, agencies should be implementing a policy of zero trust when it comes to who is accessing their data, according to Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah. His committee released a report titled “The OPM Data Breach: How the Government Jeopardized Our National Security for More than a Generation.” […]
Federal spending on contractor-supplied IT products and services will decline slightly from $99.8 billion in fiscal year 2016 to $98.3 billion in FY 2021, according to a recent report from Deltek. […]
The Office of Personnel Management announced today that it has hired Dave DeVries, the principal deputy chief information officer at the Defense Department, to become the agency’s next permanent CIO. […]
Office of Personnel Management Director Beth Cobert announced the first Federal Cybersecurity Workforce Strategy to address the pervasive problem that government agencies face in recruiting and retaining a sufficient cybersecurity workforce. […]
Applicants for Federal security clearances may want to double check their Twitter feeds, as agencies could soon be moving forward with investigations into applicants’ social media accounts. The biggest obstacle to these investigations, however, is not privacy concerns, but rather data security. […]
The 2016 Symantec Government Symposium is coming up on Aug. 30, and its Cyber Awards deadline is June 1. The Cyber Awards recognize individuals who show excellence and leadership in government cybersecurity through individual contributions to programs that protect critical data and systems. […]
For FITARA to reach its full potential, Federal agencies must dissect the real problems and attract stronger CIOs, Dave Powner, Director of IT Issues at the Government Accountability Office, told MeriTalk’s FITARA Forum in Washington, D.C. […]
An OPM panel that included four women in major Federal leadership positions urged women to bring their diverse experiences to the government. […]
Federal agencies remain woefully behind on cybersecurity, according to the annual cybersecurity compliance report released Friday by the Office of Management and Budget. During the 2015 fiscal year, Federal agencies reported 77,183 cybersecurity incidents, a 10% increase over the incidents reported in 2014. Though the administration believes this increase may be attributed to improved detection […]
Now that Donna Seymour is out as chief information officer at the Office of Personnel Management, OPM insiders and analysts interviewed by MeriTalk agree that her successor will need to be a different breed of CIO. […]
Donna Seymour, the outgoing chief information officer at the Office of Personnel Management, was forced out of her position under intense pressure stemming from the stalled nomination of Beth Cobert to be the agency’s director, a source close to the matter said. […]
The Office of Personnel Management is relieved of the duties of conducting security clearances. Those duties instead go to a brand new agency, the National Background Investigations Bureau. […]
A new report by the Congressional Research Service found flaws in keeping track of the size of Federal agencies, and noted that the Pentagon and Department of Homeland Security are having trouble recruiting and training cybersecurity professionals. […]
A new Federal agency is in the works to take over the security clearance process from the Office of Personnel Management, according to former intelligence officials with knowledge of the discussions. Word of the plan to create a new National Investigative Service Agency comes as security officials this week are scheduled to brief leaders of […]
So the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) admits it’s suffered what just might be the worst data breach in history, with some 4 million Federal employees’ personal data exposed, and China is once again to blame. […]