Two House panels investigating the Equifax Inc. data breach are zeroing in on “technical and process” failures that led to the loss of personally identifiable information, including Social Security numbers, belonging to more than 145 million Americans, according to recently released documents. […]
Yesterday’s release of the FITARA Scorecard 5.0 did not look promising for Federal agencies. In today’s Oversight and Government Reform IT Subcommittee FITARA hearing, the committee shared their concerns and sought answers from agency officials testifying. […]
The Government Accountability Office found that 62 percent of major information technology software development investments were certified by the agency chief information officer for using adequate incremental development in fiscal year 2017. However, a number of responses for the remaining investments were incorrectly reported due to agency error. […]
The innovations of the Internet of Things can only improve health care in rural America once there is complete broadband access and adoption. “The benefits of telehealth are not available to patients without access to high-speed Internet across America. As technology and health care services expand to meet patients where they live, broadband coverage must improve to make this care accessible,” Michael Adcock, executive director of the Telehealth Center University of Mississippi Medical Center, told the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee. […]
The Department of Commerce has made strides to manage the IT costs and oversight of new systems before the 2020 Census, after reports of poor oversight and planning. A Government Accountability Office report, released in October, found that the Census Bureau faced challenges in managing and overseeing the IT programs, systems, and contracts supporting the 2020 Census. […]
Representatives from Facebook, Twitter, and Google told Congress on Oct. 31 that they’ve had to learn how to combat nontraditional cyberattacks, like the spread of disinformation, rather than focusing on malware attacks alone to protect consumers. […]
Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., told Attorney General Jeff Sessions on Oct. 18 that he has found it impossible to talk to anyone from the Department of Justice about cybersecurity legislation. Whitehouse said during a hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee that intelligence officials have told the committee that the election systems could be hacked by foreign actors. Whitehouse is interested in working with different agencies to develop legislation on cybersecurity. […]
The Government Accountability Office on Oct. 16 denied a bid protest filed by Equifax with the IRS. The bid protest is a result of Equifax losing a taxpayer identification and verification services contract with the IRS to rival consumer credit reporting agency Experian. With the denial, the IRS can now begin work with Experian on a one-year contract worth up to $795,000. […]
Senators in hearings this week denounced Equifax’s handling of the data breach that is now estimated to have affected 145 million Americans. Equifax Chairman and former CEO Richard Smith testified before the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs on Oct. 4. […]
Industry experts told Congress on Oct. 3 that regulations are necessary to secure the Internet of Things. “Is the industry doing enough to ensure the security of IoT devices?” Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., asked at the IT Subcommittee hearing on the Cybersecurity of IoT. […]
The State Department’s plan to fold the cyber office and position of cybersecurity coordinator into the bureau of business and economic affairs is just the beginning of a plan to elevate cybersecurity concerns within the department, according to Department of State Deputy Secretary John Sullivan. […]
As Federal agencies and the Office of Management and Budget work to develop reorganization plans as part of a March executive order, Congress needs to improve its oversight of those agencies, Sen. Heidi Heitkamp D-N.D., said at a Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee hearing. […]
The government needs to get tougher on financial institutions that endanger consumer data, as occurred in the recent Equifax breach, according to testimony at a Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee hearing. […]
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 Government Accountability Office found that the Office of Personnel Management’s cybersecurity posture is still lacking after the major hack of the agency in 2015. […]
The Government Accountability Office evaluated the advantages and disadvantages of the National Security Agency and Cyber Command’s dual-hat leadership system and found that the system causes tension between the two agencies due to competing interests. […]
Despite the relatively new nature of cyber insurance policies, small businesses are finding value in their offerings, according to witnesses who testified before the House Small Business Committee on July 26. “It affords me the knowledge that if we were hacked, protective steps have been taken to address any potential damages to the company and my employees,”said Robert Luft, president of SureFire Innovations. […]
Congress should focus on providing Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) with technology to patrol the border and detect illegal smuggling, rather than building a physical barrier across the whole southern U.S. border, according to Rep. Will Hurd, R-Texas. […]
State and Federal representatives testified to the need for a first responder-only network and offered their support of FirstNet’s efforts during a recent Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee hearing. […]
Representatives of the intelligence community said that they want the surveillance powers outlined in the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) to be renewed without amendment or sunset clause this year. […]
Former Federal Chief Information Security Officer retired Brig. Gen. Gregory Touhill called on Congress to formally authorize the Federal CISO position, so that his successor has the full authority to address the cybersecurity needs of the nation. […]
The Federal government currently lacks the empowered leadership necessary to address U.S. cyber vulnerabilities, according to former Federal experts testifying before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. “For the entire apparatus, there currently isn’t an empowered, either an individual or an agency, to do what I think is necessary,” said Samantha Ravich, senior adviser for the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and former national security adviser for Vice President Dick Cheney. […]
Only two Federal agencies, the departments of Commerce and Education, have created plans that address all four elements outlined by the Office of Management and Budget’s 10 year-old memorandum requiring agencies to reduce exposure of Social Security numbers. […]
Missouri National Guard Capt. Kevin Keeney called for Congress to write legislation funding a new uniformed service called U.S. Cyber and to consolidate all cyber personnel, equipment, and missions under it. […]
The U.S. government workforce is not prepared to deal with the kind of information warfare that Russia used to influence the 2016 presidential election and has continued to use in the elections of other nations, U.S. Cyber Command and NSA Chief Admiral Michael Rogers told members of the Senate Armed Services Committee. […]
After Russia’s success hacking the 2016 U.S. presidential election, the nation is likely to continue its cyberattacks toward congressional IT systems, according to testimony by former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper at a House Judiciary Committee hearing on Monday. […]
Jason Gray, chief information officer of Education, admitted at a House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform hearing that the agency should have informed Congress of the FAFSA breach at the same time it alerted the United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team and the inspector general. […]
China believes that the growing predominance of information technologies could provide them with an advantage in the global market, according to Dean Cheng, senior research fellow at the Asian Studies Center of the Heritage Foundation. […]
The Government Accountability Office issued a report that said that 26 agency inspectors general reported that their agencies faced challenges in meeting the deadline for DATA Act required information. […]
For IT acquisitions professionals in the Department of Defense, Buy American provisions can do far more harm than good, according to former DoD officials testifying in front of the House Armed Services Committee. […]