Legislation reintroduced by House lawmakers would give K-12 institutions federal support to thwart cyberattacks, which have become rampant amid the COVID-19 crisis. If signed into law, the Enhancing K-12 Cybersecurity Act would appropriate $20 million over the next two years to support a K-12 Cybersecurity Technology Improvement Program. Headed by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security […]
Federal government agencies need to completely transition to Internet Protocol version 6 before they can achieve zero trust security, a top technology official said. Agencies currently use a dual-stack configuration that runs IPv6 alongside the outdated but widely used IPv4 address protocol. Deputy Federal Chief Information Officer Maria Roat, a 2020 Wash100 winner, said that […]
Chris Inglis has been formally appointed as the country’s first national cyber director after receiving confirmation from the Senate. Inglis is expected to lead the government’s response to cybersecurity threats and the execution of critical cyber policy and strategy, CyberScoop reported. He will serve as the head of the newly established Office of the National […]
Three senators have proposed a new bill imposing stricter penalties for cyberattacks against critical infrastructure. The International Cybercrime Prevention Act, put forward by Sens. Sheldon Whitehouse, Lindsey Graham and Richard Blumenthal, would authorize law enforcers to seize funds generated from the sale of spyware, as well as equipment used for hacking campaigns and ransomware attacks. […]
Federal Chief Information Security Officer Chris DeRusha said a whole-of-government approach will be implemented in creating the new governmentwide cybersecurity guidelines required under President Joe Biden’s recent executive order. Speaking at a CyberScoop-hosted event, DeRusha assured that federal CISOs and chief information officers from all agencies will be involved in drafting every aspect of the […]
The Transportation Security Administration is developing a second security directive focusing on requirements for pipeline cybersecurity mitigation measures. Sonya Proctor, the TSA’s assistant administrator for surface operations, testified before two subcommittees of the House Homeland Security Committee on Tuesday. Proctor noted that the new directive will be a security-sensitive information document and will prescribe mitigation […]
Kratos Defense & Security Solutions has been accredited as a certified third party assessment organization under the Department of Defense’s Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification program. The company is now awaiting the completion of preparatory and authorization steps to be cleared to perform assessments on defense contractors seeking compliance with the first three CMMC levels. The […]
Homeland security officials have stressed the importance of supply chain security amid the federal government’s increasing adoption of 5G-enabled technologies. Serena Reynolds, leader of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency’s 5G initiatives, said the government and its contractors should educate themselves on the dangers of untrusted vendors, GovernmentCIO Media & Research reported. One official at […]
Army researchers have developed a software tool designed to help cybersecurity analysts identify the best course of action in near real time. The repeatable experimentation system uses virtualization and simulation techniques to assess the viability of cybersecurity algorithms in various situations. RES runs multiple virtual experiments in parallel and packages their results for other researchers […]
Tech consulting firm Customer Value Partners has received a spot on the National Institutes of Health’s multiple-award Risk Management Framework blanket purchase agreement. Under the terms of the five-year, $86 million BPA, the Virginia-based company will provide cybersecurity risk management and authority to operate services across the NIH’s 27 institutes and centers. Services may be […]
