Cybersecurity

VA is warning veterans about Change Healthcare cyberattack, secretary says

“There’s no confirmation yet” that veterans’ data was leaked by the ransomware attack, according to the VA secretary, but the department is proactively alerting millions of veterans and beneficiaries to be safe. 

Cybersecurity

Change Healthcare attack did not result in harm to veteran care, VA says

The Department of Veterans Affairs said the ransomware attack impacted just over 40,000 veterans’ prescription orders but that it moved to quickly fill the requests.

Cybersecurity

CISA to issue list of software products critical to agency security by end of September

The software offerings are crucial for federal cybersecurity because of certain privileges and controls they enable, as defined by NIST.

Cybersecurity

House passes bill barring spy agencies, law enforcement from buying Americans’ personal data

The measure doesn’t have support from the Biden administration, which argues it threatens national security and worsens Americans’ privacy protections.

Cybersecurity

Russian hackers breached, sabotaged Texas water treatment plant, cyber firm says

If confirmed by U.S. officials, it would add Moscow to the list of American adversaries that have infiltrated water infrastructure in the past year.

Cybersecurity

Hackers tried to breach, disable widely used open-source Java tools, groups warn

The alert comes just after a possible nation state entity attempted to hijack an open-source Linux tool last month.

Cybersecurity

New bill would create a governing body for water system cyber standards

The legislation comes after the Biden administration rescinded a memorandum that would have tied water sector cyber reviews to existing sanitation surveys.

Cybersecurity

HHS removed Login from its grantee payment system after funding theft

Hackers used data from a federal contracting hub to steal funding from seven grantee organizations in an HHS breach that occurred last year. Both HHS and GSA say that Login.gov was not compromised or connected to the theft.

Cybersecurity

Russian hackers accessed U.S. government emails in Microsoft breach, CISA says

The alert comes a week after Microsoft was faulted in a DHS report for fostering a security culture that enabled a similar China-backed cyberattack last year.

Exclusive Cybersecurity

Some Volt Typhoon victims ‘won’t know they’re impacted,’ Mandiant CEO says

The efforts of the Beijing-linked Volt Typhoon hacking group represent the “natural progression” of Chinese espionage, according to Kevin Mandia.

Cybersecurity

CISA alerts Sisense breach that possibly exposed customer data

An internal company note appears to show some firm info may have been exfiltrated.

Cybersecurity

Congress tries again for comprehensive data privacy bill

The bill would establish national data privacy standards, with the Federal Trade Commission crafting rules for enforcement.

Cybersecurity

China-backed operatives used fake social profiles to gauge US political division, Microsoft says

Some of the fake accounts used AI-generated images, and have doubled or tripled their followers since being detected, the company told Nextgov/FCW.

Cybersecurity

Linux backdoor was a long con, possibly with nation-state support, experts say

If the XZ Utils vulnerability hadn’t been caught in time, hackers would have had a “skeleton key to the world,” one analyst told Nextgov/FCW.

Cybersecurity

Return of net neutrality will hamstring some foreign broadband firms, FCC official says

The reclassification of broadband as a Title II service will give the Federal Communications Commission new power over internet service providers, and the agency says it will be a boon to U.S. network security.

Cybersecurity

Microsoft at fault for ‘avoidable errors’ leading to Chinese email hack last year, DHS group finds

The company’s cybersecurity culture contributed to an environment that enabled the incident, according to the findings.