Cybersecurity

Big Tech Tells CISA to Exempt Third-Party Providers from Incident Reporting Rule

Major industry groups clashed on how CISA should define key terms in its rulemaking process to implement the federal incident reporting law.

Cybersecurity

Iranian Hackers Compromised a Federal Agency’s Network, CISA and FBI Say

Actors linked with the Iranian government were able to exploit an unpatched Log4Shell vulnerability—which the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency asked agencies to address by the end of 2021—in an unnamed agency’s network.

Cybersecurity

DOD Must Enhance Cyber Incident Reporting and Sharing, Watchdog Says

The Government Accountability Office found that the Pentagon “lacks an accountable organization and consistent guidance” for documenting and sharing details about reported cyber incidents.

Cybersecurity

China’s Cyber Capabilities ‘Pose a Serious Threat’ to US, Advisory Panel Warns

The panel’s report also called for the Biden administration to consider revoking China’s status as a favored trading partner if a congressional review finds that Beijing is not complying with its commitments.

Cybersecurity

NIST Official Warns Against Device-only Approach to Securing IoT

Federal agencies’ implementation of NIST’s guidelines on the issue—under direction from Congress—is coinciding with industry resistance to the comprehensive approach stakeholders agree is necessary.

Cybersecurity

No ‘Specific or Credible’ Cyber Threats Affected Integrity of Midterms, CISA Says

Despite “a handful” of DDoS attacks targeting state and local election websites and some technical glitches affecting voting equipment, CISA says it saw “no activity” that should undermine faith in the results of the midterm elections.

Cybersecurity

CISA Leaning Toward Lower Threshold for Mandatory Cyber Incident Reporting

The agency has started to receive feedback from some key stakeholders for its rulemaking process on the issue.

Cybersecurity

Russia Linked to Nearly 75% of Late 2021 Ransomware Attacks, Per Analysis

The analyzed ransomware variants—from July to December 2021—amounted to millions of dollars in damages.

Cybersecurity

Public Entities in Nearly Every State Use Federally-Banned Foreign Tech, Report Says

A new report from Georgetown University’s Center for Security and Emerging Technology found that at least 1,681 state and local governments purchased equipment from five Chinese companies that were banned by the federal government between 2015 and 2021.

Cybersecurity

Lessons from China’s Cyberattack Strategy Can Help CISOs Better Manage Threats, Report Says

A new report from Booz Allen Hamilton analyzed more than a dozen Chinese-sponsored cyberattacks over the past decade.

Cybersecurity

GAO: Communication Breakdowns Hurt Otherwise Positive View of Federal Ransomware Support

State, local, tribal and territorial governments have “generally positive views” of agencies’ ransomware assistance, but cited “inconsistent communication” from the FBI as a challenge.

Cybersecurity

Senators’ Plan to Secure Open Source Software Involves Agencies Using More of It

The discovery of exploitable weaknesses in Log4j is resurfacing a 6-year-old push to save taxpayers money by calling on agencies to embrace open-source code.

Cybersecurity

Senate Legislation to Secure Open Source Software Relies on Transparency Initiative

Success would depend to a significant degree on whether agencies require vendors of information and communications technology to provide a software bill of materials with their products and services.

Cybersecurity

Over Half of Operating Systems at VA Medical Center in Texas are Outdated, Watchdog Finds

An audit conducted by the VA’s Office of Inspector General found unaddressed security vulnerabilities and deficient devices at the Harlingen VA Health Care Center.

Cybersecurity

CISA, NSA Guidance Tries to Reduce Alternatives for Securing Industrial Control Systems

Policymakers in Congress and the administration are grappling with how to set a performance bar for companies' mitigation of cyber threats against critical infrastructure they own, while allowing flexibility the companies say is needed to run their operations.

Cybersecurity

DOD’s Digital Threats Are Increasingly Interconnecting, Watchdog Warns

GAO identified six areas that require more oversight, as Defense warfighting operations and national security increasingly hinge on data security.

Cybersecurity

Whole-of-Government Effort Targets Iranian Hackers

An unsealed indictment from the Department of Justice accompanied  sanctions and an advisory with international allies warning against government-linked Iranian hackers.

Digital Government

US Trails China in Key Tech Areas, New Report Warns

Ex-Google, DOD leaders paint dire picture unless U.S. organizes to win technology races.

Cybersecurity

A Cyber Workforce Strategy is Coming From the White House, Along with an Implementation Body to Make Sure it Works

The Office of the National Cyber Director has a workforce plan in development that looks to address public sector and private sector gaps in the cybersecurity profession.