Cybersecurity

Justice official: Info sharing is the best revenge

Cybersecurity officials from Homeland Security and Justice urged continued collaboration to keep growing cyberattacks at bay.

Digital Government

Why law enforcement agencies need to share data

Getting tools and organizations alike to share standardized data is crucial as ever-more data overwhelms law enforcement.

Cybersecurity

Agencies unveil plan to encourage development of smart gun technology

New report outlines a strategy to encourage the development and use of smart gun technology by government, with the goal of reducing gun violence.

Digital Government

DOJ wants a picture of the body-cam market

Seeking to update its market survey, the Justice Department wants to hear what body-cam vendors have to offer.

Cybersecurity

DHS: Over 300 incidents of ransomware on federal networks since June

Two prominent senators had asked the departments of Justice and Homeland Security about the spread of ransomware, which encrypts a computer user’s data until hackers are paid off, usually in the form of a difficult-to-trace crypto-currency.

Cybersecurity

DOJ indicts 7 Iranians for hacking U.S. dam, banks

The Justice Department on March 24 indicted seven hackers associated with the Iranian government for infiltrating systems controlling a New York dam, and attacking several U.S. banks.

Cybersecurity

Chinese national pleads guilty to hacking U.S. contractors

The episode is a reminder of the Pentagon’s ongoing struggle to keep defense secrets out of the hands of foreign hackers.

Cybersecurity

DOJ charges three Syrian Electronic Army hackers

Three current or former members of the Syrian Electronic Army were charged with myriad computer hacking conspiracies, and the FBI is offering a $100,000 reward for information that leads to their arrest, according to court documents unsealed March 22.

Digital Government

FOIA bill includes governmentwide online portal

Under the Senate-passed FOIA Improvement Act of 2015, OMB would take the lead in creating a one-stop online portal for FOIA requests across the federal government.

Cybersecurity

Study names countries most vulnerable to cyberattacks

In a new study, the U.S. ranks 10th among 44 countries most vulnerable to a cyberattack, and a former top Justice official said companies need to focus on resiliency.

Cybersecurity

DOJ official, former counterterror czar spar over Apple

The court order is a dangerous effort to compel speech in the form of writing software code, said Richard Clarke, a former White House counterterrorism adviser.

Cybersecurity

Lawmakers seek controls for access to geolocation data

The Department of Justice is resisting calls from some members of Congress to use warrants to access historical geolocation data.

Cybersecurity

DOJ, DHS grapple with FITARA

In little noticed "common baseline" documents, two large, federated agencies with law enforcement duties show how they will implement new IT procurement rules.

Cybersecurity

FBI budget calls for doubling of 'Going Dark' funding

The FBI’s fiscal 2017 request includes $69.3 million to address the challenge that end-to-end encryption and Web anonymity pose to law enforcement -- more than double its request from fiscal 2016.

Cybersecurity

Former DOE employee pleads guilty to attempted spear-phishing

Charles Harvey Eccleston, who was fired by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in 2010, offered to sell a list of 5,000 email addresses of purported NRC employees to undercover FBI agents posing as representatives of a foreign government, the DOJ statement said.

Cybersecurity

Justice seeking access to encrypted communications

Law enforcement agencies remain concerned that strong encryption of everyday electronic communications is hampering criminal investigations and prosecutions, a top Justice official said.

Digital Government

Government data is 'weird'

The mandated dive into government data is revealing surprising value to agencies, but it comes with rigorous reporting that runs deeper than a typical audit.

Digital Government

Obama leans on tech in gun control action

President Barack Obama's executive actions to tighten national gun control include efforts to bolster FBI and ATF databases, as well as spur research and development of safe gun technology.

Digital Government

Are agencies listening to their watchdogs?

Lawmakers quiz oversight officials about why agencies aren't taking their advice.

Cybersecurity

Cyber sharing with industry improving, DOJ says

The Justice Department is trying to send threat information back to breach victims as an investigation progresses, according to a top cybersecurity official at the agency.