Cybersecurity

Here’s What OPM Told Congress the Last Time Hackers Breached its Networks

OPM CIO Donna Seymour told Congress in April that "culture and leadership" allowed the agency to thwart a 2014 cyberattack.

Cybersecurity

Hackers Observe Iran Nuke Talks and Stick Up NYC Bitcoin Owner

Just another week in ThreatWatch, our regularly updated index of noteworthy data breaches.

Cybersecurity

White House Tells Agencies to Tighten Up Cyber Defenses 'Immediately'

U.S. Chief Information Officer Tony Scott "recently launched" what officials are calling a 30-day cybersecurity sprint.

Cybersecurity

After OPM Debacle, Three-Step Biometric ID Checks Are Coming

Of the 24 major federal departments, OPM and 15 other agencies can log into government systems with only a username and password.

Cybersecurity

Whose Job Is On the Line After the OPM Hack?

With no single agency responsible for incident response, it's hard to hold anyone accountable for security lapses, former feds say.

Cybersecurity

It's Costing OPM $20 Million to Contact Hacked Feds

OPM issued a solicitation to identity theft protection companies a week before disclosing a hack that exposed private information on millions of current and former federal employees.

Cybersecurity

White House Orders All Federal Sites Go HTTPS By the End of 2016

Today, most of the federal government's roughly 1,200 websites use HTTP technology, which exposes website content, browser format, search terms and other user information to eavesdroppers.

Cybersecurity

Hackers Outwit Global Financial Body and Love Seeing ISIS in NYC

Just another week in ThreatWatch, our regularly updated index of noteworthy data breaches.

Cybersecurity

OPM Hackers Skirted Cutting-Edge Intrusion Detection System, Official Says

The technology, EINSTEIN 3, is not designed to catch malware never been seen before, experts say.

Cybersecurity

Watchdog Says Pentagon Needs to Crank Up ‘Insider Threat’ Monitoring

Only half of military components GAO reviewed have logged system and user behaviors to develop "a baseline of normal activity patterns."

Cybersecurity

After Breach, IRS Considers PINs for All Taxpayers

Currently, only a small portion of the taxpaying population is given the added protection of PIN number verification.

Cybersecurity

At IRS, Two-Factor Authentication Means Waiting For a Letter in Your Mailbox

IRS officials cautioned members of Congress that if they make the login process too difficult, users might become even more frustrated with the tax agency.

Cybersecurity

New Guidance Aims to Plug Peepholes in City Surveillance Systems

The preliminary guidelines address the personal data of individuals captured by traffic sensors, speed cameras and other Internet-connected government systems.

Digital Government

Cyber Command Says New Mega-Contract Will Be Out by Fall

The Pentagon last week abandoned a $475 million job posting for cyberattack and network defense experts.

Cybersecurity

Other Agencies Use Same Log-on Procedures as Exploited IRS Site

The IRS hack is raising questions about once tried-and-true identity-protection measures.

Cybersecurity

NSA Tests Out Smartphones that Recognize Handwriting Motion

The National Security Agency has tested the use of smartphone-swipe recognition technology, according to the tool’s manufacturer.

Cybersecurity

Pentagon Kills $475M Cyber Contract

The solicitation would have outsourced support for cyberspying and network attacks against foreigners, as well as the defense of military networks.

Cybersecurity

Hackers Scavenge CareFirst and Manipulate the Federal Reserve

Just another week in ThreatWatch, our regularly updated index of noteworthy data breaches.