Cybersecurity

Obama’s 2017 Budget Boosts Cyber Spending by 35 Percent, Adds Federal CISO

The funding and personnel adjustments come after a year of constant disclosures about agency hacks.

Emerging Tech

Speed Dialer Aims to Profit off IRS' Terrible Customer Service

Software helps route paying customer to a breathing person within 1 to 6 minutes at an IRS call center notorious for its lengthy hold times.

Cybersecurity

OPM Head Pledges to Help Resolve Mystery Over Who Spotted the Big Breach

OPM has maintained that agency employees uncovered the intrusion last spring while fortifying the agency's IT environment.

Cybersecurity

Oversight Committee Chair Subpoenas OPM Director for Hack Documents

At a Jan. 7 Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing, Chairman Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, grilled OPM officials about binders' worth of redacted papers.

Cybersecurity

Could a More Secure Online Browser Protect Background Check Hack Victims?

Richard “Hollis” Helms, a 45-year-veteran of the intelligence community, has a tool he says might stem the potential bleeding of national secrets.

Cybersecurity

DHS-Supported Scans of Private Networks Prompt Suspicions of Domestic Surveillance

Under the "Enhanced Cybersecurity Services" program, DHS feeds government intelligence about network threats to approved Internet Service Providers so they can immunize corporate subscribers.

Cybersecurity

DHS Chief Defends $6 Billion Federal Firewall after Stinging Audit

"The EINSTEIN system is not a silver bullet," said Jeh Johnson. "It does not stop all attacks, nor is it intended to do so. It is part of a broader array of defenses."

Cybersecurity

DHS $6 Billion Firewall May Not Be Effective In Keeping Hackers Out of Government, Audit Says

EINSTEIN does not scan for 94 percent of commonly known vulnerabilities or check Web traffic for malicious content.

Cybersecurity

What Does the Chemical Safety Board Have in Common with OPM and Target?

The board does not keep track of computer systems it has outsourced to contractors, which could jeopardize information confidentiality.

Cybersecurity

Who’s Worried About the 96 Percent Retention Rate at NSA?

With such low turnover, Silicon Valley and other parts of the private sector might outperform NSA in snapping up fresh talent.

Cybersecurity

Oversight Lawmakers Probe Extent of Juniper Hack Across Federal Government

Last month, the company announced the discovery of unauthorized code in its technology.

Cybersecurity

TurboTax, H&R Block and TaxAct all Use This Security Feature. Why Doesn’t the IRS?

The Internal Revenue Service is not keeping pace with modern hacking, according to agency watchdogs.

Cybersecurity

NSA Director: Expect More Hacks As Big As the OPM Heist

To protect itself, the Defense Department is itemizing the military's stored away files and re-examining how they are secured, NSA and Cyber Command leader and Adm. Mike Rogers said.

Cybersecurity

Here’s the Pentagon Policy for Going Undercover in Cyberspace

Most of the directions for this sly approach to cozying up with the enemy for information extraction are redacted, but the glossary offers some understanding of the tactics in play.

Cybersecurity

Hackers Breach Oregon Refuge Employee Data and Dump Car Breathalyzer’s Source Code

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

Cybersecurity

US Hiring Researchers to See if China’s Military Robots Originate from Hacked Designs

The feds want to know if hacked trade secrets are aiding the rise of an army of Chinese bots.

Digital Government

Number of Deaths in Police Custody Higher than Media Reports: DOJ Data

The story of police brutality has been missing one data point – a federal accounting of the problem.