The U.S. Navy has awarded a contract worth $789 million to Accenture Federal Services to deliver defensive cyberspace operations analytics across Navy and Marine Corps networks. […]

Cyber diplomats from around the world voiced support for the U.S. State Department’s new international cybersecurity strategy unveiled during the RSA Conference in San Francisco this week. […]

A panel of cyber experts expressed their support this week for the most recent congressional effort to create national data privacy standards, but also voiced some criticisms of draft legislation released last month to push those proposed standards forward. […]

Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks is making changes to the Pentagon’s authority to operate (ATO) process, which many industry officials have argued hinders rapid technology and software innovation. […]

A total of 68 tech firms have signed onto the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency’s (CISA) Secure by Design pledge under which they will use best efforts over the next year to build better security into their products. […]

The White House’s Office of the National Cyber Director (ONCD) released a report today showing the United States’ cybersecurity posture has improved over the last year, driven by progress on the administration’s March 2023 National Cybersecurity Strategy (NCS). […]

Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Monday evening unveiled the Biden administration’s new international cybersecurity strategy, which focuses on building out digital solidarity with global partners to protect against adversaries like China. […]

The Federal government’s top intelligence official sounded the alarm last week about a daunting increase in cyberattacks in the last year, with the majority targeted at U.S. entities. […]

Department of Transportation (DoT) Secretary Pete Buttigieg always says that safety is the DoT’s “North Star.” According to the department’s top cyber and IT official, safety is no longer possible without cybersecurity. […]

NASA’s spacecraft development programs lack mandatory cybersecurity controls for acquisition policies and standards, placing the technology at risk of cyberattacks, the Federal government’s top watchdog said this week. […]

Agencies are drowning in cyber domain data, and when it comes to enabling rapid response, some of their biggest challenges include quality and accessibility of data, Federal defense and intelligence officials said this week. […]

Pro-Russia hacktivists are targeting and compromising small-scale operational technology (OT) systems in North American and European critical infrastructure sectors – including water and wastewater systems (WWS), dams, energy, and food and agriculture – according to a joint fact sheet released today by leading Federal cyber agencies. […]

Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) Director Jen Easterly told lawmakers on April 30 that the Biden administration’s fiscal year 2025 request for CISA will help fund agency activities in three key areas, including to fight malign Chinese cyber actors. […]

In March, MeriTalk recognized the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) at the annual FITARA Awards ceremony for winning in the “Most Improved” category. EPA’s Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) Tonya Manning told MeriTalk in an exclusive interview that the agency is keeping up the momentum by moving forward on several innovative cyber and IT projects – including AI implementation and supply chain cybersecurity.    […]

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) released its Cybersecurity Framework (CSF) 2.0 earlier this year, the first update since the original was released in 2014. The framework offers detailed guidance and recommendations on a wide range of cybersecurity topics, including the role of data backups in incident response and recovery plans. MeriTalk recently sat down with Travis Rosiek, public sector chief technology officer at Rubrik, to discuss the current threat landscape and the changes in the updated framework that help agencies and organizations plan for worst-case cyberattack scenarios. […]

New research from MeriTalk and RSA Conference reveals that while 80 percent of cybersecurity decision-makers say accelerating AI adoption is critical to their organization’s resilience against evolving threats, just 31 percent say their organization is using AI for cybersecurity today. […]

The Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) expects to roll out its Thunderdome program to 60 sites in fiscal year (FY) 2024 – thus far the agency has deployed the zero trust program to 23 sites, an agency spokesperson confirmed. […]

While a total ban on ransom payments to hackers remains “the ultimate goal” for cybersecurity experts, critical infrastructure organizations need stronger cybersecurity resilience before that happens, former acting National Cyber Director Kemba Walden told lawmakers on April 16. […]

The head of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) said today that the Federal government has a “powerful” ability to mandate security standards for software vendors through its procurement process. […]

A group of industry experts called on Congress this week to enforce minimum cybersecurity standards among healthcare organizations in light of the February ransomware attack on UnitedHealth subsidiary Change Healthcare. […]

As artificial intelligence technologies continue to rapidly evolve, Federal agencies are looking to upskill their AI workforce to keep pace with emerging cybersecurity threats. […]

The former policy lead for the Department of Defense (DoD) under President Barack Obama said Tuesday that while the Biden administration’s National Cybersecurity Strategy (NCS) calls for secure-by-design technology principles, the White House doesn’t actually have the authority to regulate that. […]

Former chief of the U.S. Fleet Cyber Command said today that the Federal government and industry must be prepared to work together in the face of adversarial attacks against U.S. critical infrastructure like the electric grid. […]

In the lead-up to the Adapt 2024 conference in Washington on April 16, we sat down with two senior Axonius Federal officials – Brian “Stretch” Meyer, Senior Director of Federal Engineering, and Kevin Jones, Senior Director of Federal Sales – to talk about how Federal agencies are grappling with zero trust security mandates, and how Axonius is helping them leapfrog some of the toughest obstacles to the goal of achieving better security. […]

Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., unveiled draft legislation on Monday that would require the Federal government to set new cybersecurity and interoperability standards for collaboration software such as Microsoft Teams, Slack, and Zoom. […]

How do Federal cyber practitioners adapt to an increasingly complex attack surface? Where do Federal security leaders turn to reimagine the future cyber landscapes? Find answers to both of those questions at Adapt 2024: Reimagining Our Federal Cyber Future – a one-day event that brings together IT, cybersecurity, and operations leaders to unpack the complex security challenges that face U.S. government agencies. […]

The time when Federal IT leaders can prioritize cybersecurity more than user experience (UX) is over, according to State Department Chief Information Officer (CIO) Kelly Fletcher. […]

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) published a new dedicated High-Risk Communities webpage today with a range of cybersecurity resources for civil society organizations and other high-risk communities. […]

The head of the State Department’s IT and cybersecurity efforts said today that it is her top priority to “improve user experience while making cybersecurity more robust.” […]

The Defense Department, General Services Administration, and NASA have issued a final rule amending the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to add the framework for a new FAR part 40 covering information security and supply chain security. […]