Defense Systems
White House plans executive action in response to massive breach
In the wake of a wide-ranging hack involving SolarWinds IT management software and other commercial products, the White House is planning executive action to address cybersecurity gaps.
Defense Systems
Tech exec to Congress: Supply chain hack took 1,000 engineers
The scope and scale of the attack as described by Microsoft President Brad Smith is in keeping with the attribution being made by public sector and private sector officials that the hack was perpetrated by Russian-sponsored actors.
Defense Systems
CISA looks inward to stop future supply chain attacks
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency is exploring ways to better monitor internal systems’ communications for suspicious signals.
Defense Systems
Biden pledges international cooperation on cyber in speech
Biden addressed the global security forum for the first time as president last week when he called for the United States to cooperate with European allies on establishing cyberspace norms.
Policy
Should the Pentagon Reform Its Bid-Protest Rules?
Microsoft's president told senators yes, but bid protests hit a 10-year low last year.
Defense Systems
Crowdstrike: Pandemic drove 2020 uptick in cyberattacks
The company's new report highlights the threats facing healthcare institutions by both criminal and nation state-backed actors.
Policy
White House Prepping Multi-Part Executive Order on SolarWinds Hack
The official leading the effort said changes are necessary to improve information sharing within the federal government.
Defense Systems
Expect more nation-state cyberattacks, Krebs says
Attacks from China, Russia, Iran and North Korea will likely continue “until the leadership has decided that it cannot tolerate further behavior," former CISA Director Chris Krebs told the House Homeland Security Committee.
Defense Systems
Pentagon watchdog flags cyber issues in DEOS, JRSS
The Defense Department's testing and evaluation body has serious cybersecurity concerns when it comes to using commercial cloud offerings and the embattled Joint Regional Security Stacks effort.
Defense Systems
Key weapons programs need new cyber requirements, IG finds
The Pentagon's watchdog says the five weapons programs it audited have been updating cybersecurity requirements to defend against identified threats.
Defense Systems
DOD eyes CMMC-FedRAMP reciprocity by end of FY 2021
The Defense Department is working with the General Services Administration to work out reciprocity between the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification program and the Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program.
Science & Tech
Sensors That Track Earthquakes Are Hackable, Researchers Find
A Greek team found they could interrupt and even falsify data.
Defense Systems
Biden taps former NSA cyber director to lead SolarWinds response
The lawmakers had sent a letter to the White House earlier this week urging President Joe Biden to select one official to oversee the federal government’s response to the breach.
Ideas
We Must Reorient US Cyber Strategy Around the Only Safe Assumption
We should assume adversaries are already in our networks — and Congress should take these five steps to mitigate the damage.
Defense Systems
Space Force begins onboarding cyber specialists
The U.S. Space Force has begun transferring more than a thousand cyber professionals into its ranks as of Feb. 1 with plans to start recruiting talent for multiple career fields from across the military branches this year.
Defense Systems
Lawmakers demand accountability for 'disjointed' SolarWinds response
The two leaders of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence say the government's response to the hack so far has been "disjointed and disorganized."
Defense Systems
NIST posts enhanced requirements for protecting CUI
The National Institute of Standards and Technology has published requirements that can help organizations protect controlled unclassified information against nation-state backed threats.
Defense Systems
New risks threaten defense industry's cybersecurity, report claims
Newly reported cybersecurity vulnerabilities inched past 17,000 in 2020, signaling worsening security in the defense industrial base, according to a National Defense Industry Association report.
Defense Systems
HASC adds cybersecurity subcommittee
Rep. Jim Langevin (D-R.I.) will chair a new subcommittee of the House Armed Services Committee focused on cybersecurity, emerging tech and information systems.
Defense Systems