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NSF NSF Official: Sharing Data, Threat Intel Vital to Fighting Cyber Threats
Federal agencies are balancing evolving security requirements while defending against persistent threats, and the increased use of cyber threat intelligence and information sharing is helping government organizations make faster, more informed decisions to combat malicious activity, according to a National Science Foundation (NSF) technology official.
Recent News
  1. Emerging tech OMB’s Coleman Speaking on Workforce Policy May 24
    Pam Coleman, Associate Director Performance & Personnel Management at the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), will keynote a May 24 event organized by the Alliance for Digital Innovation (ADI) at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C.
  2. CIA Names Joseph Baich Chief Information Security Officer
    The Central Intelligence Agency has named Joseph “Rich” Baich as the agency’s new chief information security officer (CISO).
  3. Cyber Central: NSA Official Calls Intel Sharing a Matter of Trust
    Security information sharing between the Federal government and private sector has been on the rise recently – whether it’s through the Joint Cyber Defense Collaborative, or various Information Sharing and Analysis Centers across the government, to name just a few – and a National Security Agency (NSA) official said this week that increased collaboration is being driven by mission demand and a higher degree of trust between organizations.
  1. Air Force USAF Kessel Run Moves to Approve New Acquisition Strategy
    The United States Air Force’s (USAF) Kessel Run software factory has begun a new software acquisition strategy that consolidates 21 different programs under a single acquisition strategy, Kessel Run announced May 16.
  2. FedRAMP Feedback is ‘Critical’ as Acting FedRAMP Director Looks Ahead
    As Acting Director of FedRAMP Brian Conrad looks ahead to the program’s fiscal year (FY) 2022 goals, he said gathering feedback from stakeholders will play a “critical” role in improving the program going forward.
  3. IRS IRS Should Strengthen Tax Relief Compliance Efforts, GAO Says
    While the IRS complied with COVID-19 relief legislation to give tax breaks to employers who provided paid sick and family leave and retained employees, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) said in a new report that the tax agency could benefit from strengthening its compliance plans for those tax provisions.
  4. What Happened This Week – Ep. 66 MeriTalking: What Happened This Week – Ep. 66
    CISA issues emergency directive, DeRusha reports “tremendous progress” on cyber EO, MeriTalk publishes new research on CDM, and more.
  1. Federal CISO DeRusha Previews Coming Security Policy Pushes
    Chris DeRusha, who wears the dual hats of Federal Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) and Deputy National Cyber Director for Federal Cybersecurity in the Office of the National Cyber Director, charted some near-term policy goals on the security front during a keynote address on May 19 at MeriTalk’s Cyber Central May 2022 – Mission: Cyber Resilience in-person conference.
  2. Cyber Central: Agencies Need to Approach Zero Trust Strategically
    As President Biden’s cybersecurity executive order (EO) stretches past its first year, Federal agencies are at varied points in their progress on the EO’s orders. Federal leaders say it is important for agencies to approach the EO’s zero trust components strategically and understand their networks as they make the move to a zero trust architecture.
  3. Industry Cyber Experts Share Elements to Success in Zero Trust
    Implementing an effective zero trust architecture within an agency’s security framework has become pivotal to achieving cyber resiliency within the Federal government. But to be successful in the implementation of a zero trust architecture there are several elements agencies must keep in mind, according to several cyber experts.
  4. Witnesses ask for More Resources to Protect Schools, Hospitals Against Cyberattacks
    As the health care and education sectors have become prime targets for cyberattacks, experts from those sectors expressed their needs on May 18 for more funding and Federal collaboration to better protect the cyber posture of schools and hospitals.
  5. House Panel Approves Financial Sector Cyber Bill
    The House Committee on Financial Services on May 17 voted to approve an amended version of H.R.7022 – the Strengthening Cybersecurity for the Financial Sector Act of 2022 – and send the bill to the full House of Representatives for consideration.
  6. CISA Issues Advisory on Poor Security Configurations
    The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) on May 17 issued a new advisory highlighting how cyber threat-actors are exploiting poor security configurations.
  7. NASA Awards Booz Allen Hamilton $622M Cybersecurity Contract
    The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) awarded Booz Allen Hamilton a $622.5 million contract to provide Cybersecurity and Privacy Enterprise Solutions and Services (CyPrESS), NASA announced May 17. The contract will have Booz Allen Hamilton supporting NASA’s Office of the Chief Information Officer, providing CyPrESS and related services for the office. According to the release, the CyPrESS contract is the agency’s first enterprise cybersecurity and privacy services contract. The award is a hybrid indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity contract. The CyPrESS award will also consolidate the cybersecurity and privacy work done under previous enterprise IT contracts and various centers. The contract has a base period that will run from May 31, 2022, until Sept. 30, 2023, with four option periods that can extend the contract through Sept. 30, 2030.
  8. Air Force Data/AI Chief Lays Out Priorities, AI Enabling JADC2
    The Department of the Air Force is leveraging predictive analytics, machine learning, and artificial intelligence (AI) to ensure timely and relevant data is delivered to warfighters that  allows them to operate effectively in challenging and stressing operational environments, the service branch’s data and AI lead said.
  9. FCC Commits Another $50 Million to ECF Program
    The Federal Communications Commission on May 17 committed another $50 million to the Emergency Connectivity Funding (ECF) program to help schools expand broadband access and purchase of devices for students – moves that the agency hopes will help close the “homework gap” for students that don’t have access to reliable broadband service and devices.
  10. Event Logging Requirements Give Agencies Opportunity to Rethink Cybersecurity
    Recently MeriTalk sat down with Monzy Merza, vice president of cybersecurity go-to-market at Databricks, a data and artificial intelligence (AI) company that offers the first and only lakehouse platform in the cloud. Merza chatted about the implications and opportunities with M-21-31 and offered insights for successfully meeting its mandates.