Annual Report to Congress, February 27, 2015: “As cyber threats continue to evolve, the Federal Government is embarking on a number of initiatives to protect Federal information and assets and improve the resilience of Federal networks. OMB, in coordination with its partners at the National Security Council (NSC), the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and… Continue Reading
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GAO Report – Federal Facility Cybersecurity
Federal Facility Cybersecurity: DHS and GSA Should Address Cyber Risk to Building and Access Control Systems, GAO-15-6: Published: Dec 12, 2014. Publicly Released: Jan 12, 2015: “The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has taken preliminary steps to begin to understand the cyber risk to building and access controls systems in federal facilities. For example, in 2013,… Continue Reading
Prying Eyes: Inside the NSA’s War on Internet Security
By SPIEGEL Staff: “…Software giant Microsoft, which acquired Skype in 2011, said in a statement: “We will not provide governments with direct or unfettered access to customer data or encryption keys.” The NSA had been monitoring Skype even before that, but since February 2011, the service has been under order from the secret US Foreign… Continue Reading
National Archives Information Security Oversight Office Report to the President 2013
“This report provides statistics and analysis of the system of classification and declassification based on ISOO’s review of Departments’ and Agencies’ programs. It also contains the status of agency self-assessment reporting, the cost of security classification activity, and the National Industrial Security Program. I have also incorporated the required annual report on the development of the Controlled Unclassified… Continue Reading
Department of Homeland Security Privacy Office 2014 Annual Report to Congress
“The Department of Homeland Security (DHS or Department) Privacy Office is the first statutorily created privacy office in any federal agency, as set forth in Section 222 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002, as amended. The mission of the Privacy Office is to protect all individuals by embedding and enforcing privacy protections and transparency in… Continue Reading
Taking Steps to Improve Federal Information Security
Beth Cobert, Deputy Director for Management at the Office of Management and Budget “In a rapidly changing technological environment, we must have robust procedures, policies, and systems in place to protect our nation’s most sensitive information. Growing cybersecurity threats make it ever more important for the Federal government to maintain comprehensive information security controls to assess… Continue Reading
A Public Accountability Defense for National Security Leakers and Whistleblowers
A Public Accountability Defense for National Security Leakers and Whistleblowers, Yochai Benkler. The Harvard Law & Policy Review, Vol 8 No 2. July 2014. “In June 2013 Glenn Greenwald, Laura Poitras, and Barton Gellman began to publish stories in The Guardian and The Washington Post based on arguably the most significant national security leak in American history. By leaking… Continue Reading
Surveillance Costs: The NSA’s Impact on the Economy, Internet Freedom & Cybersecurity
New America Foundation – “It has been over a year since The Guardian reported the first story on the National Security Agency’s surveillance programs based on the leaks from former NSA contractor Edward Snowden, yet the national conversation remains largely mired in a simplistic debate over the tradeoffs between national security and individual privacy. It is time… Continue Reading
New GAO Reports – FDIC Information Security, Missile Defense, National Nuclear Security Administration
INFORMATION SECURITY: FDIC Made Progress in Securing Key Financial Systems, but Weaknesses Remain, GAO-14-674: Published: Jul 17, 2014. Publicly Released: Jul 17, 2014. MISSILE DEFENSE: DOD’s Report Provides Limited Insight on Improvements to Homeland Missile Defense and Acquisition Plans, GAO-14-626R: Published: Jul 17, 2014. Publicly Released: Jul 17, 2014. NATIONAL NUCLEAR SECURITY ADMINISTRATION: Agency Expanded Use of Some Federal Oversight Reforms, but… Continue Reading
EPIC v. NSA: EPIC Obtains Presidential Directive for Cybersecurity
EPIC – After almost five years, EPIC has obtained National Security Presidential Directive 54. The previously classified Presidential Directive contains the full text of the Comprehensive National Cybersecurity Initiative and “establishes United States policy, strategy, guidelines, and implementation actions to secure cyberspace.” This Directive, which is the foundational legal document for all cybersecurity policies in the… Continue Reading
New GAO Reports – Biological Defense, Export Controls, Int’l Labor Grants, National Nuclear Security, VA Health Care
BIOLOGICAL DEFENSE: DOD Has Strengthened Coordination on Medical Countermeasures but Can Improve Its Process for Threat Prioritization, GAO-14-442: Published: May 15, 2014. Publicly Released: May 15, 2014. EXPORT CONTROLS: NASA Management Action and Improved Oversight Needed to Reduce the Risk of Unauthorized Access to Its Technologies, GAO-14-315: Published: Apr 15, 2014. Publicly Released: May 15, 2014. FINANCIAL AUDIT: Congressional Award Foundation’s Fiscal… Continue Reading
Biggest EU cyber security exercise to date
“Today, 28 April 2014, European countries kick off the Cyber Europe 2014 (CE2014). CE2014 is a highly sophisticated cyber exercise, involving more than 600 security actors across Europe. More than 200 organisations and 400 cyber-security professionals across Europe join forces today during the first phase of ENISA’s bi-annual large scale cyber security exercise, Cyber Europe 2014.… Continue Reading
