DHS News 
Top News
- OMB reworking financial system requirements to focus on outcomes, not inputs
- Hagel: Accountability breakdown a leading factor in sexual assaults
- PHOTOS: Meet the 2013 Service to America Medal Finalists
- Lew taps government retiree pension fund
- More Obama aides knew of IRS audit; Obama not told
- Former IRS commissioner heads to Hill amid scandal
- Next-gen Apple devices cleared to join Defense IT networks
- In fight over intelligence IT system, Army prioritizes access to data
- DoD upends slow approval process for mobile devices
- Bonuses to senior execs under fire at GSA, other agencies
- VA's Gould moves the needle on many of VA's toughest challenges
- White House wants to root out copycat programs - starting with STEM
- Hagel makes 'difficult choice,' civilian furloughs to begin July 8
Cyber bill tracker
The pressing need for cybersecurity legislation has led to widely divergent paths in the House and Senate. The House has opted for a more incremental approach, while the Senate has crafted comprehensive legislation
DHS gets serious about continuous network monitoring
Homeland Security is getting serious about making sure all federal agencies get on board with continuous network monitoring. Keeping a vigilant eye out is the best way to fend off cyber attacks, DHS officials say.
DHS hires DoD expert to coordinate interagency cyber efforts
Rosemary Wenchel is the new deputy assistant secretary for cybersecurity coordination at DHS. She replaces Adm. Mike Brown, who retired in January.
House bill extends TSA intel sharing to mass transit
The Transportation Security Administration already shares intelligence it collects with airports. Now a House bill would expand TSA's intel sharing to local mass transit systems as well.
Coast Guard contract officer sentenced in $150K fraud case
Lt. Danielle Daniese Ferreira, 36, of Alexandria, Va., pleaded guilty to obtaining thousands of dollars from Coast Guard repair contracts that she oversaw. Her co-defendants channeled money into two accounts owned by Ferreira and her spouse.
Agencies struggle to grasp mobile cybersecurity
NIST, DHS experts say protecting smartphones and tablets shouldn't be any different than securing typical desktop or laptop computers. DHS will release mobile security reference architecture to help agencies understand common concepts. NIST is updating security control guide with 250 new requirements, including mobile controls.
Agencies with virtualized computer systems open to cyber attacks
Federal agencies running virtualized computer systems might be vulnerable to a new cyber attack. The warning comes from the U.S. Computer Emergency Readiness Team.
DHS improving aim to stop counterfeits at the borders
The Homeland Security Department is taking a two-pronged approach to protecting the federal supply chain. The first addresses the DHS mission cargo crossing into the U.S. The second is an interagency effort to ensure the government is working together on investigations. DHS said seizures of counterfeit goods at the border increased by 20 percent in 2011.
DHS demos cyber attack to help sway lawmakers to pass a cyber bill
The Homeland Security Department showed lawmakers and staff how easy it is to create a spear phishing attack against a federal employee using free, open-source tools. The agency also said the Einstein 3 program is under development and will rely on vendors to provide intrusion prevention services. Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) said he expects the cyber bill to go to the Senate floor for debate no later than July.
Cyber legislation stuck in stalemate
Two competing bills disagree over how much Homeland Security should dictate cyber standards to the private sector.
DHS creates task force to develop cyber workforce
The Homeland Security Department has created a task force to develop future workers. It will consider expanding DHS' involvement in cyber competitions and university programs, enhancing public-private partnerships and working with other agencies.
Agencies sitting on $70B in unspent funds, report finds
A congressional report released today outlines $70 billion of unspent federal dollars that could have helped disaster victims, spurred highway construction and fund education programs.
House Homeland Security bill denies civilian pay raise
The White House has threatened to veto a House bill providing funding for the Homeland Security Department, taking issue with many of the bill's provisions, including a denial of a civilian pay raise. The committee bill also doesn't include any new funding for the agency's data-center consolidation efforts or construction for its new headquarters.
FedRAMP begins review process of vendors' cybersecurity in the cloud
The program launches initial operating capability today. GSA expects the first set of provisionally approved cloud service providers to be ready in December. In the meantime, agencies are holding vendors accountable for coming very close to FedRAMP standards.
Risks of boomerangs a reality in world of cyberwar
The Obama administration is warning American businesses about an unusually potent computer virus that infected Iran's oil industry even as suspicions persist that the United States is responsible for secretly creating and unleashing cyberweapons against foreign countries.
Federal Drive interviews -- June 1
Jeff Orner, chief administrative officer at the Department of Homeland Security, talks about a teleworking award his office recently received. Sopen Shah, a defense analyst with Bloomberg Government, discusses a new report on federal contracting. Ed Zurndorfer, registered employee benefits consultant, explains what phased retirement could mean for feds. University of Baltimore law professor Richard Loeb discusses the backlog at the Defense Contract Audit Agency.
OMB alumni to suggest revisions to cyber section of A-130
The group will create a white paper with recommendations this summer to modernize the 10-year-old policy. Among the areas they are looking at are continuous monitoring, cloud computing, shared services and the definition of a system. Updating A-130 will help agencies move from a 'checklist' mode to monitoring systems in real time for threats and vulnerabilities, said Frank Reeder, a former OMB official.
White House, DHS, Commerce release cyber 'code of conduct'
The Industry Botnet Group — coordinated by the White House Cybersecurity Office and the Departments of Commerce and Homeland Security — has posted nine principles, including coordination of cyber responsibilities across sectors and reporting lessons learned.
EXCLUSIVE: Ozment rejoins White House as senior director for cyber
Andy Ozment returns to work with new cyber coordinator Michael Daniel. Ozment worked at DHS for the last year as director for compliance and technology.
DHS underscores efforts to battle corruption
The Customs and Border Protection directorate wants to weed out agents who "go bad" years into their careers, using more lie detector tests. Background checks at the Transportation Security Administration have kept more than 5,000 potentially bad actors from joining the TSA workforce. At Immigration and Customs Enforcement, leaders emphasize the importance of employee outreach and education to prevent corruption.
