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In the digital age, cyber-attacks on federal networks and critical infrastructure threaten core functions of the government and stability of the economy. In order to protect and defend against attacks on critical services, federal agencies often need to act and react quickly, creatively, and with agility. In order to achieve these ideals, proactively maintain federal network security, and quickly resolve known issues, CISA releases binding and time sensitive emergency directives. Complying with these directives is necessary to protect agencies from attacks and exploitation, but they can often present various implementation challenges. Join GovExec TV as we talk with federal IT security experts on how agencies can overcome challenges to implementation and respond quickly to these emergency directives by understanding vulnerabilities, utilizing agile systems, and understanding how to navigate the federal budget.

Government agencies have become prime targets for cyberattacks. To combat this issue, the federal government has announced a $1 billion investment that will help fund a cyber grant program specifically for state, local and territorial governments across the U.S. But with so many solutions available for enhancing cybersecurity systems, it can still be difficult to know the best place to start. One area ripe for innovation is data security. The Zero Trust data security framework has gained prominence as a viable defense against ransomware. With state and local governments increasingly becoming ransomware targets, it makes sense for agencies to begin enhancing their cybersecurity defense with Zero Trust data security solutions.

In 2018 the Trump-era OFCCP began issuing policy changes that provide indications how the agency is changing its enforcement approach and where the agency is headed. This year the OFCCP issued nine directives that will guide the agency’s enforcement agenda and provide guidance on how the agency interacts with contractors.

NCCIC will conduct a series of webinars on Russian government cyber activity against critical infrastructure (as detailed in NCCIC Alert TA18-074A), which will feature NCCIC subject matter experts discussing recent cybersecurity incidents, mitigation techniques, and resources that are available to help protect critical assets.