Quick Hits FireEye this morning published its annual M-Trends report highlighting a variety of cybersecurity trends in 2020 as well as the firm’s work on the hacking campaign against SolarWinds Orion. Among the trends the firm observed was a noticeable spike in ransomware and tactics used by its operators, increased cyberattacks as a result of the coronavirus pandemic and a growing number of attacks on the retail and hospitality and healthcare industries. CACI International has named Glenn Kurowski as its chief technology officer. Washington Technology has more on the move. Artificial intelligence leaders from the Defense Innovation Unit, General Services Administration, National Institute of Standards and Technology and Department of Agriculture will present at FCW s April 21 AI Workshop. See the full agenda and register here.
By Justin Katz
The White House confirmed plans to nominate John C. Inglis and Jen Easterly to key cybersecurity roles in the Biden administration.
President Joe Biden will nominate John “Chris” Inglis, the former deputy director of the National Security Agency, to become the first national cyber director, according to a statement from National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan.
Sullivan also said the White House will nominate Jen Easterly, a veteran intelligence official, to lead the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.
Inglis had a hand in establishing the new White House cyber position as a member of the congressional Cyberspace Solarium Commission that recommended its inclusion into the most recent defense policy bill.
Sen. King speaks at the Naval War College in Newport, R.I. (U.S. Navy photo)
Sen. Angus King (I-Maine), one of the chairs of the Cyberspace Solarium Commission, told reporters on Wednesday he and other lawmakers are drafting legislation that would mandate private sector companies supporting critical infrastructure to notify the government if their network is breached. The commission will be recommending a breach notification law applying to critical infrastructure shortly, probably within the month, he said. There are some tricky issues that have to be worked out, proprietary details, confidentiality, liability issues…We re pretty close. We have legislation drafted and we re continuing to refine it.
Quick Hits Democrats in both chambers of Congress introduced a bill that would give healthcare professionals at the
Department of Veterans Affairs working under Title 38 status the same collective bargaining opportunities as other VA employees. Rep.
Mark Takano (D-Calif.), the chairman of the House Veterans Affairs Committee and Sen.
Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) are the lead sponsors of the VA Employee Fairness 5 Act of 2021, which has the backing of the American Federation of Government Employees and National Nurses United. The
Office of Personnel Management has added 41 small businesses to the Human Capital and Training Solutions program, which consolidates human capital contracting across the federal government and provides agencies with human capital and training services.