6 Clues Left by Hackers that Can Help Agencies Defend Against Attacks

In the wake of the recent announcement of a massive data breach at the federal government’s Office of Personnel Management (OPM), blame was quickly laid at the door of state-sponsored Chinese hackers (although U.S. officials fell short of an all-out accusation).

While China denies any involvement, cybersecurity analysts suggest that the breach carried all the hallmarks of a state-sponsored attack, such as evidence of highly organized teams that focus on the same targets, often for years, and outside of regular hours.

How The IRS Data Breach Occurred

The IRS breach was exceedingly low-tech: it’s at the other end of the spectrum from the infamous and sophisticated Chinese hacking operations. This was just a bunch of bad actors who stole – or bought on the black market – personally identifiable information (PII) on a large number of American taxpayers. They accessed the IRS “Get Transcript” application, and provided answers (or educated guesses) in response to personal questions about their victims. This allowed them to access tax returns and other filings, facilitating lucrative identity thefts in the future.

The 6 Elements of a Government Insider Threat Program

Insider threats are a persistent problem for government agencies and it’s no longer an IT problem. According to DailyCaller.com, 21% of breaches can be traced back to security indiscretions by federal workers (although other source point to the number being as high as 50%).

So it’s no surprise that preventing and mitigating these threats was a hot topic at this year’s Symantec Government Symposium in Washington, D.C.

Solving the Identity Problem - Gov Experts Share Pearls of Wisdom

Why is identity such a complex problem to solve? That was the first question posed by moderator Nico Popp, Vice President of Information and Identity Protection with Symantec during a panel session on identity overload at the 2015 Symantec Government Symposium in Washington, D.C.

To better understand the identity problem, Popp suggests we think of identity as a triangle.

First, there is security.

Ready for the Cloud? Get an Introduction to FedRAMP

Cloud security has long been a concern for government agencies, but FedRAMP, now a 3+ year old program, has changed the way cloud providers think about cloud security standards and is forging an accelerated path for the adoption of secure cloud solutions through reuse of assessments and authorizations. FedRAMP’s goal is simple – to provide a standardized approach to security assessment, authorization, and continuous monitoring for cloud products.

Fed IT Security Hardens, but User Authentication Remains Weak

On February 27, FISMA presented its annual report to Congress. The report (compiled by the OMB) provides metrics on federal cybersecurity incidents, efforts to mitigate them, and progress in implementing cybersecurity policies and programs.

The good news is that there is progress to report, with nearly 70,000 information security issues reported in FY’ 2014, up 15% over the previous year – there is still work to be done.