Should the Secret Service lose its cyber fraud mission? One lawmaker thinks so

New legislation in the House would strip the Secret Service of its mission to investigate financial crimes and cyber fraud in the wake of the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump. Rep. Ritchie Torries (D-N.Y.) last week introduced the “Focus on Protection Act.” The bill would transfer investigative jurisdiction over payment and financial systems from the Secret Service to the Treasury Department. In a statement, Torres said the move would allow the Secret Service to focus more on its protection mission. He called the Secret Service’s role in investigating…

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Why some CIOs say it’s time to rethink governmentwide cyber metrics

One of the biggest complaints about the Federal IT Acquisition Reform Act scorecard is how it measures cybersecurity progress. The challenge is there are too many cyber metrics so a “C” grade on the scorecard doesn’t necessarily translate into progress made against other governmentwide metrics say under the President’s Management Agenda. Andre Mendes, the chief information officer at the Department of Commerce, was one of several technology leaders who explained to Congressman Gerry Connolly (D-Va.) and the Government Accountability Office why they believe a re-calibration of cyber metrics is important…

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Does the military need a separate service for cyber? Some lawmakers think so; DoD isn’t sure

It’s been a little over three years since Congress created a dedicated military service to focus on space. Lawmakers are wondering whether it’s time to do the same thing for cyber. The Defense Department hasn’t yet taken a position on that question — officials say they’re still studying the topic of military cyber force design. But some members of Congress are getting impatient. Lawmakers have asked DoD for its recommendations on whether there ought to be a separate military services just for cyber forces more than once. In the 2020…

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Federal IT spending in 2024 request up by 13% in part thanks to cyber, CX plans

The White House plans to ask Congress for $ 74 billion in federal technology spending for civilian agencies in fiscal 2024. What is significant about that number isn’t the fact it’s a 13% increase over the 2023 request, rather it’s the specific detail the Office of Management and Budget lays out for what that increase will go toward. The most obvious breakdown is in cybersecurity spending. The Biden administration wants to increase spending to secure federal networks, applications and data to $ 12.7 billion, a 13% increase over the prior…

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