Category Archives: Kirstjen Nielsen

DHS chief: We’re cracking down on hackers more than Obama did

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The U.S. government is trying to more effectively deter cyberattacks by imposing clear consequences on nation-state-linked hackers, Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen said Thursday, casting the Trump administration as tougher on the issue than the Obama administration. “This is one of those areas where deterrence has to be clear,” Nielsen said Thursday at a Capitol Hill security event. “We will no longer stand by while nation-states attack the government or our private sector entities.” “For so long, we’ve had these attacks, it’s taken us over a year to attribute it in some cases,” she said. “Then you attribute it, nothing happens.” Under both presidential administrations, the U.S. has clamped down on hackers linked with the Chinese, Russian, and Iranian governments through indictments and sanctions. In 2014, Obama’s Department of Justice brought the first U.S. charges of cyber-espionage against a nation-state with the indictment of five Chinese military officers. In March, Trump’s DOJ indicted nine Iranian […]

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DHS unveils long-stalled cyber strategy

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The Department of Homeland Security on Tuesday released a long-awaited cybersecurity strategy that looks to more proactively tackle the agency’s mandate to protect critical infrastructure from cyberattacks. The department’s cybersecurity support for critical infrastructure operators must “focus on systemic risk or address risk at individual entities that have the greatest potential impact on national security, public health and safety, and economic security,” the strategy states. The document will chart DHS’s course in cyberspace over the next five years and is an effort to keep pace with a changing threat landscape, the department said. “Nation-states continue to present a considerable cyber threat,” the document states, “but non-state actors are emerging with capabilities that match those of sophisticated nation-states.” The five broad aims of the strategy are to better identify digital risks, reduce threats and vulnerabilities, mitigate the consequences of cyberattacks, and “enable cybersecurity outcomes” by making infrastructure more resilient and improving DHS […]

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DHS prepares cross-sector strategy to limit domino effects from big cyberattacks

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The Department of Homeland Security will soon release a “how-to manual” for the cybersecurity support it offers to federal, state and local government agencies, as well as operators of critical infrastructure, Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen told reporters Tuesday. The nation’s interconnectivity means a cyberattack on the financial sector, for example, could quickly affect the electric grid, Nielsen said at the RSA Conference in San Francisco. “We must be more aware of single points of failure [and] concentrated dependencies,” she said. A DHS official said the strategy could be released next week. The goal of the new cyber strategy is to curb “systemic risk” by helping to secure digital tools used across sectors, Nielsen said. The document will also focus on mitigating the consequences of cyberattacks. “Whether it is common tools such as GPS or payment and settlement systems, our cyber risk assessments need to factor in shocks to the system that could have untold, cascading […]

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Senate hearing presses DHS for details on election security progress

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A Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on Wednesday appraised how well the Trump administration is tackling the issue of election security, amid fears of foreign interference through cyberattacks and other means. Much of the hearing focused on the increasingly close relationship between the Department of Homeland Security and the state and local offices that run elections. Having declared election systems as part of the country’s critical infrastructure in January 2017, DHS has been offering states and localities various forms of voluntary support on election security. Many election officials initially were skeptical of the designation and feared federal overreach, a sentiment that was acknowledged at Wednesday’s hearing. “The administration of elections is the responsibility of the state and local officials and the support your agency provides is on a voluntary basis. What we’ve learned is that states will only engage with the department if they feel there’s value,” said Chairman Richard Burr, R-N.C. DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen […]

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Election cybersecurity should be priority for new DHS secretary, senators say

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Sens. Amy Klobuchar and James Lankford published a letter on Tuesday asking newly confirmed Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen to make election cybersecurity a priority for her tenure, citing concerns about alleged Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. election. The senators, who are both on the committees for Appropriations, Homeland Security and Intelligence, say there must be more coordination between state and federal agencies to protect elections, which are run by the states, from cyberattacks. “Election security is national security, and our election systems have become a target for foreign adversaries,” Klobuchar, D-Minn., and Lankford, R-Okla., wrote. The Department of Homeland Security in January designated election systems as “critical infrastructure.” Klobuchar and Lankford praised that designation but said that more must be done. They called for improved information sharing on the state and federal levels. Security clearances for state election officials, which would allow them to review classified materials about cyberthreats, should be expedited, the senators said. The senators also said the […]

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Kirstjen Nielsen confirmed as Homeland Security Secretary

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The Senate confirmed Kirstjen Nielsen on Tuesday as Secretary of Homeland Security by a vote of 62-37. The tally comes after President Donald Trump nominated Nielsen once John Kelly moved to become Trump’s chief of staff. She previously was the White House’s deputy chief of staff where she was widely considered a close Kelly ally. Nielsen was chosen by the White House as the preferred nominee in early 2017 but waffled on the decision, which stalled the nomination of DHS leadership for months. Nielsen’s confirmation comes despite criticism on her relative lack of leadership experience, independence and ethics that hampered her nomination process. Despite increasing prominence in the national conversation, cybersecurity was a secondary topic during Nielsen’s confirmation hearing. The security of voting machines, the electric grid and the nation’s critical infrastructure took a relative backseat to climate change, border security and immigration enforcement. Senate committee votes to nominate Nielsen were delayed multiple times […]

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DHS nominee Kirstjen Nielsen gets committee nod 11-4

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The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee voted 11-4 Tuesday to advance the nomination of Kirstjen Nielsen as the next secretary of Homeland Security, despite Democratic concerns about her experience, doubts about her independence from the White House and ethics questions from a nonprofit watchdog group. The nomination now moves onto the full Senate, and sources tell CyberScoop that Republican leaders want a floor vote before the Thanksgiving recess starts Friday. Four senators voted against advancing the nomination: Tom Carper, D-Del., Kamala Harris, D-Calif., Maggie Hassan, D-N.H. and Gary Peters, D-Mich. All four were signatories — along with Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, D-N.D. — on a letter last week calling for a second hearing where Nielsen could answer additional questions about her experience and independence from the White House. The letter followed a Washington Post report that Nielsen’s current boss, White House Chief of Staff John Kelly, had tried to bully acting DHS […]

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DHS nomination vote postponed again amid ethics violation allegations

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A Senate committee vote to confirm Kirstjen Nielsen as the next Secretary of Homeland Security has been postponed a third time amid ethics charges and requests by Democrats for a second hearing. The business meeting of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee — originally scheduled for last week, then moved to Monday and subsequently postponed until Tuesday morning — was pushed back again overnight to some time Tuesday afternoon. “By agreement of the chairman and ranking member, [Tuesday] morning’s business meeting is postponed to be rescheduled … at a time to be determined in conjunction with upcoming floor votes. Further notice will be forthcoming,” read a note from committee leadership Monday evening. The postponement follows an ethics complaint filed against Nielsen Monday by the nonprofit nonpartisan Campaign Legal Center, regarding her acceptance of voluntary services from non-government personnel to help her prepare for her confirmation hearing last week. A spokeswoman […]

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Watchdog complains about consultant helping Nielsen’s DHS confirmation

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A government ethics watchdog is calling for an investigation into potential violations of federal laws and ethics regulations by Homeland Security secretary nominee Kirstjen Nielsen, following CyberScoop reports that a consultant representing companies with hundreds of millions of dollars at stake had volunteered to help run her confirmation preparation. The nonprofit, nonpartisan Campaign Legal Center has asked federal officials — including Attorney General Jeff Sessions — to probe the matter. Government departments aren’t allowed to accept voluntary work, for the same reason officials cannot accept valuable gifts — because of the risk it might create an obligation that could be repaid with an official act, explained the center’s Brendan Fischer. “There’s a risk that such work would engender a feeling indebtedness on Nielsen’s part,” Fischer told CyberScoop, noting that DHS handed out $23 billion worth of contracts last year. “It appears that Nielsen has been guided through the confirmation process by an individual whose clients have hundreds […]

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