CYBERSECURITY
WHAT CYBERSECURITY MEANS TO THE CFO: Senior executives understand that today’s global economy is still not sufficiently protected against cyber-attacks, despite years of effort and spending in the multi-billion dollar range. Until recently, many chief financial officers (CFOs) may not have understood how to respond to cybersecurity risks and the implications for their organizations. CFOs may not have even been considered an essential part of an organization’s security team. But as times have changed, many CFOs are now regularly being called upon to help promote cybersecurity and identify threats. Read more
[INFOSECURITY-MAGAZINE.COM]
SPENDING: Security Budgets Going Up, Thanks To Mega-Breaches. Sixty percent of organizations have increased their security spending by one-third — but many security managers still don’t think that’s enough, Ponemon study finds. Read more
[DARKREADING.COM]
SOTU: Will Obama’s Cybersecurity Proposals Actually Protect You? Experts say they are thrilled cybersecurity is finally receiving top billing as one of the important issues Americans face — but they are deeply concerned that the language in three new legislative proposals that are intended to protect consumers will inadvertently hamper their quest to stop cybercriminals. Read more
[NBCNEWS.COM]
PAYPAL: Amps Up Cybersecurity Plans. Cybersecurity is the buzzword flooding the payments and commerce space. No matter which company, the narrative is all about security breaches and how to be proactive in combatting attacks — this includes protecting email. And last week, PayPal shared its take on how the company is protecting its customers from fraudulent emails. Read more
[PYMNTS.COM]
MILITARY SECTOR: Defense Contractors See Opportunity In Cybersecurity Sector. After a year that saw destructive cyberattacks on major U.S. companies, President Obama’s call to stiffen America’s digital defenses could help bolster the bottom lines of top defense and aerospace contractors facing cutbacks in Pentagon spending. Read more
[LATIMES.COM]
FEDERAL, STATE & LOCAL GOVERNMENT IT
DEFENSE DEPARTMENT: DoD’s Testing Org Finds Security Flaws in Military Weapon Systems. Michael Gilmore, operational test and evaluation director at the Defense Department, said his office uncovered cybersecurity vulnerabilities in more than 40 weapons that were tested during fiscal 2014. Read more
[EXECUTIVEGOV.COM]
MEDICARE: Using Fingerprints to Fight Fraud. Federal authorities are continuing to ramp up a new program of requiring fingerprint-based criminal background checks for the owners of durable medical equipment, home care and hospice care provider organizations who want to serve Medicare patients. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and the FBI are collaborating on the effort, aimed at cracking down on fraudulent Medicare claims, which historically have been more common in these two sectors. Read more
[GOVINFOSECURITY.COM]
FAMILY LEAVE: Policies Expanded. Now more than ever, our Nation’s economic success rests on our ability to empower our citizens to choose jobs that best utilize their talents and interests. All employers, including the Federal Government, should support parents to ensure they can both contribute fully in the workplace and also meet the needs of their families. Read more
[BIZJOURNALS.COM]
FOR THE CTO, CIO & CISO
CONTENT MANAGEMENT: Nebraska CIO Credits Project Success to Collaboration. At a time when the average CIO tenure is just over two years, Nebraska CIO Brenda Decker bucks the trend as she approaches a decade in that post. With more than 30 years of experience in state government, Decker has instituted shared services and launched Network Nebraska, a statewide infrastructure that has reduced costs and improved education. Read more
[STATETECHMAGAZINE.COM]
BROWSERS: Users Get More Control Over Data In Latest Firefox Beta. Mozilla is adding new capabilities in the beta version of Firefox 36 to give users and website owners more control over what data, if any, is sent to other websites during browsing. Read more
[CIO.COM]
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