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AUTHOR ARCHIVES
Aliya Sternstein
Senior Correspondent
Aliya Sternstein reports on cybersecurity and homeland security systems for Nextgov. She has covered technology for nine years at such publications as National Journal's TechnologyDaily, Federal Computer Week and Forbes. Before joining Government Executive, she covered agriculture and derivatives trading for Congressional Quarterly. She has been a guest commentator on C-SPAN, WTOP and Federal News Radio. She is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania.
Thrifty Nuclear Terrorism Nanodetectors Delayed by Funding Uncertainty
March 5, 2013
FROM NEXTGOV
The Energy Department this month announced plans to prop up nanotechnology sensors at airports and other U.S. entry points for detecting nuclear substances, but there is no rollout timetable because of budget uncertainty, according to operators of the counterterrorism program. The new nanotech sensors can be produced for less than ...
Government Canine Handlers Furloughed? Bring in the Robotic Dog Collars.
March 4, 2013
FROM NEXTGOV
This spring, Labrador retrievers wearing virtual leashes will begin nosing around for explosives to make work easier for federal law enforcement personnel, according to contracting papers. The five dogs, which will be delivered to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco Firearms and Explosives starting in May, are part of an experiment ...
Sequestration Positions Cyber Command for a Fall
March 1, 2013
FROM NEXTGOV
By the end of April, the Pentagon will be devoting less attention and fewer staff to network security under spending cuts set for Friday, according to budget analysts. Mandatory, across-the-board decreases in funding will spare the salaries of uniformed Cyber Command members, but many of those personnel will be focused ...
Cyber Warriors Will Be Embedded in Military Commands
February 27, 2013
FROM NEXTGOV
Troops fighting in the growing combat area of cyberspace will operate from keyboards situated within each geographic military command, Cyber Command officials said. The 900-member Maryland-based organization that is subordinate to the Nebraska-headquartered Strategic Command could mushroom from 900 to 4,900 cybersecurity professionals, sequester permitting. While the locations of the ...
NIST Aims to Fix Forensic Investigation Tactics, With Help From the Dutch
February 26, 2013
FROM NEXTGOV
When federal officials recently announced a new, independent commission to advance the country's flagging work in forensic testing, the head of a pioneering Dutch evidence analysis institute was listening -- and advising -- from the sidelines. Four years ago, the National Academy of Sciences recommended the U.S. government create an ...
DHS Notifies Companies, Offers Intel About Ongoing Hacks
February 25, 2013
FROM NEXTGOV
The Homeland Security Department is distributing details about hacks to critical infrastructure operators in response to continuing cyber assaults that, according to people familiar with the cases, involve recent breaches at Apple, Microsoft and other technology firms. The intelligence sharing also fulfills part of a Feb. 12 cybersecurity executive order, ...
‘See Something, Say Something’-like System to Power Sharing of Cyber Tips
February 22, 2013
FROM NEXTGOV
The White House will refurbish existing technology for sharing reports of suspected terrorist activity to carry out a new executive order encouraging the disclosure of cyber threats, U.S. intelligence officials told Nextgov. Since 2004, an agency within the Office of the Director of National Intelligence has put forth technical standards ...
The PLA, China Telecom and Huawei Golden Triangle
February 21, 2013
FROM NEXTGOV
In a rarity, a report blaming China and state-owned Internet carrier China Telecom for rampant cyber snooping does not mention the word “Huawei." That is the name of another Chinese-headquartered telecom frequently accused of conspiring with the aforementioned to bug U.S. government and corporate networks. Computer forensics firm Mandiant on ...
Administration Bolsters Plans to Counter Cyber Spys
February 20, 2013
FROM NEXTGOV
The intelligence community, as part of a new interagency effort to counter cyberspying, will consider feeding questions to U.S. attorneys for suspects to aid espionage investigations, federal officials said on Wednesday. Officials announced the "Administration Strategy on Mitigating the Theft of U.S. Trade Secrets" the day after Mandiant, a highly-regarded ...
Sandia Draws From Nuclear Science in Inaugurating New Cyber Lab
February 19, 2013
FROM NEXTGOV
Sandia National Laboratories on Tuesday will inaugurate a cybersecurity center to perform offensive and defensive warfighting techniques that onsite nuclear weapons scientists have been practicing for decades. The Cybersecurity Engineering Research Laboratory, which began operating in 2011, draws from nuclear research and development to test hardware vulnerabilities in closed facilities ...
