Official website of the Department of Homeland Security
Today, Deputy Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas reflected on the state of cybersecurity at DHS and the implications of the new Presidential Policy Directive (PPD) on Cyber Incident Coordination at the International Conference on Cybersecurity in New York. The PPD was announced by Lisa Monaco, Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism, at the same conference earlier in the week.
Today, Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas concluded a three-day trip to Israel, where he delivered remarks at the 6th Annual International Cybersecurity Conference and met with Israeli counterparts to discuss a range of homeland security-related issues, including cybersecurity, law enforcement cooperation, and counterterrorism cooperation.
Today, Chinese State Councilor and Minister of Ministry of Public Security Guo Shengkun co-chaired the second U.S.-China Cybercrime and Related Issues High Level Joint Dialogue with representatives of the U.S. Departments of Justice and Homeland Security. The dialogue aims to implement the consensus reached between Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Barack Obama in September 2015 during President Xi’s visit to the United States, and to enhance pragmatic bilateral cooperation with regard to cybercrime, network protection and other related issues.
Today the EU-U.S. Ministerial Meeting on Justice and Home Affairs, hosted by the Netherlands Presidency of the Council of the EU, took place in Amsterdam. This meeting is held usually twice a year, to evaluate and advance Trans-Atlantic cooperation in the areas of freedom, security and justice.
Last year various individuals within the United States Secret Service improperly accessed and distributed information contained within Secret Service personnel records about a job application made years ago by an individual who is now a Member of Congress. The same information was also wrongfully leaked to the press.
Tax season is prime time for cyber crime. As millions of Americans file their taxes online, cyber criminals may look to steal your personal information and cash in on your tax refund. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is warning Americans that they have already seen a 400% surge in tax-related phishing and malware incidents this season.
At DHS, we’ve recently observed an increase in ransomware attacks across the country. Ransomware is a type of malicious software, or malware, designed to block access to a computer system until a ransom is paid. Ransomware is typically spread through phishing emails or by unknowingly visiting an infected website.
Effective today we will begin to require the use of more electronic passports, or e-Passports, by all travelers coming to the United States from the 38 countries that participate in our Visa Waiver Program.
Cyber threats to critical infrastructure remain one of our Nation’s most serious security and economic sustainability challenges. With over 80 percent of critical infrastructure owned by the private sector, and with millions of cyber-dependent equities owned by individuals or federal, state, local, tribal, and territorial (SLTT) entities and agencies, securing cyberspace must be achieved collaboratively. Exercises are critical to testing this coordination, and more importantly, to building and maintaining strong relationships among the cyber incident response community.
The Data Privacy Research and Development (R&D) Program helps government program managers with the research and development expertise and resources needed to enhance the security and trustworthiness of their programs.
