The bill is in the same vein as a bill passed by the House on Sept. 30, the Chai Suthammanont Remembrance Act, which focuses on ensuring agencies have plans in place for safely returning to the office. Cyber.org, whose mission is to bolster K-12 cyber education, in cooperation with CISA's Cybersecurity Defense Education and Training (CDET), has launched a new Cyber Safety Video Series with tips for staying safe online. COVID-19 has challenged agencies to quickly innovate to optimize processes for a digital environment, Alboum said.

For more information on the threat, recommended actions, and lessons learned, see the CISA Insights publication. APT stands for Advanced Persistent Threat. Where patching is not possible due to certain limitations, network segregation is highly recommended to limit exposure of the vulnerable system or host. In the longer term, however, organizations may cut costs by reducing office space, supporting a more hybrid work setup. A CISA Alert on Microsoft Office 365 Security Recommendations allows you to discover other ways to secure your remote office.

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NIST has guidelines on telework and remote access to help organizations mitigate security risks associated with the enterprise technologies used for teleworking.

By Beatrix Haddon, Government Matters.

Jonathan Alboum, Principal Data Strategist at ServiceNow, discusses a new bill in the Senate that would keep as many employees as possible working remotely until HHS declares the pandemic is over, Watch on Wednesday, November 11th at 8:30 and 11:30 p.m. on WJLA 24/7 News, Weeknights at 8 PM and 11 PM on WJLA 24/7, Digitalization efforts at the Internal Revenue Service, Remote work driving big gains, demand for FedRAMP, Switching to an adaptive acquisition framework. The National Cyber Security Alliance has launched a COVID-19 Security Resource Library featuring free and updated information on current scams, cyber threats, remote working, disaster relief, and more. Text GOVMATTERS to 22828 or fill in your email: Example: Yes, I would like to receive emails from Government Matters.

Consult with your organizational or in-house counsel regarding laws applicable to recording video conferences. (You can unsubscribe anytime).

Phishing is the practice of sending emails that purport to be from reputable companies to individuals with the intention of tricking them into revealing personal information, such as social security numbers and credit card information. Government Telework: Build a Mobile, Inclusive, and Resilient Workforce The Guide to Telework in the Federal Government outlines practical information to assist Federal agencies, managers, Telework Managing Officers, other staff responsible for implementing telework, and employees.Perhaps you are an employee who would like to know more about telework. For more information on defending yourself against Password Spraying, see the joint publication, Use long passphrases (at least 8 characters) that you can remember but that would be hard for someone else to guess. The Office of Personnel Management should be the government's first stop for telework guidance. Click on the icons below to find resources designed to help organizations and teleworkers remain secure while working remotely. Maintaining a robust digital infrastructure as well as a physical infrastructure can be difficult, Alboum said.

Multi-factor authentication is the practice of requiring more than one authentication mechanism to gain access to a system or device.

Yes, Government Executive can email me on behalf of carefully selected companies and organizations. NIST has guidelines on telework and remote access to help organizations mitigate security risks associated with the enterprise technologies used for teleworking. “I think the most important part is making sure that the mission can be delivered under any circumstances,” he said. Firewalls can also prevent malicious software from accessing a computer or network via the internet. Firewalls provide protection against outside cyber attackers by shielding your computer or network from malicious or unnecessary network traffic. For more tips, download the, Review your company’s telework policies to find out if you are permitted to use your personal equipment for work tasks. The ICT Supply Chain are those systems that enable the provisioning of National Critical Functions (NCFs), and also provide remote access into work environments, e-Learning capabilities, and mobile computing.

Also, ensure that the meeting owner knows how to access and secure the recording.

At minimum, change the default password to one only you know.

The first focuses on Compromised Personal Network Indicators and Mitigations and the second CSI looks at Performing Out-of-Band Network Management. This white paper, intended for government executives and managers planning telework strategies, describes new technologies that enable a mobile workforce to accomplish an organization’s missions securely and cost-effectively over the network, from any location. Alboum said agencies should make sure they have the right tools in place to continue maximum telework for as long as possible, which means having the right networks set up along with robust hardware and software asset management programs. The first two videos in the series are the on Video Call Safety and Phishing. The Pandemic Federal Telework Act would keep as many employees as possible working from home until the Department of Health and Human Services declares the pandemic is over. For more information about how you can help secure the ICT Supply Chain, see the.

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For more tips, download the. A CISA Insights publication on a.

In the federal government, fewer than half of employees are authorized to telework, despite a requirement for agencies to incorporate telework into their continuity of operations plans. The Global Cyber Alliance offers three simple tips for working from home. 113, Secretary of Defense; DoD Instruction 1035.01, Telework Policy. Information to help both home users and technical personnel configure, manage, and utilize wireless devices for secure and effective telework. Implementing maximum telework at government agencies. Alboum explained that some of these solutions consist of “the same manual process with some digital add-ons that make it possible to operate during this period of time.” In the long term, we may need to go further by creating fully digitized processes. Information to help organizations and individuals select and configure videoconferencing services to meet their needs, and security tips for teleworkers when leveraging videoconferencing tools. This refers to a stealthy threat actor which gains access to a victim’s network and remains undetected, usually performing reconnaissance stealing data, or installing malware, for an extended period of time. Information or information system that is so critical to an organization that the loss or corruption of this information or loss of access to the system would have serious impact to the organization’s ability to perform its mission or conduct business. Before connecting to any public Wi-Fi, be sure to verify with the staff that the network name you are selecting is the legitimate network provided by the business, and that the communications over that hotspot are encrypted.

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Regardless of which web browser you use, ensure you enable security settings and disable any unnecessary functionality.

Password spraying is a style of brute force attack in which the attacker tries a single and commonly used password against many accounts before moving on to try a second password, and so on. The remaining 8% of respondents were never eligible to telework, didn’t want to work remotely or recently returned to the office after teleworking for a portion of the pandemic. Was this document helpful? For more information on the COVID-19 related malicious cyber activity threat and how to think about it and defend against it, see the joint publication.

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During COVID-19, there has been increased APT activity – especially against healthcare and essential services – due, in part, to the increase in the number of teleworkers. Jonathan Alboum, former Chief Information Officer at the Department of Agriculture, believes the Senate bill indicates we are putting the safety of federal employees first. Other examples are fingerprints, retinal scans, and USB tokens.

The CISA Insights publication, ICT stands for Information and Communications Technology. The Cyber Readiness Institute has developed a quick guide, “Securing a Remote Workforce” for businesses.

“I think, again, we’re recognizing that telework is more than just connectivity into systems.

The Future of Work Post-Pandemic: We’re Not Going Back, Suddenly, the conversation about telework has shifted from “do we have the right technologies in place?” to “do we have the right people policies and training in place?”, Even if Times Are Tough, Working Parents Are Happier on the Job, GovExec Daily: Making the Most of Your Work Life Online, New Federal Rules Could Make It Harder for Parents to Take Paid Leave, Generation Work-From-Home May Never Recover, Survey: Most Feds Who Have Been Working From Home During the Pandemic Are Afraid to Return to Their Offices, Union: Social Security Is Withholding Information and Refusing to Bargain as Some Employees Return to Offices, Empowering the Federal Workforce to Get Results: An Enduring Problem, In the Work-From-Home Battle for Space, Women Are the Reluctant Nomads, Lawmakers Revive Bipartisan Push for Maximum Telework at Agencies, The Workforce Is About to Change Dramatically, Senators Push for Continued Telework, Contractor Leave in COVID-19 Relief Talks, Democratic Senators Introduce Bill to Include Feds in Coronavirus Response Decisions, Expanded Telework Could Save Individual Feds $2.5K-$4K Annually, Tips for the 2 Kinds of People Who Work from Home, Moms, not Dads, Lose Time to Work During Pandemic, How to Protect Remote Workers’ Productivity and Performance, Coronavirus Roundup: Defense Has Warmed to Telework; HHS Launches New Data Site, Senate Democrat Asks Agencies for Their Reopening Plans, This Isn’t Sustainable for Working Parents.