Page 7 - FCW, September 15, 2016
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Trending
Social Security
rolls back two-
factor mandate
The Social Security Administration is relaxing a recent security directive requiring beneficiaries to use two-fac- tor authentication to log into personal accounts after complaints that the new restrictions hindered user access.
The agency had established a pol- icy of requiring My Social Security account holders to confirm their identi- ties via a text-enabled mobile device. The move was in keeping with an executive order on improving secu- rity in consumer financial transactions.
However, the policy met with complaints from users, and Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) wrote to SSA Acting Commissioner Carolyn Colvin saying beneficiaries needed other options.
Merkley cited Pew Research Center data indicating that just 35 percent of Americans over the age of 65 use text messaging.
“With the majority of individuals at or above Social Security retirement benefit age not equipped to text, devel- oping alternative multifactor authenti- cation methods is crucial to ensuring that all recipients have equal access to their My Social Security accounts,” Merkley wrote.
SSA has not come up with a new two-factor verification method. The agency is strongly recommending that users take advantage of the text- message option, but they are able once again to use a simple username and password to access their accounts.
My Social Security accounts are potentially inviting targets for hack- ers and fraudsters. Individuals can use the accounts to request new Social Security cards, set up direct deposit of benefit payments and change their addresses for benefit payments and statements.
— Adam Mazmanian
48 percent
of federal websites still do not use HTTPS
FCW Insider: People on the move
Since October 2014, Karen DeSalvo has served as national coordinator for health IT and acting assistant secre- tary for health. Her role was changed as part of the U.S. response to the Ebola crisis in West Africa.
Almost two years later, DeSalvo is having her workload eased. HHS Sec- retary Sylvia Burwell announced that Vindell Washington is taking over as head of the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT.
Washington, who is being elevated
from his position deputy national coordinator, has worked on sev- eral key initia- tives, such as Delivery System Reform, the Pre- cision Medicine Initiative and the government’s response to the opioid drug crisis.
CMS officials chose Nelson to help rescue the ailing HealthCare.gov site and oversee the technology backbone that supports services such as Medi- care claims processing.
He has held several leadership posi- tions at CMS since joining the agency in 2004. Previously, he worked in the private sector, where he helped estab- lish two broadband development com- panies to support underserved U.S. markets.
David DeVries, principal deputy CIO at the Defense Department, is taking over as CIO at the Office of Personnel Man-
as ONC’s principal
Karen DeSalvo
David Nelson
agement.
He comes to
OPM as the agen- cy struggles to right itself from a devastating cyber- attack while forg- ing stronger ties
In her role as national coordinator, DeSalvo has pushed for more effective data sharing at the agency. At ONC’s annual meeting in June, she said improved sharing of patient data and increased medical record interoper- ability depended on an appeal to the business benefits and the implementa- tion of common standards.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commis- sion has appointed David Nelson as its CIO. He is a federal IT veteran who has most recently worked as CIO and director of the Office of Enter- prise Information at the Department of Health and Human Services’ Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
“David’s lengthy experience with the government’s use of information technology will help the NRC keep pace with today’s interconnected world,” said Victor McCree, NRC’s executive director for operations, in a statement.
with DOD. After a hack that resulted in the loss of highly sensitive mate- rial on security clearances, OPM was charged with building a new apparatus to conduct clearance investigations. DOD will design and secure the IT architecture for that new entity, the National Background Investigations Bureau.
DeVries will be “at the forefront of this transition,” according to an OPM press release. At DOD, he played a critical role in the Joint Information Enterprise, an effort to move DOD to a single, secure architecture.
DeVries is a career federal offi- cial with 35 years of service. He will take over for acting OPM CIO Lisa Schlosser, who has been on detail to the agency from the Office of Manage- ment and Budget. The agency has been without a permanent CIO since Febru- ary, when Donna Seymour stepped down amid pressure from Congress.
— FCW staff
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