Page 36 - FCW, August 2021

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National cyber director backs new Bureau of Cyber Statistics
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cyber professionals were hired by DHS this summer in a 60-day hiring sprint
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August 2021 FCW.COM
National Cyber Director Chris Inglis said White House officials are still consider- ing whether to support the Cyberspace Solarium Commission’s recommenda- tion to establish a Bureau of Cyber Sta- tistics. At the same time, he cited the urgent need for the federal government to begin assessing and publishing data on cybersecurity incidents.
He made his remarks at an Atlan- tic Council event on Aug. 2, just days after senators introduced legislation that included provisions for establishing the bureau at the Department of Homeland Security.
In the commission’s recommenda- tion, the bureau would “collect, pro- cess, analyze and disseminate essential statistical data on cybersecurity, cyber
incidents and the cyber ecosystem to the American public, Congress, other federal agencies, state and local govern- ments, and the private sector, and for other purposes.” The bureau would be tasked with regularly publishing data and analyzing cybersecurity incidents from organizations that report such information to DHS.
Inglis, who served as a member of the commission and was confirmed by the Senate in June as the first nation- al cyber director, said that although the Biden administration does not yet have an official policy on establishing the bureau, “I think all would agree that in the absence of this informa- tion, we are going to be episodic, we are going to be uneven and perhaps
less than optimal in our response to any of these threats which affect all of us in common.”
He added that “to properly address risk, we have to first understand it. We have to understand where it’s concen- trated, where it cascades, what causes it, and more importantly, then discover how to address it. The Bureau of Cyber Statistics would do just that.”
The week before the Atlantic Coun- cil event, the Defense of United States Infrastructure Act was introduced by Sens. Angus King (I-Maine), co-chair- man of the Cyberspace Solarium Com- mission; Ben Sasse (R-Neb.); and Mike Rounds (R-S.D.).
In addition to mandating the creation of the Bureau of Cyber Statistics, the bill would provide funding, tools and authority to protect systemically impor- tant critical infrastructure.
— Chris Riotta
vides agencies with support for criti- cal IT modernization projects. Payback requirements can be minimized for proj- ects that address “critical security or capability gaps,” according to the TMF website.
NARA is already planning to digitize the veterans’ records to support remote access. In a July 19 letter to lawmak- ers, Ferriero wrote that the agency was adding 100 employees and planned to launch a mass digitization effort in August. He said he hoped to eliminate the backlog of 500,000 records requests by the end of next year.
The agency has also asked the Defense Department to provide per- sonnel support, but NARA has yet to receive a formal response from DOD, Ferriero wrote in his letter. Lawmakers have backed that request and urged DOD to respond. Additionally, NARA is working on arranging access to scanned forms contained in the Vet- erans Benefits Management System at VBA.
— Natalie Alms
NARA urged to useTMF to clear backlog of veteran records requests
A bipartisan group of lawmakers on the House Oversight and Reform Commit- tee wants the National Archives and Records Administration to apply for funding from the Technology Modern- ization Fund to modernize its IT sys- tems and clear its backlog of records requests.
The lawmakers are particularly concerned about a backlog at NARA’s National Personnel Records Center, which holds records that are a key part of the process for veterans to apply for disability compensation and pensions. The majority of military records are paper-based, and telework mandates during the COVID-19 pandemic have made it difficult for NARA employees to keep up with requests for physical records, contributing to the backlog at NPRC. That, in turn, has exacerbated a backlog of pending claims at the Vet- erans Benefits Administration (VBA).
In a July 26 letter, Rep. Carolyn Malo- ney (D-N.Y.), the committee’s chair- woman; Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.), the committee’s ranking member; and the chairmen and ranking members of two key subcommittees urged NARA chief David Ferriero to apply for TMF funding.
“NARA could more quickly process the NPRC backlog with modernized IT systems,” the letter states. “NARA has identified the need to digitize records as one of the biggest hurdles to addressing the backlog of veterans’ requests. We strongly believe that the digitization of NPRC’s records holdings fits both the objective and the spirit of the TMF, and we urge NARA to apply for addition- al assistance through this important program.”
TMF, which recently received an additional $1 billion in funding under pandemic recovery legislation, pro-