Sep 12, 2018

Senators grill Pompeo on vulnerable cybersecurity at State Department

Photo: Igor Golovniov/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

A bipartisan cadre of senators sent a letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Tuesday calling out the department's poor adoption of multi-factor authentication.

Why it matters: Multi-factor authentication requires users to take an additional protective step when logging into an account — often a physical key or a biometric scan. Beyond being a good practice for federal agencies, multi-factor authentication is also the law for all high-level government accounts.

The gripe: Sens. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Cory Gardner (D-Colo.), Rand Paul (R-Kent.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.) and Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H) pointed to a recent Government Accountability Office report that found only 11% of required agency devices had enhanced security.

"We are sure you will agree on the need to protect American diplomacy from cyber attacks, which is why we have such a hard time understanding why the Department of State has not followed the lead of many other agencies and complied with federal law requiring agency use of MFA."

— Quote from the letter

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Axios

Updated 1 hour ago - Politics & Policy

Coronavirus dashboard

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

Global: Total confirmed cases as of 1:30 p.m. ET: 31,120,980 — Total deaths: 961,656— Total recoveries: 21,287,328 — Map.
U.S.: Total confirmed cases as of 1:30 p.m. ET: 6,819,651 — Total deaths: 199,606 — Total recoveries: 2,590,671 — Total tests: 95,108,559 — Map.
Health: CDC says it mistakenly published guidance about COVID-19 spreading through air.
Politics: House Democrats file legislation to fund government through Dec. 11.
Business: Unemployment concerns are growing.
World: "The Wake-Up Call" warns the West about the consequences of mishandling a pandemic.

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Alayna Treene

2 hours ago - Politics & Policy

House Democrats file legislation to fund government through Dec. 11

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.). Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

House Democrats on Monday released their proposal for short-term legislation to fund the government through December 11.

Why it matters: This is Congress' chief legislative focus before the election. They must pass a continuing resolution (CR) before midnight on Oct. 1 to avoid a government shutdown — something both Hill leaders and the White House have claimed is off the table.

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Axios

Updated 2 hours ago - Politics & Policy

Ruth Bader Ginsburg will lie in state in Capitol's National Statuary Hall

Photo: Getty Images

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced Monday that the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg will lie in state in the Capitol's National Statuary Hall on Friday, making Ginsburg the first woman to ever receive the honor.

The state of play: The Supreme Court also announced Monday that Ginsburg will lie in repose on the front steps of the building on Wednesday and Thursday, allowing the public to pay respects to the late justice outside.