Scoop -> DHS personnel twice dismissed signs of cyber intruders inside the agency’s Homeland Security Information Network as harmless activity, allowing hackers to remain undetected inside for weeks and eventually steal credential files: www.nextgov.com/cybersecurit...

“They were issued by Jay Clayton, the U.S. attorney in Manhattan. Mr. Clayton, who leads one of the country’s most prominent law enforcement offices, was recently nominated by Mr. Trump to serve as director of national intelligence.” www.nytimes.com/2026/07/11/b...

CISA has published a report about a contractor's recent leak of CISA security keys on GitHub. It's fairly candid about the agency's shortcomings and offers advice for other organizations. www.cisa.gov/news-events/...

HUD CIO Eric Sidle expected to take up Dept of Interior’s CIO post after Interior’s prior tech lead exited. Sidle has a background in the EV industry. Reported w/ colleague Edward Graham- www.nextgov.com/people/2026/...

NEW: House Homeland Security Committee staff are requesting a briefing from DHS on the breach of the agency’s Homeland Security Information Network, ideally in the next few days, a committee aide tells me. www.nextgov.com/cybersecurit...

Federal CIO Greg Barbaccia leaving government Aug. 31, per White House official. Matching @fedscoop.bsky.social which reported his departure earlier -> www.nextgov.com/people/2026/...

the company you keep says a lot about your judgement about right & wrong too i guess

Dept of Interior's CIO exits position, per person familiar. Matt Luby, a top strategy official involved with DOGE efforts over the last year, is now acting CIO. Confirming @jheckman.bsky.social who couldn't resist beating us before he joined the team ;) www.nextgov.com/people/2026/...

ICYMI: Last week @repwalkinshaw.bsky.social visited team GovExec for an extensive convo about his plans in the coming months. Walkinshaw says he’s pushing an “American capacity agenda” for federal tech: www.nextgov.com/people/2026/...

Senate Intelligence Vice Chairman Warner out with statement on the breach: “The information in HSIN, while not classified, is highly sensitive, and its exposure risks national security. DHS and DOJ must thoroughly investigate…”

NEW: Trump clears Pulte to declassify broadly, raising fears of exposed secrets. “If he doesn’t care about blowing up cyber exploits, putting foreign relationships at risk, or getting people killed, he could declassify a lot,” one former official told me. www.nextgov.com/policy/2026/...

Update: DHS confirms incident -- "There is no indication that classified networks were impacted, and the system remains operational for our partners. As this is an ongoing investigation, we cannot provide further operational details at this time," spokesperson says.

The CIA is moving aggressively to adopt advanced AI, with Director John Ratcliffe saying Tuesday that it can’t afford to wait for a “risk-free approach” as emerging tech reshapes national security. A notable stance from the nation’s main HUMINT agency: www.nextgov.com/artificial-i...

Scoop -> DHS is probing recent intrusion of the Homeland Security Information Network, which was accessed by an unknown threat actor. Approved users use HSIN to exchange requests with agencies and coordinate security for events, among other things: www.nextgov.com/cybersecurit...

ODNI Mission Integration deputy director Will Ruger put on leave; an estimated 15 to 20 people assigned to the Mission Integration directorate from other intelligence community components are believed to have returned to their respective agencies -> www.nextgov.com/people/2026/...

Exclusive: Rep. Delia Ramirez tells me has engaged fellow lawmakers about a legislative plan to dismantle DHS that would involve sectioning out key department components into their own standalone entities, including CISA. Bill planned for early next year: www.nextgov.com/policy/2026/...

Parts of NSA have lost access to Anthropic’s latest Mythos model following recent Trump admin export control action against the company; agency may still retain more limited ways to use the technology. The Economist + NYT reported details earlier: www.nextgov.com/artificial-i...

And there it is, sweeping directives for the FBI/Quantum Information Science and Technology Counterintelligence Protection Team: www.whitehouse.gov/presidential...

Scoop: A pending executive order would task the FBI and intelligence community with boosting U.S. quantum research protections against foreign spying. Order could come as soon as today. Reported w/ @notamazonalexa.bsky.social www.nextgov.com/emerging-tec...

Must read: www.washingtonpost.com/investigatio...

New: Planned NDAA amendment would formally house the Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures program under CISA, giving agency a formal role in managing the premier catalog used across the world to identify, track and prioritize software flaws.  www.nextgov.com/cybersecurit...

WSJ Editorial Board: " Which is a greater threat—China or Anthropic? The Trump Administration can’t seem to decide judging from its order ... The fallout could undermine America’s AI lead and cyber defenses." www.wsj.com/opinion/anth...

New -> CISA now has full access to Mythos Preview, a U.S. official and second person familiar tell me, though WH hasn’t set parameters for how the cyberdefense agency would use the model: www.nextgov.com/cybersecurit...

NEW -> The preliminary U.S.-Iran agreement reached over the weekend likely won’t stop cyber operations launched by Tehran and Iran-aligned hacking groups at American systems, five current and two former U.S. officials say. www.nextgov.com/cybersecurit...

New: The Pentagon’s lead background-check agency is using AI to speed clearance reviews for people and companies seeking to do sensitive government work, marking a novel and notable AI-NatSec use case. w/ help from @frankkonkel.bsky.social www.nextgov.com/defense/2026...

Exclusive -> Sen. Mark Warner is pressing CISA for staffing and vacancy records across its regional offices, warning that workforce cuts over the last year may have weakened its ability to support state and local governments facing cyber threats. www.nextgov.com/cybersecurit...

“Based on what we know thus far, the decision to block Anthropic’s latest AI model … risks America’s edge in AI innovation.” www.nextgov.com/artificial-i...

Explainer: A key spying power will sunset on Friday — here’s why www.nextgov.com/policy/2026/...

Can confirm. An email to staff went out this morning. Side note: It says something about CISA's situation that one official's departure is triggering so many leadership changes because he was doing three jobs at once.

New: Steve Casapulla, an infrastructure security exec in CISA, is being detailed as the assistant national cyber director for policy in ONCD, prompting other leadership shifts in CISA, I'm told. Comes after Thomas Lind left his post heading ONCD policy www.nextgov.com/people/2026/...

Honored to be recognized at The Echo Awards yesterday as the 2026 Best Investigative Journalist, alongside my colleague Ross Wilkers, recognized for his great work covering government contracting.

A congressional aide, speaking on the condition of anonymity to communicate private discussions, said staff on the House intelligence committee are assessing how the spying authority can still be used in the event of a lapse: www.nextgov.com/policy/2026/...

As expected, House FISA 702 extension vote fails, increasing likelihood of a statutory lapse for the key surveillance authority.

Scoop: Britain has weakened proposed cybersecurity protections for its telecoms networks that were developed in response to the Salt Typhoon espionage campaign, after the companies responsible for implementing the measures lobbied against them.

NEW - Senate aide tells me Wyden will offer a UC on two FISA 702 extension bills at 4:45. One adds a warrant measure for queried American communications and extend 702 for 9 months. The other is 5-week extension in exchange for basic transparency requirements, the aide tells me.

New: FBI and DOJ seized 13 websites allegedly used by Chinese intelligence operatives to target current and former officials and military personnel with access to classified information. www.nextgov.com/cybersecurit...

"The concerns are significant because they suggest that some of the federal government’s most target-rich agencies may lack clear direction or consistent access to a tool that could help them find and fix security flaws more quickly." www.nextgov.com/artificial-i...

Scoop w/ @notamazonalexa.bsky.social -> Several senior federal tech officials responsible for agency cybersecurity and IT systems are frustrated by a lack of White House ONCD guidance on plans to adopt Anthropic’s Mythos model. www.nextgov.com/artificial-i...

Exclusive -> Sen. Mark Warner is introducing legislation requiring CISA to update cyber plans for each of the nation’s 16 critical infrastructure sectors, citing concerns that fast-evolving AI will accelerate threats to essential services: www.nextgov.com/cybersecurit...

Two congressional aides tell me they no longer expect FISA 702 to get a long-term extension approved this week, after POTUS said Bill Pulte would begin his role as acting DNI beginning June 19.

POTUS says Pulte will take over as acting DNI beginning June 19. Gabbard was originally supposed to leave her post at the end of this month.

POTUS says Pulte will take over as acting DNI beginning June 19. Gabbard was originally supposed to leave her post at the end of this month.

CISA will soon release a directive pushing agencies to stop treating every cyber vuln as equally urgent, acting director Nick Andersen said. “If we try to say that everything is equally as important, then absolutely nothing’s going to be important.” www.nextgov.com/cybersecurit...

"President Trump said he wants Bill Pulte, his incoming acting director of national intelligence, to begin the process of firing a large number of employees as part of a shake-up of the U.S. intelligence community." per WSJ www.wsj.com/politics/nat...

Per a Wyden Dear Colleague letter I obtained: "If anyone doubted that Trump wants to abuse spy powers ... he just named Bill Pulte – who is well known for leading bogus mortgage fraud investigations into Democrats who criticize Trump – as Acting DNI."

New: Mullin told lawmakers the Trump admin will soon nominate a CISA director. We previously reported Tom Parker was under consideration, but Mullin submitted a different name to the WH as of early May, per a person familiar. www.nextgov.com/people/2026/...

Pulte appointment threatens fragile spy powers deal: Warner pressed Thune to urge the White House to reverse Bill Pulte’s acting DNI appointment, warning it could sink a deal to extend FISA Section 702, according to a person familiar with the matter: www.nextgov.com/people/2026/...

Trump signs AI executive order after postponement last month www.nextgov.com/artificial-i...

Himes, top Dem on House Intel, reacting to acting DNI Pulte appointment: "His brief career in public service has shown only that he is willing to abuse his office to attack Donald Trump’s political enemies."

POTUS has signed AI security EO, about 2 weeks after an earlier version's signing was postponed: www.whitehouse.gov/presidential...