White House Proposes $19 Billion Budget Allocation for Cybersecurity

US President Barrack Obama is seeking a 35 percent hike in cybersecurity funding in his final budget to boost the capability of the federal government to defend itself against cyberattacks. The proposed $19 billion request, which represents one of the largest increases ever sought in this area, comes as Congress and the public have witnessed an alarming series of intrusions in recent years against targets ranging from Target and Sony to the Pentagon and the Office of Personnel Management. The proposal is part of a larger package of initiatives the…

Read More

Police Data Initiative by White House to reform the country’s police departments

The federal government, concerned citizens and multiple media organizations are working to bring transparency to this issue. In some cases, they’re even working together. Acording to a report extract from Huffington Post In addition to databases at Deadspin, Gun Violence Archive and FatalEncounters.org, The Washington Post is compiling a list of every fatal shooting by a police officer in the line of duty. A list like that, however, would not include Eric Garner and Freddie Gray, both of whom died during their interactions with police without a single shot being fired. The Guardian has gone…

Read More

Ethiopian Entrepreneur Sophia Bekele spoke on #GES Panel in San Francisco

DotConnectAfrica speaks at #GES-Global Entrepreneurship Summit #AfricanEntrepreneurs #SiliconValley

Sophia Bekele, Founder/ CEO DotConnectAfrica, Yes2dotAfrica was invited to speak on Global Entrepreneurship Summit (GES) forum, hosted by the White House and USAID on “African Entrepreneurs & Silicon Valley Forum: Bridging Gaps and Making Connections” The forum held at the Silicon Valley Bank’s WeWork Golden Gate location, San Francisco, California, and hosted over 100 delegates comprised of VCs, impact investors, African diaspora entrepreneurs, tech leaders, policymakers and U.S. government members from Washington DC and San Francisco, focused on spurring and supporting innovation ecosystems and investment in Africa. Various high-level panel…

Read More

Russians Implicated In White House Hack After Obama Makes Cybersecurity Executive Order

The same Russian hackers who breached the State Department system for months also gained access to an unclassifed White House computer system, according to a report from CNN. Although the system did not contain classified information, the Russians reportedly had access to the president’s private schedule. The connected cyberattack on the State Department in recent months has been characterized as the “worst ever” hack on a federal agency. The White House is no stranger to attacks from foreign spies. The Chinese have been implicated in several high profile attacks of White House unclassified systems and employee emails. News…

Read More

White House: President Obama Announces New Cybersecurity Legislative Proposal and Other Cybersecurity Efforts

Obama unveils cybersecurity proposals: ‘Cyber threats are urgent and growing danger’ Proposed legislation will allow companies to share information with government agencies including NSA, with which White House admitted there were ‘overlapping issues’ “In this interconnected, digital world, there are going to be opportunities for hackers to engage in cyber assaults both in the private sector and the public sector.  Now, our first order of business is making sure that we do everything to harden sites and prevent those kinds of attacks from taking place…But even as we get better,…

Read More

Obama Wants Firms to Notify of Data Breach Within 30 Days

The Proposal Complemented a Series of Data Privacy Related Rules Suggested by the White House Today. President Barack Obama wants companies to notify consumers within 30-days of a personal data breach. Despite a slew of pressing issues facing the administration and a potentially unsympathetic Republican-led congress, the White House today unveiled a handful of legislative proposals aimed at safeguarding consumer privacy, continuing along a path established by its privacy and big data report published in May. The administration’s Personal Data Notification and Protection Act is being pitched in part as…

Read More