@NextgovFCW cybersecurity + intelligence reporter. Tips: ddimolfetta@govexec.com Signal: @ djd.99 BSKY: @ddimolfetta.bsky.social
Washington, DC
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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.
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Breaking: @FCC makes AI-generated voices in robocalls illegal under Telephone Consumer Protection Act
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My name is Oliver Queen. For five years, I was stranded on an island with only one goal: survive. Now I will fulfill my father's dying wish - to use the list of names he left me and push cars stuck in snow. To do this, I must become someone else. I must become, the Green Shovel.
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Personal news: I've joined @washingtonpost this week as the researcher for the Cyber 202 and Tech 202 newsletters! Really excited to be working with @timstarks, @viaCristiano and others here covering the tech and cyber beats⬇️
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NEW: At a Thursday Washington Post Live event, State Department's Nate Fick says most Americans don't understand "how much of the content they see on social platforms is actually a foreign intelligence operation."
nextgov.com/digital-governme…
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NEW: In an 11th hour move, CISA spokesperson says it extended the contract for the MITRE-backed CVE Program last night:
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SCOOP: Library of Congress was targeted in cyberattack that occurred same time as high-profile ransomware attack on UK's British Library in October, but the hackers failed to access U.S. library’s systems because MFA was installed⬇️
nextgov.com/cybersecurity/20…
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Personal news: Today is my first day at @NextgovFCW covering cybersecurity! So excited to get started and continue on the cyber beat. Send tips, scoops, story ideas, research reports and anything else you've got to ddimolfetta@govexec.com
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Kristi Noem and Russ Vought, nominees to respectively head DHS and OMB, advanced out of Senate Homeland Security and Gov't Affairs Committee
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It’s such a privilege to share my first A1 at the Post with @Cat_Zakrzewski and @viaCristiano - I’ve looked up to both of them since I started covering tech just a little over two years ago. Thanks for having me along, let’s do it again sometime :)
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Gov't funding needed for MITRE to develop + maintain its flagship Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures Program will expire Wednesday, the company confirmed. CVE provides a global standard for identifying cyber vulnerabilities. It first launched in 1999.
nextgov.com/cybersecurity/20…
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Today, our final edition of the Cybersecurity 202 went out. It was also my last time on the Technology 202. It's been such a privilege working with @timstarks and @viaCristiano and I will miss doing these newsletters with them more than words can describe.
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Story live: CISA extends MITRE-backed CVE contract hours before its lapse
nextgov.com/cybersecurity/20…
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The action expands “the legal avenues through which state law enforcement agencies can hold these perpetrators accountable under the law,” FCC says.
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New: CISA’s threat hunting division warned 500+ staff it will discontinue Google-owned VirusTotal and has already ceased use of Censys. Nightwing and Peraton contractors also had to turn in their phones Thursday:
nextgov.com/cybersecurity/20…
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Navy telling its workforce to not reply to accomplishments email sent tonight, according to email text I obtained: “At this time, if you have received this email, DO NOT respond. We are awaiting DoD and DoN guidance and will send an update as soon as we know more.”
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SCOOP --> FTC held meetings with tech industry executives to gather information for a possible antitrust probe of Microsoft’s licensing and bundling practices. Recent cyberattacks linked to the company came up in the discussions.⬇️
nextgov.com/cybersecurity/20…
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Joint quote from House Science Committee Ranking Member Zoe Lofgren and Committee on Homeland Security Ranking Member Bennie Thompson re. CVE funding:
Gov't funding needed for MITRE to develop + maintain its flagship Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures Program will expire Wednesday, the company confirmed. CVE provides a global standard for identifying cyber vulnerabilities. It first launched in 1999.
nextgov.com/cybersecurity/20…
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Gushing with excitement to see @timstarks for the first time since working on the Cyber202 with him at the Post. So happy.
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SCOOP: In response to Salt Typhoon hacks, GAO considering a study to assess cost of administering a sweeping project to rip and replace small telco providers' equipment across the country →
nextgov.com/cybersecurity/20…
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NEW: The Microsoft Exchange vulnerability disclosed tonight coincided with a talk delivered at Black Hat, where a security researcher demoed the exploitation. Federal systems are exposed and an emergency directive is planned tomorrow, I’m told:
nextgov.com/cybersecurity/20…
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I’m leveling up this week and will be moving into DC proper tomorrow! I’ll be checking work email periodically over the next few days and can still be reached via email or dms for any tips/scoops.
Definitely most excited about the new kitchen! Please send recipes!
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Inbox: Bipartisan Senate group set to unveil legislation tomorrow to reform security classification system "in order to reduce overclassification, prevent mishandling of classified information, promote better use of intelligence, and enhance public trust" at 11:30.
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@wmata looks like these lights are burning up here at Metro Center station, several people smell burning, anything to worry about?
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Imagine asking Twitter for comment about soaring antisemitic tweets on the platform….and getting a poop emoji as a reply. That’s exactly what happened to @viaCristiano. Today’s Technology 202 ⬇️
washingtonpost.com/politics/…
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NEW → DHS’s Office of Intelligence and Analysis has briefly paused its planned staff cuts following backlash from law enforcement and Jewish community orgs, two people familiar with the matter tell Nextgov/FCW.
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Proud to have made it into a White House transcript for the first time. Hopefully many more to come!
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New: Salt Typhoon may have targeted U.S. universities in an effort to access research in areas related to telecommunications and other technologies, according to findings from Recorded Future out today:
nextgov.com/cybersecurity/20…
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Happy national cyber strategy day! @timstarks unpacks it in today’s Cyber 202:
washingtonpost.com/politics/…
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Scoop: Rep. Abigail Spanberger wants answers from AT&T CEO on recent data breach that impacted most customers, including USG employees on FirstNet. Letter was sent this afternoon —>
nextgov.com/cybersecurity/20…
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I will at RSA Conference in May and would love to connect with sources and other folks in the cyber community. Shoot me an email and let's try to plan: ddimolfetta@govexec.com
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Privilege to be at the White House today covering the administration’s K-12 cybersecurity summit
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Scoop: Edward Coristine, a 19-year-old staffer in billionaire Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency with a reported history of interacting with hacking groups, has been given physical access to CISA with a DHS email.
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SCOOP: FBI raided Carahsoft's offices this morning, two people familiar tell us. FBI spox says it "conducted court-authorized law enforcement activity on Sunset Hills Road this morning" and declined to comment further. Story TK
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Mini job news: My beat is switching! I'll be pivoting to AI and cybersecurity policy coverage in the coming weeks, working more closely with our @451Research team under the guidance of @nickpatience. ⬇️
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I’ve taken a lot of risks in life, but by far the biggest was today when I wore a white shirt to an Italian restaurant
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I anchored today’s Cybersecurity 202, where I wrote about how cyber preparedness is increasingly being looked at in credit ratings assignments. Also included is an exclusive on cybersecurity workforce legislation: washingtonpost.com/politics/…
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Found a photo of my first press pass issued last year, can’t believe I thought I could pull off a Jim Morrison look in Congress
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New: A climate nonprofit is pushing Big Tech to exit the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, arguing the companies' climate goals are in conflict with the Chamber's history of working to obstruct climate policy, I report for today's Technology 202
washingtonpost.com/politics/…
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CISA has no data or reporting to support claims of cheating in election, agency senior advisor Cait Conley just told reporters on a call.
From colleague @holmeslybrand: The Philadelphia Police Department told CNN they were not aware what Trump was referring to and did not know of any issues with voting that required a law enforcement response.
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One year ago today I started at @SPGMarketIntel, just a week after finishing undergrad. To say I've learned a lot is an understatement. I've met and talked with really amazing people and I'm grateful for the opportunity to be covering such an important beat right now.
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Exclusive --> @Mandiant CEO Kevin Mandia talks Volt Typhoon. Says there are victims targeted who won’t know they are impacted. “To me, Volt Typhoon is the natural progression of great … Chinese cyberespionage,” he says. w/ @Frank_Konkel
nextgov.com/cybersecurity/20…
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Update: the extension is 11 months, I’m told.
Story live: CISA extends MITRE-backed CVE contract hours before its lapse
nextgov.com/cybersecurity/20…
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CISA statement re. CVE funding: “Although CISA’s contract with the MITRE Corporation will lapse after April 16, we are urgently working to mitigate impact and to maintain CVE services on which global stakeholders rely.”
Gov't funding needed for MITRE to develop + maintain its flagship Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures Program will expire Wednesday, the company confirmed. CVE provides a global standard for identifying cyber vulnerabilities. It first launched in 1999.
nextgov.com/cybersecurity/20…
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MS in Business Analytics. No easy feat doing this while working full time, couldn't have done it without Mom and Dad. Congratulations to all my friends and peers who took on this challenge.
Taking suggestions for what degree to get next. Hoya Saxa!
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NEW: The General Services Administration used “egregiously flawed” market research in its decision to purchase 150 Chinese-made video conferencing cameras that did not comply with U.S. trade standards.
My first byline:
nextgov.com/acquisition/2024…
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Cyber journo peeps getting some much needed sun at #BlackHat2024 — @magmill95 @JGedeon1 @samsabin923
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Our scoop on FBI's Carahsoft raid is live: nextgov.com/acquisition/2024…
SCOOP: FBI raided Carahsoft's offices this morning, two people familiar tell us. FBI spox says it "conducted court-authorized law enforcement activity on Sunset Hills Road this morning" and declined to comment further. Story TK
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Since then, LOC has been decommissioning legacy equipment and integrating new security tools into its networks.
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“Stop the press!” used to be cool because you’d actually have to stop the printing press but now you just close your browser
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Scoop: U.S. agencies assessed that Salt Typhoon likely hit data center giant Digital Realty and mass media provider Comcast, marking a potentially major expansion of the Chinese hacking group’s initial telecom intrusions discovered last year.⬇️
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The U.S. is still trying to jettison Salt Typhoon from telecom networks. The Chinese hacking group launched the intrusions with “much broader” aims than just compromising CALEA wiretap systems, a senior FBI official said Tuesday —>
nextgov.com/cybersecurity/20…
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Occasionally I'll be taking over the newsletters and will be doing some of my own reporting on cybersecurity and tech policy matters. Send tips, scoops, story ideas and exclusives to david.dimolfetta@washpost.com or DM me to chat on Signal. Can't wait to get started!
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With that, my time at the Post is done. I don't have any announcements on next steps yet, but I'll say that this has been such a great learning opportunity, and I thank everyone for their encouragement as I worked on these newsletters while in grad school. It was not easy to do.
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@JohnAvlon: "Freedom of the press is the biggest guarantor of a free society."
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One fmr. senior official fears the move might be used as a basis to split the NSA-CYBERCOM dual hat, permitting POTUS to install a loyalist appointee. “We saw it’s possible, without adequate oversight, for our spy agencies to do inappropriate things.”
nextgov.com/people/2025/04/n…
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New: We obtained a draft copy of the Biden admin's swan song cybersecurity EO, focused on shoring up federal cyber practices. We also confirm Bloomberg reporting that Chinese Treasury hack was likely carried out by Silk Typhoon -->
nextgov.com/cybersecurity/20…
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Salt Typhoon scoop —>
-Hundreds of orgs notified of possible compromise
-Hackers exploited years-old flaws that had patches, but telcos never implemented them
-FCC CALEA ruling expected to pass before Trump takes office
nextgov.com/cybersecurity/20…
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Great seeing the GovExec editorial team get a shoutout in this @CNN story about surge in readership for federal government-focused trade pubs
cnn.com/2025/02/05/media/new…
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NEW: In an exclusive interview with @SPGMarketIntel, former FCC Chairman @AjitPai says that ongoing 5G deployment disputes call for a confirmed leader of @NTIAgov
spglobal.com/marketintellige…
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The TSA under David Pekoske oversaw sweeping pipeline and rail cybersecurity directives as part of a broader Biden-era push to bolster U.S. cyber posture. It’s unclear why he was asked to leave.
nextgov.com/people/2025/01/t…
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SCOOP --> HHS quietly removed Login from grantee payment platform after hackers stole millions from multiple grant recipient orgs last year. The thieves used SAM data to change banking info, impacting seven orgs. New details on incident w/ @AlmsNatalie ⬇️
nextgov.com/cybersecurity/20…
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Anchored today’s Cybersecurity 202, where I wrote about how FDA is working to increase cyber protections in medical devices: washingtonpost.com/politics/…
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Huge coalition of Dems write to POTUS about NSA firings. Of note: “Premature termination of the dual-hat arrangement would severely degrade the speed and effectiveness of NSA’s and CYBERCOM’s abilities to execute their missions and could have dire consequences” for NatSec⬇️
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Scoop: OPM fires its own probationary period staff. On an internal call w/ probationary employees Thursday afternoon, an unidentified OPM official told impacted workers they would lose physical and IT systems access at 3 p.m. w/ @EricM_Katz
govexec.com/workforce/2025/0…
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New: Key initiatives within White House AI Action Plan include focus on incorporating AI across the DOD and creating an AI Information Sharing and Analysis Center led by DHS. More here w/ @not_amazn_alexa
nextgov.com/artificial-intel…
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SCOOP --> White House deputy national cyber director Camille Stewart Gloster will step down next week. Her last day is Tuesday:
nextgov.com/people/2024/04/w…
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Had a blast visiting @TechForTroopsVA today for coverage examining the device divide in America. Here’s a flattering photo of me crushing a hard drive.
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FCC taking a step into the cybersecurity world with Chair Rosenworcel asking colleagues to support an NPRM to invest in cybersecurity services for K-12 schools and libraries
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The update comes just hours after a subset of the CVE Board said it plans to break off to maintain the CVE Program under a new body called the CVE Foundation. Unclear what happens next, but the new group could have a role in future contracting discussions:
thecvefoundation.org/
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New w/ @timstarks: The Biden administration has a new cybersecurity strategy, now comes the hard part. Great contributing reporting to today’s lead story in the Cybersecurity 202:
washingtonpost.com/politics/…
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I made my first national TV appearance on @NewsNation Morning in America to discuss yesterday’s DHS bulletin warning of heightened cyber threats from Iran: piped.video/qlSNgp9PjGs
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Scoop: House-led bill being introduced today that would prevent Transportation Department from procuring equipment that contains LiDAR technologies made by China, according to press release I obtained. The DOT would be barred from these acquisitions effective June 30, 2026.
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New: Potential year-end cybersecurity EO may hinge on who wins the presidential election, people familiar say. One source described it as a "kitchen sink" that tackles unfinished U.S. cyber policy business. W/ @not_amazn_alexa + @AlmsNatalie -->
nextgov.com/cybersecurity/20…
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In a rare win for cyber reporters, the Salt Typhoon hacks have gotten so much attention that SNL had a joke about it on Weekend Update: piped.video/dyZxIUsnuJk?si=TIeM…
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🇨🇳SharePoint vulnerability update: "We assess that at least one of the actors responsible for this early exploitation is a China-nexus threat actor," Mandiant/Google Cloud CTO Chalres Carmakal says in a statement sent to me just now.
My earlier reporting:
nextgov.com/cybersecurity/20…
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Please hire my GovExec colleagues affected today. They are phenomenal, and I will miss them dearly.
Some news: Government Executive media group (GovEx), which includes industry publications like Route Fifty and The Atlas, laid off 16 staffers today, chief executive Tim Hartman announced in a memo.
This comes, of course, six days before the election…
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Holiday gifts for myself just came - two books from @meatspacepress I’ve been looking forward to reading for a while. And they threw in some stickers and postcards too!
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FCC and NSF holding an AI workshop on July 13 to discuss "opportunities and challenges of artificial intelligence for communications networks and consumers"
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Salt Typhoon sanctions coming, via @nakashimae - “The hackers … work for a Beijing-based firm, according to several officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the matter’s sensitivity.”
washingtonpost.com/national-…
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New: The NSA is launching a podcast series in an effort to boost public awareness about the clandestine nature of its work. No Such Podcast is coming soon, according to a trailer made available today -->
nextgov.com/digital-governme…
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