The Senate recently approved the $1.1 trillion spending bill, while a new House bill would streamline the hiring of cyber security professionals for the Department of Homeland Security. In addition, DARPA is embracing Transparent Computing for countering advanced persistent threats. Be sure to read about this and much more in this week’s Federal News Round Up.

Senate Passes $1.1 Trillion Spending Bill
The Senate on Saturday approved a $1.1 trillion spending bill and sent it to President Barack Obama for his signature.

Department of Justice Announces Formation of Cyber Security Division
Assistant Attorney General Leslie Caldwell announced that the Department of Justice is set to launch a dedicated cyber security division as part of the agency’s existing computer crime and intellectual property unit.

Congress Moves Cyber-Hiring, FISMA Measures
Included in a bill the House recently cleared are provisions that would speed the Department of Homeland Security’s hiring of cyber security professionals and allow DHS to pay them more.

DISA Releases Draft of New Cloud Security Requirements
The Defense Information Systems Agency has released a draft of a security requirements guide for cloud computing across the Defense Department.

SANS, CSIS Unveil Cyber Scholarships for Air Force Vets
The SANS Institute and the Center for Strategic and International Studies are offering cyber security training scholarships for 12 veterans of the Air Force.

DoD Continues Push to Boost Supercomputing Power
The Defense Department is continuing its year-long push to bulk up its supercomputing muscle with its High Performance Computing Modernization Program.

DARPA Sees Future of Cybersecurity in Transparent Computing
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is trying to get ahead of most persistent threats in cyberspace by embracing Transparent Computing.