@NextgovFCW cybersecurity intelligence reporter. Tips: ddimolfetta@govexec.com Signal: @ djd.99 BSKY: @ddimolfetta.bsky.social
Joined June 2013
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723 Photos and videos
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Jan 23
Two years ago today I joined the @NextgovFCW team at GovExec. I'm proud of the terrific work we've produced for our readers, and I'm excited to keep it going. Thanks for sticking with me. As always, send tips and scoops to ddimolfetta@govexec.com or my Signal @ djd.99
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Jun 13
“Based on what we know thus far, the decision to block Anthropic’s latest AI model … risks America’s edge in AI innovation.”
nextgov.com/artificial-intel…
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Jun 12
Explainer: A key spying power will sunset on Friday — here’s why
nextgov.com/policy/2026/06/k…
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David DiMolfetta retweeted
Jun 12
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.
Jun 12
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
nextgov.com/people/2026/06/c…
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Jun 12
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
nextgov.com/people/2026/06/c…
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Jun 12
Leadership changes would be in CISA units including its Infrastructure Security Division and National Risk Management Center:
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Jun 12
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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Jun 12
This would not have been possible without my editors and especially sources who have come forward and worked with me over the last year. I share this achievement with all of them. Warm congrats to the other nominees and winners as well.
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Jun 11
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:
nextgov.com/policy/2026/06/h…
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Jun 11
Scoop from my colleague @not_amazn_alexa on CISA’s access to Mythos ->
Jun 11
White House discussions are weighing giving CISA Mythos access
buff.ly/u3mygrh
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Jun 11
As expected, House FISA 702 extension vote fails, increasing likelihood of a statutory lapse for the key surveillance authority.
H.R. 9238 failed by a vote of 198-218.
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David DiMolfetta retweeted
Jun 10
Attention, current and former U.S. government employees! Foreign intelligence services are posing as employers on professional networking sites like LinkedIn to target clearance holders for recruitment. We urge you to visit fbi.gov/investigate/counteri… to learn how to mitigate the threat.
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Jun 10
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.
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Jun 10
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.
nextgov.com/cybersecurity/20…
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Jun 10
Waves of federal layoffs in the past year have pushed thousands of government employees and contractors into an uncertain job market, creating renewed collection opportunities for foreign intelligence services, as we’ve previously reported:
nextgov.com/people/2026/01/s…
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David DiMolfetta retweeted
Jun 10
NEW: malware developers added nuclear & biological weapons text to to their spyware.
Goal? To trigger LLM safety refusals... so that their spyware wouldn't be analyzed by an AI security scanner.
Cleanest practical example I can think of for why over-indexing on first order safety alignment is risky.
When closed (and open) models ship with aggressive refusals, they will be sprinkled with second-order blindspots that attackers will discover...and exploit.
We are only in the earliest days of attackers leveraging these features, and it wouldn't surprise me if users systems that need to handle complex cybersecurity issues demand that models be less safety-blunted.
In the weeds: @SocketSecurity's post also shows why intention matters in how you design a malware analysis pipeline to avoid prompt manipulation.
H/T to colleagues that shared this with me socket.dev/blog/mini-shai-hu…
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David DiMolfetta retweeted
Jun 10
"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." nextgov.com/artificial-intel…
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David DiMolfetta retweeted
Jun 10
Some new information here that posits a pretty interesting question: Shouldn't agency CIOs, who oversee IT enterprises larger than many Fortune 500s, have a (front) seat at the table regarding how government adopts emerging technologies like Mythos?
Via @ddimolfetta & @not_amazn_alexa
nextgov.com/artificial-intel…
Jun 10
Scoop w/ @not_amazn_alexa -> 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.
nextgov.com/artificial-intel…
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Jun 10
Scoop w/ @not_amazn_alexa -> 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.
nextgov.com/artificial-intel…
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Jun 10
Many federal CIOs have privately complained that ONCD hasn’t sufficiently briefed officials on plans for accessing, implementing and using the model to scan agency networks for vulnerabilities. There has been "tremendous frustration" with ONCD, one person tells us.
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Jun 10
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.
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