Earlier, Federal Times published a comprehensive report breaking down years of cybersecurity incidents at the Department of Health and Human Services and its components.
We sifted through the data, spoke with independent experts and current and former HHS IT officials and looked at the issues from multiple angles. Ultimately, what appeared in our February print edition and online Feb. 22 outlined what we believed to be the big takeaways — the most interesting and most important story hidden within the data.
But we could be wrong.
In a time when the Internet provides us with an unparalleled opportunity to engage with our readers and even the federal government is embracing ideas like crowdsourcing and citizen science, we decided to let you, our audience, get in on this.
Below, you’ll find a downloadable copy of the Excel document in response to a Freedom of Information request detailing every cybersecurity incident at HHS from January 2013 through September 2015. The initial pages explain the document, including important definitions — so be sure not to skip that part.
We’ve also teamed up with Datawrapper, an online data visualization site that offers users the tools to create interactive graphs and infographics. Datawrapper’s tools are free to use and the site agreed to host whatever visualizations you come up with using the FOI data.
The site will let you upload your own Excel or Google sheet (we suggest you create a new one rather than altering the original data) and build your visualization in four steps. If you need help, Datawrapper offered this 100-second tutorial to get you started.
Once we’ve collected a few great visualizations, we’ll post them all together here on FederalTimes.com. We’re hoping this project will help us spot trends we might have missed and we’re hoping you have fun getting in on the action.
So, my fellow data nerds — and budding nerds, as well — dig in, play around with some cool charts, then fill out the form at the bottom of this page so we can share your creations with everyone else.
Now go to Datawrapper, create your visualization, then fill out this form.
