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Navy to Demonstrate Health Monitoring System for Self-Defense Test Ship; Carlos Boisselier Quoted
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Navy to Demonstrate Health Monitoring System for Self-Defense Test Ship; Carlos Boisselier Quoted

Naval Surface Warfare Center Carderock Division is contributing to a collaborative effort that aims to design, develop and test an autonomous monitoring system for the U.S. Navy's Self Defense Test Ship (SDTS).

The effort, which is a Naval Innovation, Science and Engineering project, will produce a system designed to continuously analyze the health of SDTS's hull, mechanical and electrical systems, Naval Sea Systems Command said Wednesday.

SDTS is a repurposed destroyer formerly known as USS Paul F. Foster. The ship now serves as an unmanned testbed for live-fire demonstrations at sea. The project will primarily develop a digital twin for the ship's condition-based maintenance.

"This project provides an opportunity for this Navy team to find ways to increase ship maintenance effectiveness by decreasing its downtime and get vessels ready for future missions more efficiently than before,” said Carlos Boisselier, a systems engineer at NSWC Port Hueneme Division's SDTS team.

The Navy authorized the system's installation onto SDTS in July 2021, and expects the project to run for three years.

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Air Force Launches Effort to Simplify Micro-Spending in Local Communities; Cameron Holt Quoted
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Air Force Launches Effort to Simplify Micro-Spending in Local Communities; Cameron Holt Quoted

The U.S. Air Force has launched a program that aims to simplify transactions between government purchase card users and local communities. The First Look Program will help airmen apply smarter business practices to their micro-size purchases as GPC holders annually spend $1.8 billion, Air Force Materiel Command said Tuesday

Maj. Gen. Cameron Holt, deputy assistant secretary of the Air Force for contracting, said a contracting squadron at Columbus Air Force Base addressed the difficulty of doing business with local communities.

“Instead of the local community businesses coming out and providing their information, we had all the requirement organizations on base come and set up information booths,” he said at the program's dedicated workshop.

The major general added that local businesses near the base signed up for the First Look Program to have their websites listed on Columbus AFB's intranet page. GPC holders would first take a look at the list before purchasing items online.

Michael Hogan, deputy assistant secretary for contracting sourcing and transformation chief, said the Air Force has identified 107,000 businesses for the program. The Air Force also created a special portal for businesses looking to take part in First Look.

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Accenture Acquires Gevity to Bolster Health Transformation Service Capabilities; Jeffrey Russell Quoted
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Accenture Acquires Gevity to Bolster Health Transformation Service Capabilities; Jeffrey Russell Quoted

Accenture announced on Thursday that the Canadian branch of the company has acquired Gevity, a strategy and consulting service provider of innovative technology solutions focused on helping healthcare industry client, to expand its capabilities to deliver health transformation services in Canada and internationally. 

“Gevity’s talented team and track record of success combined with Accenture's national leadership in transformation services and strong ecosystem partnerships will strengthen our capabilities from coast to coast,” said Jeffrey Russell, president of Accenture in Canada.

Gevity works with organizations that span the continuum of healthcare, from providers as well as public and private payers to regulators and healthcare non-profit stakeholder organizations.

The firm specializes in providing strategic consultancy services to health sector clients spanning capability areas such as health systems integration, informatics and analytics, and solution implementation and program management. 

“Moreover, the acquisition positions Accenture to lead the wave of tech-enabled health innovation that places people's health at the center to improve access, experience, and outcomes,” Russell added. 

About Accenture

Accenture is a global professional services company with leading capabilities in digital, cloud and security. Combining unmatched experience and specialized skills across more than 40 industries, we offer Strategy and Consulting, Interactive, Technology and Operations services — all powered by the world’s largest network of Advanced Technology and Intelligent Operations centers.

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Mina Hsiang Named US Digital Service Administrator
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Mina Hsiang Named US Digital Service Administrator

Mina Hsiang, formerly senior adviser for delivery at the U.S. Digital Service (USDS), has been appointed as administrator of USDS. She succeeds Matt Cutts, who led the agency from Jan. 2017 to April 2021.

Hsiang is the first Asian American and the first woman to serve as head of the White House’s technology unit responsible for helping federal agencies digitize government service delivery, USDS said Thursday in a Medium post.

“I remain committed to bringing in highly skilled and experienced technologists who are diverse on all axes- because government builds for everyone, and we should reflect that public,” Hsiang noted.

Her private-sector career includes time as vice president of technology products and policy at insurance startup Devoted Health and as new product development lead for Optum’s analytics division.

She was the founding executive director of digital service at the Department of Health and Human Services and oversaw Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act implementation efforts.

Hsiang helped fix the federally run health insurance exchange portal during the Obama administration as part of the HealthCare.gov rescue team.

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ISS Secures NOAA Professional Services Contract for National Ocean Service Support
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ISS Secures NOAA Professional Services Contract for National Ocean Service Support

Integrated Systems Solutions (ISS) has received a three-year $9.5 million contract from NOAA to provide the offices within its National Ocean Service (NOS) headquarters with administrative and management support services.

ISS said Tuesday it will help NOS address coastal area threats as well as promote place-based conservation and coastal resilience and intelligence by providing tools and professional services.

The contract covers communications and education support, policy and program analysis, budget planning and formulation as well as administrative assistance. It was awarded through the Professional, Scientific and Technical Services Oceans Domain indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity acquisition vehicle.

The company has been supporting NOS for nine years now. The recent award is the third consecutive three-year contract it secured from the NOAA unit.

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Kathleen Hicks: DOD Looks to Address Admin Barriers Facing Small Businesses
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Kathleen Hicks: DOD Looks to Address Admin Barriers Facing Small Businesses

Kathleen Hicks, deputy secretary of the Department of Defense and a 2021 Wash100 Award winner, said DOD is committed to looking at the administration barriers facing small companies seeking to do business with the Pentagon and will initiate measures to address those challenges where it can, DOD News reported Wednesday.

"To do that effectively, we need your engagement," Hicks said Wednesday. "This week, we are putting out a notice in the Federal Register seeking industry input on the barriers you face.”

She said industry feedback will be incorporated into the department’s small business strategy that she plans to unveil before the end of 2021. She also announced the establishment of a DOD innovation steering group and mentioned the department’s efforts to further strengthen its small business programs to facilitate their entry into the defense marketplace.

The deputy secretary noted that the Pentagon has 95 procurement technical assistance centers that help businesses compete for contracts with the department and other federal agencies.

"And we will continue to leverage programs like Small Business Innovation Research which, on average, commercializes $7 billion of small business innovations that are connected directly to our warfighting capabilities," Hicks said.

She also cited that DOD is collaborating with the White House, Small Business Administration and other agencies to generate more opportunities for small companies to secure spots on the department’s contract vehicles.

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Michael Orlando: NCSC Campaign Aims to Increase Government, Industry Awareness of Insider Threats
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Michael Orlando: NCSC Campaign Aims to Increase Government, Industry Awareness of Insider Threats

The National Counterintelligence and Security Center (NCSC) and its federal partners have kicked off a monthlong campaign to promote the importance of implementing programs that help agencies and companies reduce risks from insider threats.

National Insider Threat Awareness Month will focus on activities designed to educate public and private sector organizations about fostering a culture of trust in the workplace, NCSC said Wednesday.

This year's initiative marks nearly 10 years since Executive Order 13587 mandated the formation of the National Insider Threat Task Force, an interagency group currently housed within NCSC.

“Through this campaign, we hope to bring much-needed attention to insider threats and help organizations and their employees prevent and mitigate these issues early on," said Michael Orlando, acting director of NCSC.

“These threats can take many forms, whether it’s a federal employee coopted by a foreign adversary to steal sensitive information or a corporate employee clicking on a spear-phishing link that infects their company’s networks.”

The Office of the Under Secretary of Defense Intelligence and Security, the Department of Homeland Security and the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency support the campaign.

The Department of Defense will sponsor a conference scheduled for Friday to highlight insider threat programs across the government and industry.

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GAO to Issue Report on Pandemic-Driven Tech Adoption’s Cyber Impacts; Jennifer Franks Quoted
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GAO to Issue Report on Pandemic-Driven Tech Adoption’s Cyber Impacts; Jennifer Franks Quoted

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) plans to issue a report in fiscal year 2022 about the impact of technology adoption driven by mass telework on federal agencies’ cybersecurity posture, Federal News Network reported Wednesday.

Jennifer Franks, director of information technology and cybersecurity at GAO, said Tuesday at a webinar she cannot discuss the report’s findings but noted an expansion in agencies’ threat surface as more employees shifted to remote work during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“And that this was a risk agencies were willing to indeed accept to maintain the health and safety of their employees, among other reasons, during the pandemic,” Franks said.

She called on agencies to adopt zero trust and implement proactive threat hunting measures. She also noted that the congressional watchdog intends to broaden its reviews in the near future to include risks to supply chains amid recent cyberattacks.

“So now not only do agencies have to worry about their network, but now we have to worry about the networks of the entities of supposed ‘trusted’ partners and suppliers,” Franks added.

Supply Chain Cybersecurity: Revelations and Innovations

ExecutiveBiz, sister site of GovConDaily and part of the Executive Mosaic digital media umbrella, will host a virtual event about securing the supply chain on Oct. 26. Visit ExecutiveBiz.com to sign up for the “Supply Chain Cybersecurity: Revelations and Innovations” event.

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House Panel OKs Measure to Add Nearly $25B to President’s FY 2022 Defense Budget Request
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House Panel OKs Measure to Add Nearly $25B to President’s FY 2022 Defense Budget Request

The House Armed Services Committee (HASC) voted 42-17 Wednesday to approve an amendment that would increase the topline of the defense budget for fiscal year 2022 to $778 billion, The Hill reported.

Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Ala., the House panel's ranking member, introduced the amendment, which reflects a $37 billion increase from the FY 2021 enacted level and a rise of nearly $25 billion from the president’s FY 2022 defense budget proposal of $753 billion.

The amendment to the FY 2022 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) proposes $9.8 billion for procurement, including $4.7 billion for shipbuilding and $1.7 billion for aircraft.

Breaking Defense reported that the measure includes $5.2 billion for research, development, test and evaluation; $4.2 billion for innovation; $3 billion for operation and maintenance; $490 million for space; and $780 million for missile defense.

“The bipartisan adoption of my amendment sends a clear signal: the President’s budget submission was wholly inadequate to keep pace with a rising China and a re-emerging Russia,” Rogers said in a statement.

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Labor Department Stands up New Office to Update Unemployment Insurance System
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Labor Department Stands up New Office to Update Unemployment Insurance System

The Department of Labor has created a new office to strategically lead the modernization of the country's unemployment insurance system.

The Office of Unemployment Insurance (UI) will work with partner agencies and state governments to implement a UI system modernization strategy.

Efforts contained in the strategy include the oversight of $2 billion in fraud prevention funds provided through the American Rescue Plan Act.

The newly established organization will work with teams of the Labor Department's chief information officer and assistant secretary for administration and management, as well as the Employment and Training Administration.

Yvette Meftah, who has worked under the secretary of labor since 2009, will lead the Office of UI as director. Michele Evermore, senior adviser on UI, has been named the office's deputy director for policy.

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