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VA Unveils Cybersecurity Strategy; Secretary Denis McDonough Quoted
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VA Unveils Cybersecurity Strategy; Secretary Denis McDonough Quoted

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has released a strategy to protect veterans’ personal data and other critical information from cyberthreats. 

VA said Thursday that its cybersecurity strategy has five goals and these are securing and protecting VA and veteran information; protecting information systems and assets; leveraging innovation to strengthen cybersecurity; enhancing cybersecurity through partnerships and information sharing and empowering the department’s mission through cybersecurity risk management.

“As we continue to rapidly advance technology across VA, this strategy provides an agile framework to address the challenges of today and adapt to the technologies and threats of tomorrow,” said VA Secretary Denis McDonough.

Each strategic goal comes with supporting objectives. For the first goal, VA will work to identify and tag sensitive data, protect data in transit and at rest and prevent data loss.

The department’s strategy is aligned with its FY 2018 – 2024 Strategic Plan and takes into account current and new executive orders, federal cyber requirements, technological innovations and events worldwide.

“This comprehensive approach practices accountability and transparency, while remaining hypervigilant of cyber threats — charting a course for success at the individual and enterprise levels,” added McDonough.

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Nominations Open for Executive Mosaic’s 2022 Wash100 Award; Submit Your Choices By Dec. 31st
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Nominations Open for Executive Mosaic’s 2022 Wash100 Award; Submit Your Choices By Dec. 31st

Executive Mosaic, the leading media and events company in the government contracting (GovCon) sector, has opened nominations for its 2022 Wash100 Award, the highest recognition awarded to outstanding government, military and industry executives for their influence, notable impact and groundbreaking accomplishments in the GovCon sector.

Nominations for this year’s prestigious award are open through Dec. 31, 2021 and can be submitted at Wash100.com, where you can also learn more about the history of the award and its prominent recipients from previous years.

This year marks the ninth iteration of the Wash100 Award, which will be granted to public and private sector leaders who have made significant contributions across the federal sector over the past year in light of myriad challenges on a global scale.

Jim Garrettson, CEO of Executive Mosaic and founder of the Wash100 Award said, “This past year’s embattled economy and government efforts to keep companies growing virtually, adjust supply chain, implement AI, fight cyber, protect our borders, monitor and compete with near-peer adversaries, integrate technological solutions and fight the pandemic on all fronts have produced a larger than ever array of deserving senior executives for consideration.” 

“Having an exceptional performance over the past year is but half the challenge. The Wash100 Award is further distinguished by its award to those that show the greatest promise for the year ahead,” Garrettson added.

The 2022 Wash100 Award selection follows the unprecedented participation of last year’s voting season and is expected to garner the engagement of the most eminent leaders who demonstrate the highest level of vision, innovation, achievement and mission commitment in the industry and within the GovCon community.

Eligible individuals for nomination include representatives from government contracting businesses, government advisers, policy groups, academic institutions, consulting organizations and other industry-related organizations. The review committee will be giving additional consideration to diversity and inclusion throughout the nomination process.

Visit Wash100.com before Dec. 31st, 2021 to submit your nominations for the 2022 Wash100 Award.

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Presidential Advisory Group Calls for Establishment of Software Assurance Task Force
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Presidential Advisory Group Calls for Establishment of Software Assurance Task Force

The National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee (NSTAC) has issued a draft report that calls for the White House to form a task force that would help define a public-private initiative focused on key software assurance areas and the software supply chain.

NSTAC, which is composed of industry CEOs advising the president on issues related to the country’s communications infrastructure, said the task force should include workstreams to help carry out the recommendations outlined in the report.

The draft document classifies key findings and recommendations into areas of software assurance, stakeholders and external influencing factors.

For the software assurance aspect, the committee recommends that the U.S. government and industry collaborate on broader adoption of supply chain risk management practices adapted to the modern software ecosystem; improve security and assurance processes for open-source software, and invest in research and development efforts related to software assurance to keep up with advances in computing systems.

The draft document also calls for the government to direct the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to convene a public-private initiative to enhance harmonization among standards in security assurance.

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President Biden to Nominate Microsoft Vet Kurt DelBene as VA CIO
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President Biden to Nominate Microsoft Vet Kurt DelBene as VA CIO

President Biden intends to nominate Kurt DelBene, a former senior executive at Microsoft, to serve as the Department of Veterans Affairs’ next chief information officer, the White House said Wednesday.

DelBene spent more than two decades at the multinational technology provider in various positions that included executive vice president of corporate strategy, core services engineering and operations and president of the Office division.

He first joined Microsoft in 1992 and briefly left the company in 2014 to serve as a senior adviser to the secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, where he supported assessment and implementation efforts associated with the Affordable Care Act enrollment website, Healthcare.gov.

Earlier in his career, DelBene worked as a management consultant at McKinsey and Co. and a software developer and systems engineer at Nokia Bell Labs, formerly AT&T Bell Laboratories. He was also a member of the Defense Innovation Board.

If confirmed by the Senate, DelBene will hold both the positions of VA CIO and the department’s assistant secretary for information and technology.

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SAIC Wins $93M U.S. Navy Contract to Support Tactical Threat Systems; Josh Jackson Quoted
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SAIC Wins $93M U.S. Navy Contract to Support Tactical Threat Systems; Josh Jackson Quoted

Science Applications International Corp has won a potential five-year, $93 million contract to support the U.S. Navy’s Tactical Integrated Threat/Target Training Systems.

 SAIC will compete with selected vendors for task orders under the indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract to provide a range of services including research and development, integration, cybersecurity, engineering, testing, upgrades and sustainment for the Navy’s tactical threat systems, the company said Thursday.

“This award gives SAIC an opportunity to win specific task orders under the TTS contract to help verify and validate the system capabilities deployed to our Navy,” said Josh Jackson, senior vice president of SAIC’s Naval Business Unit.

Jackson added that the contract will help SAIC provide enhanced support to current and future Navy missions and capabilities.

Contracted work will support the U.S. Navy’s Adaptive Combat Environment Systems group, located at the Naval Air Station in China Lake, California, and the provided services are expected to improve aircrew survivability and effectiveness.

Additional TTS support includes edge computing, range data collection, data sorting and system performance analysis as well as sustainment and modernization of electronic warfare-related range capabilities to support next-generation technologies. 

The cost-plus-fixed-fee, firm-fixed-price contract work is expected to be completed in September 2026. 

This contract comes one month after SAIC’s $90 million Defense Logistics Agency contract to continue its maintenance, repair and operations support for U.S. military facilities.

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DOE Spearheads International Effort to Support Net Zero Goal; Jennifer Granholm Quoted
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DOE Spearheads International Effort to Support Net Zero Goal; Jennifer Granholm Quoted

The Department of Energy (DOE) will lead an international effort to address climate change and move closer to achieving net-zero emissions.

DOE said Wednesday it will work with other countries to execute the Net Zero World Initiative, which aims to collaboratively develop and implement technology road maps and strategies toward the net-zero goal.

The effort will involve international partners in greenhouse gas reduction efforts across DOE’s national laboratories and application segments of the U.S. government.

DOE seeks to implement key net-zero policies for partners by 2023, invest $10 billion in clean energy projects by 2024 and establish new clean energy jobs by 2025.

Argentina, Nigeria, Egypt, Chile, Ukraine and Indonesia have joined the initiative as initial partners. DOE expects more countries to participate soon.

Net Zero World also partners with businesses, think tanks, academic institutions and other organizations including Bloomberg Philanthropies and the Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet.

The State Department, the U.S. Agency for International Development, the U.S. Trade and Development Agency and the Development Finance Corporation will also support Net-Zero World.

The effort also supports the larger Build Back Better initiative, which aims to revitalize the U.S. economy and meet climate goals.

“With Net-Zero World, our partnering nations will harness the power and expertise of the National Laboratories, federal agencies, think tanks, businesses, and universities, to develop tangible clean energy projects that meet their energy needs,” said Jennifer Granholm, secretary of Energy.

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US Government Adds 4 Israeli, Russian, Singaporean Companies to Cyber Blacklist
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US Government Adds 4 Israeli, Russian, Singaporean Companies to Cyber Blacklist

The U.S. government has identified four foreign companies involved in malicious cyber activities that threaten national security. 

Candiru, NSO Group, Computer Security Initiative Consultancy PTE and Positive Technologies have been included in the government’s entity list for malicious cyber activities due to spyware and cyber tool misuse cases, the State Department said Wednesday.

The first two companies, both from Israel, were found the be involved in spyware attacks that targeted embassy personnel, government officials and other individuals.

The other two are linked to tools that cyber actors can use to illegally access information systems and threaten national security. Computer Security Initiative Consultancy PTE operates from Singapore and Positive Technologies is headquartered in Russia.

The government does not plan to take action against the companies’ corresponding nations.

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CISA Directs Civilian Agencies to Address Known Exploited Vulnerabilities in Federal Systems; Jen Easterly Quoted
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CISA Directs Civilian Agencies to Address Known Exploited Vulnerabilities in Federal Systems; Jen Easterly Quoted

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has issued a binding operational directive (BOD) ordering federal civilian agencies to patch software and hardware vulnerabilities open to exploit.

The BOD 22-01 includes a list of known network weaknesses posing risks to the federal information systems enterprise and outlines vulnerability management procedures that agency leaders need to review and complete within 60 days, CISA said.

Federal civilian officials are directed to create internal validation and enforcement policies to ensure compliance with the directive and layout tracking and reporting requirements to monitor the progress of their cyber mitigation efforts.

“The directive lays out clear requirements for federal civilian agencies to take immediate action to improve their vulnerability management practices and dramatically reduce their exposure to cyberattacks,” said CISA Director Jen Easterly.

Agencies were given six months to remediate vulnerabilities made public before 2021 and two weeks to address all other vulnerabilities identified on their networks.

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Denice Ross Named US Chief Data Scientist
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Denice Ross Named US Chief Data Scientist

Denice Ross, a public interest technology expert, has joined the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) as U.S. chief data scientist, FedScoop reported Wednesday.

“The mission of the U.S. Chief Data Scientist is to responsibly unleash the power of data to benefit all Americans,” Ross wrote in a blog post published Wednesday. “I’m eager to get started and look forward to collaborating with data innovators already working inside of Federal government and at the State, Tribal, and local level.”

Prior to joining the White House, she served as a senior fellow at the National Conference on Citizenship and as a fellow at the Beeck Center for Social Impact and Innovation.

Ross served as data strategy lead and public interest technology fellow at think tank New America. She is a former Presidential Innovation Fellow who worked at the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) as a senior adviser. She also held data leadership roles during her time at the City of New Orleans.

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NASA Explores Potential Imaging Sensor Sources for ‘Landsat Next’ Mission
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NASA Explores Potential Imaging Sensor Sources for ‘Landsat Next’ Mission

NASA has issued a request for information to identify potential industry sources of imaging sensor technology for future Earth observation satellites under the Landsat program.

A notice posted on SAM.gov says interested vendors, including underserved businesses, can submit capability statements for the Landsat Next Instrument Study through Nov. 17.

Specifically, the agency is interested in an imaging system that can measure up to 25 wavelengths of light and generate image and instrument ancillary data.

NASA intends for the Landsat Next observatory to process image reconstruction information from spacecraft and instrument ancillaries for eventual processing in-ground infrastructure.

The agency seeks input from the private sector to help inform the project design phase and expects to launch the mission sometime in 2029.

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