/
Nicolas Chaillan: DevSecOps Boosts Timeliness of Software Development
Published on
Nicolas Chaillan: DevSecOps Boosts Timeliness of Software Development

Nicolas Chaillan, chief software officer at the U.S. Air Force, said that DevSecOps allows USAF to meet the timeliness requirements of software development. He said at an event with the Advanced Technology Academic Research Center (ATARC) that DevSecOps has accelerated the speed of mission delivery across development and production by 106 times, Nextgov reported Tuesday.

Chaillan noted that DevSecOps allows software developers to experience failures faster but also avoid repeating these failures.

DevSecOps refers to the approach of combining development, security and information technology operations from the start of a software development effort.

Officials have also reported that time spent on addressing cybersecurity issues has been halved as a result of DevSecOps.

/
Cypress International Launches New Two-Part Series of ‘The Cypress Perspective’ Podcast
Published on
Cypress International Launches New Two-Part Series of ‘The Cypress Perspective’ Podcast

Cypress International’s podcast “The Cypress Perspective” recently launched its new two-part series titled Understanding the Future of Naval Aviation on August 5th.  

This series focuses on what the Navy needs from industry to make the future Carrier Air Wing more effective in Distributed Maritime Operations (DMO). The podcast features several of the federal government’s top names, including:

ADM Scott Swift, USN (Ret.), former Commander, US Pacific Fleet, and VADM Bruce Lindsey, USN (Ret.), former Deputy Commander, US Fleet Forces Command, and former Commander, Naval Air Force Atlantic.  

Jim McCarthy, SES, USN (Ret.), former Assistant Deputy CNO, Integration of Capabilities and Resources (OPNAV N8B) and current VP of Naval Programs at Cypress International acts as the moderator of the discussion.

Part I of this series includes topics such as the “why, how, and what” of building the future Carrier Air Wing, TACAIR Integration of USN and USMC (plus allies), the capability and capacity requirements within the strategic context and current budgets, and the current and future roles and missions of the nuclear aircraft carrier and of unmanned aircraft and the in future Carrier Air Wing.  

Part II picks up where Part I left off regarding the contributions and risks of current and future type/model/series aircraft in the Carrier Air Wing and autonomous systems, trust, and AI in the future Carrier Air Wing.  

The subsequent discussion centers around the role of innovation, ingenuity, and technology to drive down total ownership costs, the role of LVC training in building readiness and trust in autonomous systems, and the attributes of Naval DMO systems required to interoperate with the other services and contribute to SECDEF’s Integrated Deterrence mission.

Tune into Cypress International’s two-part series on Understanding the Future of Naval Aviation and tune into the three-part series on Unmanned Systems. Upcoming podcasts include Supply Chain Resiliency and Artificial Intelligence.

///
Peraton Labs Awarded U.S. Army Contract to Extend UNO Planner for Integrated Planning of Tactical Network; Petros Mouchtaris Quoted
Published on
Peraton Labs Awarded U.S. Army Contract to Extend UNO Planner for Integrated Planning of Tactical Network; Petros Mouchtaris Quoted

Peraton Labs announced on Wednesday that the company has been awarded a one-year, $10.3 million contract with the U.S. Army to extend its Unified Network Operations (UNO) Planner software for the Product Manager Tactical Cyber and Network Operations (PdM TCNO).

Peraton Labs will extend UNO Planner to support additional transmission systems and additional planning capability, including communications security planning and document generation.

“Agile, intelligent and easy-to-use network operations are critical to the Army’s current and future mission success,” said Petros Mouchtaris, Ph.D., president of Peraton Labs. “UNO Planner delivers next-generation planning support across the entire ITN, enabling efficient, accurate and flexible NetOps with reduced training requirements.”

UNO Planner provides intelligent, easy-to-use, integrated planning for the Army tactical network with lower complexity, greater accuracy, increased flexibility, and reduced time and training.

In addition, UNO Planner supports tactical satellite communications and terrestrial networks with fast, easy, and error-free creation of critical configuration files, required to set up network elements and signal systems.

“Peraton Labs is proud to continue supporting the Army in modernizing its operations for the Integrated Tactical Network to significantly reduce complexity and operational burden,” Dr. Mouchtaris added.

About Peraton

Peraton drives missions of consequence spanning the globe and extending to the farthest reaches of the galaxy. As the world’s leading mission capability integrator and transformative enterprise IT provider, we deliver trusted and highly differentiated national security solutions and technologies that keep people safe and secure.

///
Blackstone Completes Acquisition of QTS Realty Trust; CEO Chad Williams Quoted
Published on
Blackstone Completes Acquisition of QTS Realty Trust; CEO Chad Williams Quoted

Blackstone has officially announced that its acquisition of QTS Realty Trust has been completed for approximately $10 billion. The acquisition was completed through the affiliates of Blackstone Infrastructure Partners, Blackstone Real Estate Income Trust, Inc., and Blackstone Property Partners.

“Completing this transaction with Blackstone marks an exciting new chapter for QTS,” said Chad Williams, CEO of QTS. “Our Powered by People approach will continue to be the foundation for how we serve our customers, local communities and each other, enabling QTS to continue setting a new standard for innovation and service delivery in the data center industry.”

Blackstone Senior Managing Directors Greg Blank and Tyler Henritze expressed their enthusiasm for the acquisition and the future of QTS.

QTS aligns with one of Blackstone’s highest conviction themes – data proliferation – and the required investment makes it well suited as a long-term holding for our perpetual capital vehicles,” said Blank and Henritze in a collective statement.

Citigroup Global Markets Inc., Barclays, Deutsche Bank Securities Inc., Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC and J.P. Morgan Securities LLC acted as financial advisors to Blackstone and Jefferies LLC and Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC acted as financial advisors to QTS.

About QTS Realty Trust

QTS Realty Trust is a leading provider of data center solutions across a diverse footprint spanning more than 7 million square feet of owned mega scale data center space within North America and Europe.

Through its software-defined technology platform, QTS is able to deliver secure, compliant infrastructure solutions, robust connectivity and premium customer service to leading hyperscale technology companies, enterprises, and government entities.

/
CISA, FBI Recommend Steps to Mitigate Risk of Ransomware Attacks; Eric Goldstein Quoted
Published on
CISA, FBI Recommend Steps to Mitigate Risk of Ransomware Attacks; Eric Goldstein Quoted

The FBI and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) have issued an advisory outlining mitigation measures that organizations in public and private sectors can implement to reduce the risk of ransomware attacks and other cyber incidents. CISA and the bureau have observed a rise in ransomware attacks during holidays and weekends.

The bureau and CISA recommend that organizations conduct preemptive threat hunting activities on their networks, such as understanding the baseline environment, reviewing data logs, using intrusion prevention and automated security alerting systems and deploying honeytokens.

They also suggested network best practices to mitigate the risk of compromise, including making an offline backup of data, updating software and operating systems, using strong passwords and multifactor authentication, implementing segmentation and creating an incident response plan.

CISA and the FBI also warn against paying a ransom to threat actors since it does not guarantee data recovery or protection from future attacks. Should organizations decide to pay the ransom or not, they should report attacks to the agencies to provide critical information to track attackers, help victims and hold criminal actors accountable.

“Ransomware continues to be a national security threat and a critical challenge, but it is not insurmountable,” said Eric Goldstein, executive assistant director for cybersecurity, CISA. 

“With our FBI partners, we continue to collaborate daily to ensure we provide timely, useful and actionable advisories that help industry and government partners of all sizes adopt defensible network strategies and strengthen their resilience. All organizations must continue to be vigilant against this ongoing threat,” he added.

Supply Chain Cybersecurity: Revelations and Innovations

ExecutiveBiz, sister site of ExecutiveGov, 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” forum.

Amanda Toman Named Acting Principal Director for 5G Initiative at DOD
Published on
Amanda Toman Named Acting Principal Director for 5G Initiative at DOD

Amanda Toman assumed the role of acting principal director for 5G initiative at the Department of Defense (DOD) following Joseph Evans’ departure from the role within the Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Research and Engineering in mid-August, FedScoop reported Tuesday.

The temporary Pentagon 5G lead has worked the department for over a decade now. She was a program manager from December 2010 to May 2020, and has served as 5G initiative director since then, according to her LinkeIn profile.

Prior to joining the government, Toman was with Science Applications International Corp. (SAIC) for more than three years. As program analyst, she was responsible for leading several research and development projects, analyzing novel armor materials for various applications and engaging customers and government users, among other tasks.

Toman, earlier in her industry career, also worked as research scientist at System Planning Corp. where she was a technical lead who developed new Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) program.

If you’re interested in the fifth generation wireless technology, then check out the Potomac Officers Club’s Fall 2021 5G Summit on Sept. 16. The event will feature a NextG and space insfrastructure-focused discussion that Toman will join as one of the panelists.

Amanda Toman Named Acting Principal Director for 5G Initiative at DOD

Click here to gain additional information about the summit and visit POC Events page to learn more about other GovCon-related gatherings.

/
NNSA’s Jill Hruby: Nuclear Science & Tech Adoption Key to Address Climate Change
Published on
NNSA’s Jill Hruby: Nuclear Science & Tech Adoption Key to Address Climate Change

Jill Hruby, administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration, said she believes that adopting nuclear science and technology advancements will be key to reduce the global consequences of climate change.

She told the Institute of Nuclear Materials Management and the European Safeguards Research and Development Association's joint annual meeting that nuclear energy has the potential to become a “safe, secure, reliable, clean base power capability” for the world.

Hruby called for global cooperation in the climate science field and pointed to reactors, alternative fuel, nuclear material safeguards and spent fuel management as essential approaches to advance energy innovation.

“We still have the same common longstanding goals to achieve – providing effective nuclear materials security and safeguards to protect our citizens from incidents or accidents while allowing the development of nuclear energy and other peaceful uses," she added.

NNSA's Jill Hruby: Nuclear Science & Tech Adoption Key to Address Climate Change

On Tuesday, Sept. 14th, Potomac Officers Club will host its Bolstering Climate Resilience for National Security Forum featuring Senior Climate Advisor for the Office of the Secretary of Defense Joseph Bryan as the opening keynote speaker.

Ecological Futures Group Founder and CEO Dr. Rod Schoonover will join Bryan as the closing keynote speaker as both execs discuss the challenges that climate change presents to U.S. supply chains, military readiness and our federal infrastructure as a whole.

Visit PotomacOfficersClub.com to register for the platform’s Bolstering Climate Resilience for National Security Forum to learn more about the impact climate change is having on the federal landscape and U.S. national security.

House Committee to Take Up $7.4B Federal Vehicle Electrification Bill
Published on
House Committee to Take Up $7.4B Federal Vehicle Electrification Bill

House Oversight and Reform Committee members plan to vote on a $7.4 billion spending bill that seeks to grow the federal government's fleet of electric vehicles, Government Executive reported Tuesday.

The legislation, which the panel could take up Thursday, includes $5 billion for vehicle purchases by the General Services Administration (GSA) and another $2.4 billion for the U.S. Postal Service to buy EVs and support infrastructure.

The committee is also considering authorizing nearly $11 million to finance electrification oversight processes led by the inspectors general at GSA and USPS. GovExec reports that less than 1 percent of the 657,000 federal vehicles is powered by electricity.

The Biden administration said Aug 5th that it would invest in programs to build a national network of EV charging stations, incentivize consumers to purchase electric cars and provide financial aid to the EV manufacturing industry.

The White House aims to make EVs account for half of the domestic auto market sales by 2030.

/
U.S. Contractors Continue Efforts to Evacuate Personnel From Afghanistan; Howard Lind Quoted
Published on
U.S. Contractors Continue Efforts to Evacuate Personnel From Afghanistan; Howard Lind Quoted

Some government contractors continue efforts to move their staff out of Afghanistan even after the U.S. completed troop withdrawal and evacuation operations late Monday, the Washington Business Journal reported Tuesday. PAE told the publication in a statement Friday that employee safety remains a top priority for the company.

“We are doing everything we can to ensure the security of our remaining local national workforce there, working closely to support the Department of State and Department of Defense in their evacuation efforts,” PAE added.

Some Washington, D.C.-based GovCon firms, including PAE, CACI International and Amentum, have either started the process of reducing contract work or were planning to retain employees in Afghanistan in support of the former government since President Joe Biden’s troop withdrawal announcement in April.

Howard Lind, president and executive director of the International Stability Operations Association, said ISOA member companies have adopted “Plan B” operations to evacuate their staff and Afghan allies from Afghanistan.

“Now that the U.S. military has left, the means of getting out is reduced — it’s not impossible. So we are trying to provide information to them, nontraditional means of leaving through aviation or on-ground routes across the country,” Lind said.

ISOA is a trade group representing nongovernmental organizations and companies that provide military, humanitarian, construction and development support in fragile countries.

/
DARPA Hands Over ACT-IV Sensor System to Air Force Research Lab; Program Manager Tom Rondeau Quoted
Published on
DARPA Hands Over ACT-IV Sensor System to Air Force Research Lab; Program Manager Tom Rondeau Quoted

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has transitioned an active electronically scanned array (AESA) sensor system to the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio, to support future defense research and development initiatives. 

The AESA system developed under DARPA’s Arrays at Commercial Timescales – Integration and Validation program can simultaneously conduct radar, communications and electronic warfare functions at various modes, the agency said Tuesday.

“With the ACT-IV program, we were able to realize the vision of ACT by developing an advanced sensor system with ACT common modules,” said Tom Rondeau, ACT-IV program manager.

The ACT common module is an advanced semiconductor device from which large platforms can be developed.

“Transitioning the ACT-IV system to AFRL will enable continued exploration of digital, multifunctional RF technologies for defense needs,” added Rondeau.

Northrop Grumman served as the primary research team on the program and helped transition the technology to AFRL. DARPA said the ACT-IV program resulted in the establishment of a third-party developer community that has come up with new applications and tools.

1 … 1,090 1,091 1,092 1,093 1,094 … 2,703