The White House's National Artificial Intelligence Initiative Office has launched the AI.gov website to offer public information about federal initiatives and programs related to the emerging technology.

Lynne Parker, deputy U.S. chief technology officer and director of NAIIO, wrote in an official post Wednesday the online resource is designed to help site visitors learn how they can pursue AI opportunities and what the government is doing to facilitate its adoption.

“The National AI Initiative (NAII) builds upon several years of impactful AI policy actions, many of which were outcomes from EO 13859 on Maintaining American Leadership in AI," Parker noted.

She said the U.S. AI strategy is structured around research and development prioritization; research infrastructure modernization; technical standards facilitation and management of trustworthy AI; workforce training; international engagement; AI and national security integration.

NAIIO was established in January within the White House Office of Science and Technology to serve as the central hub for technical and program information communication between agencies and external stakeholders, including the academe and nonprofit organizations.

The office is accepting suggestions and recommendations through its website on how it can achieve goals toward the advancement of AI technology.

John Demers, assistant attorney general for national security at the Department of Justice, said the FBI and other intelligence agencies launched a review of vulnerabilities originating from software suppliers that have ties with Russia to determine if there is "back-end software design and coding" that makes intrusions into U.S. companies possible, CyberScoop reported Thursday.

They will review supply chain risks, taking into account an alleged Russian hacking campaign that spied on U.S. federal agencies by exploiting SolarWinds software.

The Department of Commerce will be informed about review findings, according to Demers.

“If there’s back-end software design and coding being done in a country where we know that they’ve used sophisticated cyber means to do intrusions into U.S. companies, then maybe … U.S. companies shouldn’t be doing work with those companies from Russia or other untrusted countries,” he said.

Demers said Commerce will have to decide if suspected vendors should be banned from U.S. supply chains.

John Hill, who is performing the duties of the assistant secretary of defense for space policy at the Department of Defense, said having standard guidelines for operations in space comes with many benefits, DOD News reported Thursday.

"Among these are a safer, more sustainable, more stable and more predictable space operating environment for all space operators," Hill said Wednesday during his testimony before the House Armed Services Committee. “Importantly for [the] DOD, such an operating environment can also facilitate indications and warnings of hostile intentions and hostile acts.”

He commented on DOD’s practices and policies for space operations. He also noted that the Pentagon and commercial space sector also stand to benefit from the development of international rules for space operations.

"From the DOD perspective, United States leadership and the development of a rules-based order for space activities reap benefits for U.S. civil, commercial, scientific and national security space operators," Hill told the House panel.

"As space activities worldwide become more prolific and more varied, voluntary non-binding international norms, standards and guidelines of responsible behavior can benefit U.S. national security and foster a conducive environment for growing global space activities,” he added.

House lawmakers have called on the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to accelerate the issuance of guidance to federal agencies to facilitate the implementation of the 21st Century Integrated Digital Experience Act. The lawmakers made the request in a Thursday letter addressed to Shalanda Young, acting director of OMB.

The IDEA Act that was passed in 2018 seeks to speed up digital modernization by requiring agencies to update their websites and online experiences in order to streamline the delivery of government services to citizens.

OMB’s implementation guidance should address website modernization, digitization of forms and accelerated use of electronic signatures and should be issued to the public and all executive agencies within 45 days.

Reps. Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., chairwoman of the House Oversight and Reform Committee, Gerry Connolly, D-Va., chairman of the House panel’s government operations subcommittee, Ro Khanna, D-Calif., and seven other lawmakers signed the letter.

The U.S. Space Force (USSF) released its most recent vision document on Thursday, presenting the service’s desire to be the world’s first fully digital service. USSF believes it needs to be fully digital because technological solutions are necessary to accelerate its ability to develop, field and operate space capabilities quickly to protect U.S. space supremacy. C4isrnet reported the story on Thursday. 

2021 Wash100 Award recipient and chief of Space Operations Gen. John Raymond commented that “Space is a big data environment. The establishment of the U.S. Space Force gives us a generational opportunity to create a service that is purpose-built for a very unique operating environment. And when you think about our strategic competitors and the threats that we currently face, becoming a digital service is much more than an opportunity. It’s a necessity.”

Gen. Raymond also stated that digitalization is critical to the service because all USSF mission areas rely heavily on data and analysis. Those mission areas being missile warning, weather, domain awareness, surveillance and position, navigation and timing.

The fact that the Space Force is a small branch and that U.S. adversaries such as China and Russia are rapidly developing their space capabilities necessities a digitally fluent workforce that can learn, adapt and react quickly.

The Space Force’s Technology and Innovation Office is tasked with leading the digital transformation. The transformation will focus on four areas: engineering, workforce, headquarters and operations.

“The Space Force is a small, specialized service with an expansive mission. It is inherently more bound to and driven by technology than any other mission set,” said chief technology and innovation officer Maj. Gen. Kimberly Crider. 

“We must be committed in turn to providing them (Guardians) with the digital age knowledge, tools and processes they can use and enable and empower their peak performance and unlimited potential in advancing how we design, develop, field and operate space capabilities today and into the future,” added Crider.

NASA has concluded the critical design review of a spacecraft designed to demonstrate on-orbit refueling, manufacturing and assembly. The On-orbit Servicing, Assembly and Manufacturing (OSAM-1) mission completed its CDR in April with the help of Maxar Technologies, NASA said Wednesday.

NASA and Maxar may now fabricate, assemble, integrate and test OSAM-1, following the CDR’s completion.

The spacecraft features a servicing payload, two robotic arms and the Space Infrastructure Dexterous Robot (SPIDER) that will build a communications antenna in space. SPIDER will also use Tethers Unlimited’s MakerSat technology to manufacture a beam while in orbit.

Maxar is in contract to build both SPIDER and OSAM-1’s bus. The company is scheduled to complete and test OSAM-1 in mid-2022, before integration activities that will take place at Maryland-based Goddard Space Flight Center.

Bob Kolasky, assistant director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency's (CISA) National Risk Management Center (NRMC), said his team has studied the software risks associated with last year's SolarWinds hack, Fedscoop reported Wednesday.

SolarWinds was a Russian malware attack that affected Orion software in multiple federal agencies. Kolasky said NRMC assessed SolarWinds-related software risks over a span of four months.

Attacks like SolarWinds, according to Kolasky, should be addressed by bolstered supply chain security. He said users must gain a better understanding of their critical information technology processes, as well as the software and hardware involved.

“That actually means differentiating between the hardware and software you rely upon to do critical processes and doing your own survey of what your critical processes are,” he stated.

NRMC serves as a collaborative medium where parties from different sectors may jointly study and manage infrastructure risks.