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FCC Unveils Mobile Broadband Map; Jessica Rosenworcel Quoted
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FCC Unveils Mobile Broadband Map; Jessica Rosenworcel Quoted

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has unveiled a map showing 4G LTE broadband data and voice mobile coverage in the U.S. as of May 15.

“Today’s new map represents progress in our efforts to implement the Broadband DATA Act and build next-generation broadband maps that can help to connect 100 percent of Americans,” Jessica Rosenworcel, acting chairwoman of FCC, said in a statement published Friday.

The commission said wireless communications providers AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile and US Cellular voluntarily submitted the data via the FCC Form 477. 

“Using improved systems and data, we can provide better information about where broadband service is and is not across the country,” Rosenworcel added.

The Broadband Data Task Force spearheaded work on the map, which will enable consumers and other users to conduct search and determine locations where they can use wireless data or receive calls.

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Army AI Research Seeks to Mitigate Uncertainty in Combat Decision-Making; Maggie Wigness Quoted
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Army AI Research Seeks to Mitigate Uncertainty in Combat Decision-Making; Maggie Wigness Quoted

U.S. Army researchers have developed a new method that allows neural networks to be more confident in judging potential threats in battlefield environments as part of their artificial intelligence study. 

The Army Research Laboratory (ARL) and Army Combat Capabilities (ACC) Development Command worked with university researchers from the Internet of Battlefield Things Collaborative Research Alliance (IoBT CRA) to classify sources of uncertainty, assess frameworks to represent uncertainty and developed platforms to manage uncertainty within systems, the service said Monday.

The researchers derived insights from uncertainty management approaches and turned them into a workflow that maximizes effectiveness in realizing mission goals amid the presence of uncertainty in data inputs. The process enabled the neural networks to be more confident in judging threats in hostile environments.

“A key component of improving automation is to improve machine confidence in understanding its environment so that the machine can exercise ‘good judgment,’” said Maggie Wigness, Army researcher and deputy collaborative alliance manager of the IoBT CRA.

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CISA Unveils Training Guide for Cybersecurity Workforce; Eric Goldstein Quoted
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CISA Unveils Training Guide for Cybersecurity Workforce; Eric Goldstein Quoted

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency has issued a guide meant to help cyber and information technology professionals improve their skills and expand their career options in the cybersecurity field.

The Cybersecurity Workforce Training Guide seeks to help professionals discover professional development and training opportunities to further develop skills and understand the tasks, work roles and knowledge, skills and abilities, CISA said Friday.

“The cybersecurity workforce is on the front lines of our nation’s security,” said Eric Goldstein, executive assistant director for cybersecurity at CISA.

“Our objective is to provide the right tools so this critical workforce knows where to find the available training that can help them be well prepared and skilled. This comprehensive guide will help individuals identify a job track and pinpoint areas for growth,” added Goldstein.

The document provides information on the National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education Framework and details the seven categories and related specialty areas and work roles under the NICE Framework.

The guide also outlines the five steps professionals should take in charting their career development path in cybersecurity: documenting the categories, work roles and specialty areas; assessing proficiency level for each of work roles; prioritizing work role areas to target for growth; identifying development opportunities that align with target work roles; and building cybersecurity training plans.

CISA also offered information on entry, intermediate and advanced level cybersecurity certifications, certification prep courses and professional development trainings, hands-on and experience opportunities and additional IT and cybersecurity resources from across the federal government.

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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Melissa Dalton Nominated as DOD Assistant Secretary for Homeland Defense, Global Security Affairs
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Melissa Dalton Nominated as DOD Assistant Secretary for Homeland Defense, Global Security Affairs

Melissa Dalton, principal deputy assistant secretary for strategy, plans and capabilities at the Department of Defense, has been nominated to serve as DOD’s assistant secretary for homeland defense and global security affairs.

She took on her current role in January 2021 after she served as a senior fellow and deputy director of the international security program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, the White House said Friday.

In her current capacity, Dalton advises DOD officials on matters associated with national security and defense strategy and policies related to missile defense and security cooperation strategies.

Her research work at the Washington, D.C.-based think tank aimed to strengthen the principled groundwork of the country’s defense strategy and military missions.

Dalton joined CSIS in 2014 after various civil service roles within DOD such as senior adviser for force planning, special assistant to the defense undersecretary and policy adviser to the International Security Assistance Force’s commander in Kabul, Afghanistan.

She holds a bachelor’s degree in foreign affairs from the University of Virginia and a master’s degree in international relations from the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies.

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FCC Announces 2 New Innovation Zones to Advance Open RAN, 5G Tech Research Efforts
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FCC Announces 2 New Innovation Zones to Advance Open RAN, 5G Tech Research Efforts

The Federal Communications Commission has designated new innovation zones near Northeastern University in Boston and North Carolina State University in Raleigh to enable qualified licensees to conduct research and test Open Radio Access Network, 5G technologies and other advanced wireless network and communications platforms.

The Northeastern University Innovation Zone will further support the research community by transitioning the Colosseum network emulator of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency to a shared platform, FCC said Thursday.

The North Carolina State University Innovation Zone will accommodate the Aerial Experimentation and Research Platform for Advanced Wireless, which will address new use cases involving unmanned aerial systems and wireless communications.

FCC already has two innovation zones in New York City and Salt Lake City. The commission also announced the expansion of the New York City Innovation Zone or COSMOS with the addition of three Columbia University and City College of New York campus areas. The COSMOS zone will focus on low-latency and ultra-high-bandwidth wireless communications with tightly coupled edge computing. 

The Salt Lake City Innovation Zone, also dubbed as POWDER, serves as a corridor linking several campus areas of the University of Utah.

The Platforms for Advanced Wireless Research project office funded by the National Science Foundation oversees the innovation zones established by the commission. The designation will run for five years.

POC - Fall 2021 5G Summit

If you’re interested in 5G technology and 5G integration’s impact on public and private sectors, then check out Potomac Officers Club’s Fall 2021 5G Summit coming up on Sept. 16. To register for this virtual forum and view other upcoming events, visit the POC Events page. 

Gen. Charles Brown: Air Force Must ‘Rightsize’ Capabilities to Confront Global Security Threats
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Gen. Charles Brown: Air Force Must ‘Rightsize’ Capabilities to Confront Global Security Threats

Gen. Charles Brown Jr., chief of staff at the U.S. Air Force, said at a National Press Club event Friday that the service branch must determine the right mix of force, aircraft and technology necessary to confront projected national and global security challenges in 2030.

Brown told an audience of reporters, editors and industry representatives that reshaping the force is necessary to ensure USAF will gain an advantage in contested environments, maintain its credibility with allies and help defend national interests.

He noted that the branch should start its transition to the future force design as China continues to pursue military modernization and economic reform efforts for the country’s global power ambition.

“I really believe, without change, we are at risk of losing,” Brown said.

“We can keep what we have today but that’s not going to match up against the threat we have in the future.”

The USAF chief of staff said the service is analyzing the distribution and interaction of its personnel, systems and planes.

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DARPA Picks 3 Teams for Antimicrobial Therapeutics Development Program
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DARPA Picks 3 Teams for Antimicrobial Therapeutics Development Program

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency has selected teams from Yale University, University of Washington and Broad Institute to support a program meant to develop therapeutics for multidrug resistant microbial infections.

The three teams will use synthetic chemistry, drug discovery methods, chemical biology and medicinal chemistry to combat bacterial pathogens under DARPA’s Harnessing Enzymatic Activity for Lifesaving Remedies program, the agency said Friday.

Seth Cohen, HEALR program manager, said the program aims to help speed up recoveries of warfighters and help them control bacterial infections by developing drugs that can home in on “highly resistant and immune-evasive bacterial infections.”

HEALR will address three technical areas: microbial targeting, host machinery engagement and platform integration. 

The program’s initial phase will run for 24 months and efforts under this phase will demonstrate the HEALR concept’s effectiveness. The second phase will enable the teams to further develop their technology and demonstrate the efficacy of their treatments against a pathogenic target. The teams will be required to send their drug candidates for review by the Food and Drug Administration.

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Navy to Adapt Boeing-Built Airborne Early Warning Aircraft for Pilot Training
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Navy to Adapt Boeing-Built Airborne Early Warning Aircraft for Pilot Training

Naval Air Systems Command intends to modify a retired Boeing-built E-3D Sentry airborne warning and control system aircraft the military branch procured from the British air force for $15 million.

NAVAIR said Wednesday its airborne strategic command, control and communications program office will repurpose the recently acquired AWACS platform into an E-6B communications relay and strategic airborne command post aircraft for training use.

E-6B Mercury airplanes are designed to help U.S. strategic and non-strategic forces communicate with the National Command Authority.

The command’s PMA-271 personnel conducted an E-3D material inspection before the program office made a procurement decision and the team expects to deploy the future trainer to the fleet by October 2023.

NAVAIR estimates that the E-6 aircraft will cut the number of flight hours by 600 and the number of landings or cycles by 2,400 annually.

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Air Mobility Command OKs Interim Use of KC-46A Boom Refueling Mission Set
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Air Mobility Command OKs Interim Use of KC-46A Boom Refueling Mission Set

The KC-46A Pegasus' boom mission set has been declared by Air Mobility Command as ready for interim operations. 

Gen. Jacqueline Van Ovost, commander of AMC, issued interim capability release approval that allows aircrew to refuel other KC-46, B-52H Stratofortress and C-17 Globemaster III aircraft for U.S. Transportation Command, AMC said Friday.

The refueling boom ICR decision comes nearly one month after Van Ovost approved operational use of the Boeing-built military aerial refueling platform's Centerline Drogue System mission set.

“Though a fully-mission capable aircraft is a few years away, releasing capability our KC-46 bases have demonstrated they can safely and effectively support and employ is a large part of how AMC is accelerating the KC-46 on the path to becoming fully operational and combat-ready,” said Brig. Gen. Ryan Samuelson, deputy director of strategy, plans, requirements and programs at AMC.

Senate Bill Aims to Improve US Cybercrime Data Collection
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Senate Bill Aims to Improve US Cybercrime Data Collection

A bipartisan bill introduced by four senators seeks to provide law enforcement agencies with tools to collect and report data about online crimes that affected individuals and businesses in the U.S.

The Better Cybercrime Metrics Act calls for the National Academies of Science to coordinate with public sector stakeholders, businesses and criminologists to organize a database that would classify and quantify malicious activities on the internet, the office of Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, said Thursday.

Schatz sponsored the bill with fellow Sens. Thom Tillis, R-N.C.; John Cornyn, R-Texas; and Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., are the bill's sponsors.

The legislation would also mandate to add computer crime incidents to the bureau's reporting platforms and require the Bureau of Justice Statistics to incorporate cyber-related questions into the annual National Crime Victimization Survey.

The FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center reported that the total amount individuals and businesses lost to internet crimes, such as non-payment/non-delivery scams, increased from $3.5 billion in 2019 to $4.2 billion in 2020.

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