Officials from the FBI and the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced Monday the recovery of $2.3 million in bitcoin paid to a group of cyber hackers responsible for the ransomware attack on Colonial Pipeline, CNBC reported.

Paul Abbate, deputy director of the FBI, said agents identified the digital currency wallet used by the DarkSide group to collect ransomware payments from the oil company.

“Using law enforcement authority, victim funds were seized from that wallet, preventing Dark Side actors from using them,” Abbate said during the press briefing Monday.

In May, DarkSide launched a ransomware attack on Colonial Pipeline that resulted in the shutdown of about 5,500 miles of fuel pipeline and gas shortages in the southeast. A source told CNBC that the oil company paid a ransom of nearly $5 million to the threat actors.

“The message here today is that [if you report the attack], we will bring all of our tools to bear to go after these criminal networks,” Lisa Monaco, deputy attorney general at DOJ, said during the press briefing.

Abbate also stressed the need for companies to immediately report cyberthreats to the FBI.

“Victim reporting not only can give us the information we need to have an immediate real-world impact on the actors … it can also prevent future harm from occurring,” Abbate said.

If you want to know more about the latest updates about the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification, then check out Potomac Officers Club’s CMMC Forum coming up on June 16. To register for this virtual forum and view other upcoming events, visit the POC Events page.

The Army Research Laboratory (ARL) has examined the underlying process of information exchange in reinforcement learning algorithms and identified a framework for the development of multiple artificial intelligence models that may support robot-soldier collaboration.

For the project, ARL researchers and a postdoctoral fellow at Oak Ridge Associated Universities explored algorithms within a publication period of five to six years in hopes of understanding how centralization in AI training could facilitate work on collaborative multiagent systems, the laboratory said Monday.

The team believes its findings could pave the way for further studies into teaming between autonomous technology and soldiers.

Piyush Sharma, a computer scientist at Army Combat Capabilities Development Command, said the military service sees an emerging application for multiagent systems in collaborative tactical missions as such technology becomes more prevalent in the commercial sector.

He cited Amazon's warehouse robots and Intel's drone light shows as examples of multiple systems built to work cooperatively. Sharma and his collaborators are looking to model and simulate multiagent reinforcement learning as part of theory validation and expansion efforts.

GovCon Wire, sister site of ExecutiveGov and part of the Executive Mosaic digital umbrella, hosted its AI: Innovation in National Security Forum on June 3rd. 

David Sprik, chief data officer of the Department of Defense (DOD), will serve as the forum’s keynote speaker. He will address the DOD’s defense data strategy, plans for commercial data, analytics, AI and emerging data processing technologies.

If you missed the virtual event, you can still access the OnDemand footage by visiting the GovCon Wire Events Archive.

ASCEND announced on Monday its 2021 Guiding Coalition. The Coalition is an advisory board of technical, scientific, engineering and business leaders selected to help maximize ASCEND’s mission. The board will include Mike Costas, general manager and principal vice president of Bechtel’s Defense and Space business line.

Costas said that the Coalition is “The infrastructure needed to grow the space industry in the coming years will be complex and requires cooperation from a large and diverse supply chain.”

“ASCEND recognizes that adjacent industries beyond traditional aerospace companies will be needed to propel this growth. It was the same more than 60 years ago when Bechtel first worked for the U.S. space program. We see a bright future and our support will continue,” Costas added.

Long-term space exploration and exploitation will require infrastructure on Earth, in low-Earth orbit, on the moon or in deep space will require master planning, management of complex megaprojects, first-of-a-kind technologies, detailed design and engineering and construction in remote or harsh environments.

The 33 members of the 2021 ASCEND Guiding Coalition bring a treasure trove of experience, from space exploration and vehicle design to communications, government and finance, to solve the complicated challenges in the space sector.

ASCEND is powered by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) and was launched in 2020 to accelerate space commerce, exploration and discovery. The annual event this November follows a quarterly series of 2021 ASCENDx programs online. The November event will be live in Las Vegas and online everywhere.

The November Event’s program will host presentations by notable thought leaders and rising industry leaders. The content will focus on big picture challenges, paths to success, innovation applications and the exponential value of interdisciplinary collaboration in outer space.

“ASCEND is connecting leaders across disciplines in bold, new ways. AIAA is unique in our ability to convene the technical conversation, so that expertise can inform the economics and the policies of space exploration,” said Dan Dumbacher, AIAA executive director.

“We want to have the hard conversations and drive the intentional outputs to accelerate building our off-world future,” concluded Dumbacher.

Marine Corps Systems Command (MCSC) will modernize its system used to disseminate battlefield information to commanders and help them make decisions.

The U.S. Marine Corps said Friday its Distributed Common Ground/Surface System-Marine Corps (DCGS-MC) delivers integrated intelligence to inform commanders about the battlefield's situation. The system gathers data via sensors, receives input via antennas and then transmits information to intelligence analysts.

The system's updated version will bring new computer hardware and software into the mix. These components will link with the Marine Corps Enterprise Network to operate.

“DCGS-MC brings all the information on the battlefield to a central location, where it can then be analyzed to support the commander’s decision-making,” said MCSC's Gunnery Sgt. Travis Godley.

Col. Dave Burton, program manager for intelligence systems at MCSC, said the new DCGS-MC also comes in a smaller size and weight compared to the system's older version.

The National Cybersecurity Center of Excellence (NCCoE) asks industry to comment on a draft project description that discusses security against quantum computer-based cyber attacks.

NCCoE needs input on resilient algorithms to identify the scope, hardware and software required for migration to post-quantum cryptography, the National Institute of Standards and Technology said Friday.

The center wants to develop white papers, playbooks and other demonstrable practices in support of cryptographic service providers, technology producers and policymakers.

NIST's Murugiah Souppaya and William Barker from Dakota Consulting authored the draft. Interested parties may access the draft here and submit input through July 7th, 2021.

The publication aligns with NIST's larger effort to standardize post-quantum cryptography.

Reps. Ted Lieu, D-Calif., and Ken Calvert., R-Calif., have introduced a bill to designate space assets as part of critical infrastructure. The bill would address the absence of a singular platform that delivers infrastructure security resources and expertise needed by the space industry. 

The Space Infrastructure Act would task the Department of Homeland Security to protect space systems and services, which are currently not considered as critical infrastructure, Lieu's office said Friday.

DHS would analyze the security of satellites, launch systems, communications systems, manufacturing facilities and other assets that directly or indirectly contribute to space infrastructure.

“American assets in space play a vital role in our economic and national security,” Calvert said.

He noted that federal agencies and the space industry must work together to address the evolving threat landscape.

The U.S. Navy has announced it has successfully conducted its first-ever aerial refueling between a manned aircraft and an unmanned tanker on June 4th. The test involved a Boeing-owned MQ-25 Stingray test vehicle refueling a Navy F/A-18E-F Super Hornet in midair, DefenseNews reported on Monday. 

“This flight lays the foundation for integration into the carrier environment, allowing for greater capability toward manned-unmanned teaming concepts. MQ-25 will greatly increase the range and endurance of the future carrier air wing, equipping our aircraft carriers with additional assets well into the future,” commented Rear Adm. Brian Corey, executive program officer for Unmanned Aviation and Strike Weapons. 

During the successful test, the Super Hornet came within 20 feet of the unmanned MQ-26 T1 test vehicle and first conducted a formation evaluation and wake survey to measure the conditions before starting the fuel transfer. After the measurements were recorded, the MQ-25 extended its drogue and supplied the Hornet with fuel. 

The MQ-25 will operate from aircraft carriers once it is fielded. It will refuel air wing operations at sea, relieving the Super Hornet fleet of the tanking mission, which can take up more than one-third of Super Hornet flight hours during carrier air wing operations. 

The Navy and Boeing will analyze the test data and make any necessary software updates as the MQ-25 testing schedule continues in the coming months.

“This is our mission: an unmanned aircraft that frees our strike fighters from the tanker role and provides the Carrier Air Wing with greater range, flexibility and capability,” said Capt. Chad Reed, the program manager for the Navy’s Unmanned Carrier Aviation program office.

“Seeing the MQ-25 fulfilling its primary tasking today, fueling a F/A-18, is a significant and exciting moment for the Navy and shows concrete progress toward realizing MQ-25′s capabilities for the fleet,” added Reed.

FBI Director Christopher Wray said the bureau was investigating approximately 100 various types of ransomware and the recent attacks on oil and meat processing companies accounted for only a fraction of those types of ransomware, The Wall Street Journal reported Friday.

“Now realizing it can affect them when they’re buying gas at the pump or buying a hamburger—I think there’s a growing awareness now of just how much we’re all in this fight together,” Wray told WSJ in an exclusive interview.

He said ransomware attacks have increased by threefold in the past year based on reports from the private sector and many of those incidents can be attributed to hackers in Russia.

Wray highlighted the importance of coordination between companies and law enforcement authorities in identifying those behind the attacks and finding ways to counter threat actors.

“I don’t want to suggest that this is the norm, but there have been instances where we’ve even been able to work with our partners to identify the encryption keys, which then would enable a company to actually unlock their data—even without paying the ransom,” he said.

On Wednesday, the White House issued a memo urging business leaders to initiate immediate measures to protect their organizations from ransomware attacks. 

The document outlined five best practices that companies should take to prevent such attacks, including backing up images and configurations and updating and patching systems promptly.

If you want to know more about the latest updates about the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification, then check out Potomac Officers Club’s CMMC Forum coming up on June 16th. To register for this virtual forum and view other upcoming events, visit the POC Events page.

The U.S. Navy has stood up a program office that will oversee acquisition, fleet introduction and sustainment approaches for the service branch's planned DDG(X) class of guided-missile destroyers, Seapower Magazine reported Friday.

As part of organizational changes, the newly formed PMS 460 organization will operate under Program Executive Office Ships and absorb the Electric Ships program office.

PMS 460 will have 16 headquarter billets that include 11 incumbent ones covering various Electric Ship initiatives such as integrated power systems.

Navy Capt. David Hart will lead the new office as major program manager while Katherine Connelly, most recently director of government equipment management at PEO Ships, as deputy program manager. According to the service, the two officials will lead efforts to develop a strategy to procure DDG(X) ships and a data package as well as create plans to build, test and maintain the proposed vessels.

The DDG(X), which is meant to follow the Flight III Arleigh Burke-class vessels in naval service, will feature elements of existing FLT III combat systems, a new hull form and integrated power system.

The Navy expects to begin the preliminary design phase in fiscal year 2022.