The House Oversight and Reform Committee and heads of its subcommittees asked interim and current inspectors general of the U.S. intelligence community, the Department of Defense and eight other federal agencies to assess vulnerabilities related to the use of remote-access software to support telework during the COVID-19 pandemic for inclusion in their fiscal year 2021 cybersecurity evaluation in compliance with the Federal Information Security Modernization (FISMA) Act of 2014.

House lawmakers sent letters to the IGs Wednesday asking them to examine the acquisition, management, security and deployment of collaboration platforms and remote connections to their respective networks, including those facilitated by virtual private networks.

They inquired about the agencies’ implementation of security controls to prevent unauthorized dissemination of personally identifiable and controlled unclassified information; identity, credential and access management of users that allow remote access to networks; and management and distribution of physical and virtual assets that facilitate telework.

The letter also asked about the organizations’ adherence to Trusted Internet Connection 3.0 guidance and implementation of continuous monitoring of networks to detect vulnerabilities and additional security policies in response to pandemic-related telework.

The letters were signed by Reps. Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y.; Gerry Connolly, D-Va.; Stephen Lynch, D-Mass.; Raja Krishnamoorthi, D-Ill.; Jamie Raskin, D-Md.; and Ro Khanna, D-Calif.

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The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee is scheduled Wednesday to mark up a bill that would direct $547 billion in federal investments to modernize roads, bridges, transit and rails over a five-year period.

Committee Chair Peter DeFazio, D-Ore, introduced the Investing in a New Vision for the Environment and Surface Transportation in America Act with fellow House lawmakers Eleanor Holmes Norton, D-D.C., and Donald Payne Jr., D-N.J.

“The INVEST in America Act puts a core piece of President Biden’s American Jobs Plan into legislative text—seizing this once-in-a-generation opportunity to move our transportation planning out of the 1950s and toward our clean energy future,” DeFazio said.

Payne, chair of the panel’s railroads, pipelines and hazardous materials subcommittee, noted that the bill includes $95 billion for intercity passenger rail infrastructure modernization projects such as the Gateway Program.

The committee intends to release the legislative text of the bill before lawmakers take up the bill.

The National Science Foundation has partnered with its Czech counterpart to formally foster collaborative, international research between the two countries.

NSF said Thursday it will work with the Czech Science Foundation to finance research projects in the areas of plasma science, nanotechnology and artificial intelligence.

"Together, we can access a broader network of ideas, innovations and experiences to address and solve real-world problems," said Kendra Sharp, head of NSF's office of international science and engineering.

NSF will review collaborative proposals to be submitted by researchers from both U.S. and Czech. The agencies will fund teams corresponding to their represented nation.

“This agreement with the Czech Science Foundation is based on shared values and goals to advance critical and emerging areas of scientific research,” Sharp added.

FirstNet: AT&T announced on Thursday that the company is introducing ‘ROG the Dog’ animal-assisted therapy to support public safety on the front lines. This new initiative builds on the launch of FirstNet Health & Wellness Coalition and reaffirms AT&T’s FirstNet commitment to first responders. 

"Nothing is more important than the lives of first responders and the people they serve. That's why we're bringing ROG the Dog to the front lines for the men and women who run toward emergencies. We understand the service these everyday heroes provide to our communities does not come without burden and personal sacrifice,” commented Jason Porter, AT&T's FirstNet and public sector president. 

“Serving public safety is our mission, and it's an honor to grow FirstNet beyond delivering innovative new technologies and mission-centric features, but also helping to ensure that those who put their lives on the line are at their best day in and day out,” Porter added.

ROG the Dog is named after the FirstNet Response Operations Group (ROG). The team is lead by former first responders that guides the deployment of the FirstNet fleet of dedicated deployable network assets. The team itself is a fleet of trained Labradoodles who specialize in animal-assisted therapy for first responders.  

The initiative is based on evidence that therapy dogs can mitigate depression, PTSD, burnout, anxiety and other mental health issues. Such problems disproportionately affect first responders. 

The ROG is working with Global Medical Response (GMR) to provide therapy dog services, which are primarily meant for times of crises following natural or man-made disasters.

"Emergency response work has always been challenging, demanding so much from those sworn to protect our communities,” stated stated Rhonda Kelly, national director of GMR Life and executive director of the All Clear Foundation.

“Recent years have increased those challenges and stressors, in many cases significantly increasing the mental, emotional and physical tolls on responders. We are proud to partner with FirstNet to provide additional supports during the times when responders need them most, giving back to those who give so much for us,” concluded Kelly. 

Naval Surface Warfare Center Carderock Division, NSWC Panama City Division, Naval Undersea Warfare Center Division Newport and NUWC Division Keyport will host a technology experimentation exercise in Sept. 2021, Naval Sea Systems Command News reported Thursday. 

The upcoming Rapid Prototyping and Experimentation Program will demonstrate large unmanned systems including extra-large unmanned undersea vehicles.

Rodney Peterson, lead RAPx organizer at NSWC Carderock, will spearhead the exercise, which serves as a follow-up to the Advanced Naval Technology Exercise that occurred in 2019.

“RAPx will be a series of experiments in the Pacific Northwest region bringing together Carderock, Newport, Panama City and Keyport for technology, collaboration and experimentation,” Peterson said.

As a follow-up to the event in September, the four participating divisions will demonstrate lessons learned in fiscal year 2022.

Rep. Ted Lieu, D-Calif., has introduced a bill that would task vendors to have their software products undergo vulnerability assessments by ethical hackers.

The Improving Contractor Cybersecurity Act would impose compliance with vulnerability disclosure policies (VDP), which lets security researchers study and report vulnerabilities of technologies to be purchased by agencies, Lieu's office said Tuesday.

“They (VDPs) allow security researchers to find software vulnerabilities and notify owners before they can be exploited by bad actors," Lieu said.

The Institute for Critical Infrastructure Technology, Electronic Privacy Information Center, HackerOne and various cybersecurity executives support the newly presented bill.

“Vulnerability discovery and responsible disclosure of the kind championed by this bill is a foundational part of a more secure cyber ecosystem and helping to prevent malicious actor’s exploiting our government and private sector systems.” said Chris Painter, who formerly served as the State Department's coordinator for cyber issues.

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Dynetics Technical Solutions (DTS), a subsidiary of Dynetics, announced on Thursday that the company now operates the largest electron-beam welding system in the Western Hemisphere. Pro-Beam recently delivered the 22-feet-long by 22-feet-wide by the 22-feet-high system from Germany. The system is capable of supporting government and commercial programs at both the unclassified and classified levels.

"This system is an incredible addition to our precision machining and welding capabilities," added Ronnie Chronister, senior vice president of Weapons Technology and Manufacturing at Dynetics. "Electron-beam welding provides advanced opportunities that will significantly improve our manufacturing and bring about new capabilities. We're proud to enter this new phase and support this vital mission."

DTS’ welding facility will begin working on classified capabilities starting at the secret level and spanning to top secret. The new welding system can support various sensitive customer work, such as reinforcing the Virginia and Columbia class submarine hardware.

 The system’s capabilities also include metal inert gas welding and tungsten inert gas welding. These tools will support multiple programs, including the U.S. Army's Long Range Hypersonic Weapons (LRHW).

The electron beam capability was enabled by a $15 million Department of Defense's (DOD) Office of Industrial Policy contract awarded to support the office's Industrial Base Analysis & Sustainment (IBAS) program. The IBAS program’s mission is to help modernize the defense industrial base to ensure the U.S. maintains cutting-edge capabilities.

In addition to the electron-beam welding system, the company’s facilities include the Onsrud Gantry and over 30 CNC machines. These technologies support large structural hardware machining and post-weld machining in a classified environment.

"DTS has been a great partner standing up this new capability. The team worked very hard to stay on track throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Our defense industrial base is better today thanks to their determination and dedication to the mission," said Adele Ratcliff, program director for IBAS. 

The Army Research Laboratory has funded the development of an immersive virtual reality hub where Kent State University scientists can examine how small groups operate in extreme environments using VR and other biophysiological instruments.

ARL said Thursday headsets in the VR lab are equipped with 3D eye-tracking and omnidirectional treadmills that are intended to work with electroencephalogram-based biometric technology.

“Understanding the consequences of status-based behavior in a variety of settings, including small team contexts, can help the Army prepare and train for modern military operations,” said Will Kalkhoff, director of the Electrophysiological Neuroscience Laboratory of Kent (ENLoK).

Kenn State researchers teamed up with Arotech's MILO business to apply social science and new technology platforms at the Department of Defense to increase military and law enforcement personnel readiness.

“Our ultimate goal is to advance the scientific understanding of behavior and decision-making under threat and, in so doing, reduce danger to our servicemen and women and improve mission success by facilitating team functioning under threat," said Robert McCue, general manager of MILO.

The ENLoK team previously identified neurological signals through brain activity analyses as part of an ARL-funded research project.