AT&T announced on Thursday three significant milestones for FirstNet that will support and meet first responder needs. They are a first responder-centric approach to 5G use, comprehensive tower-to-core network encryption and the FirstNet Health and Wellness Coalition to better support responders holistically. 

FirstNet is the only nationwide communications platform designed to meet the needs of first responders. FirstNet is built with AT&T in a public-private partnership with the First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet Authority), an independent federal government agency. It helps first responders perform their duties by providing them with benefits like always-on priority and preemption, and high-quality Band 14 spectrum. 

"5G for FirstNet is not your typical 5G. Now, there's no doubt that 5G has a lot to offer the entire public safety community, but what's most important is ensuring that as new technologies become available – whether it's 5G, augmented reality, edge computing, or others – that we take a first responder-centric view in how we approach its deployment. That's what we committed to 4 years ago when we became public safety's communications partner, and it's what we will continue to do for decades to come,” commented Jason Porter, AT&T president of Public Sector and FirstNet.

The first responder-centric 5G milestone is an updated FirstNet network core that will provide reliable 5G connectivity to first responders with the most optimal experience. The 5G will bring benefits such as ultra-low latency and ultra-high speeds to support various users. 

The comprehensive tower-to-core network encryption addition to FirstNet will provide cybersecurity far superior to typical commercial networks. FirstNet will be the first network with complete data encryption across an entire communications pathway. Meaning FirstNet traffic will immediately be secured as it moves from the cell tower, through the backhaul, to the core and back again. 

The final new milestone for FirstNet is the Health & Wellness Coalition. The Coalition's goal is to integrate first responders, community, industry and academic resources to support first responders’ health and mission readiness. The Coalition has more than 20 members, including organizations like the International Association of Fire Chiefs and National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives.

Edward Parkinson, CEO of FirstNet Authority, added that "We are excited to bring 5G to FirstNet and see our investments in the next generation of public safety communications become reality. The FirstNet Authority has spent years working hand-in-hand with public safety across America to plan for, launch and innovate their network … the FirstNet Authority is thrilled to deliver lifesaving capabilities to first responders with access to this new technology."

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has issued a supplemental direction to help agencies use new tools for identifying vulnerabilities in their Microsoft Exchange Servers.

CISA said Wednesday that the emergency directive recommends agencies to use the Microsoft Safety Scanner or Microsoft Support Emergency Response Tool (MSERT) as well as the Test-ProxyLogon.ps1 script.

The tools are meant to support server hardening and forensic triage operations for the Microsoft-built servers that still handle network operations for federal agencies.

“Given the powerful privileges that Exchange manages by default and the amount of potentially sensitive information that is stored in Exchange servers operated and hosted by (or on behalf of) federal agencies, Exchange servers are a primary target for adversary activity,” CISA noted in the directive.

Best practices that CISA outlined include firewall protections, software updates, anti-malware protection and Continuous Diagnostics and Mitigation program validation.

Check out GovConWire's Defense Cybersecurity Forum coming up on May 12. Visit GovConWire Events to learn more.

The Department of Energy’s (DOE) Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico is launching efforts to fortify artificial intelligence algorithms to prevent system threats and improve AI awareness and understanding, Federal News Network reported Wednesday.

Irene Qualters, associate lab director for simulation and computation at LANL, told attendees at a National Defense Industrial Association event that the lab is also assessing AI applications for research into natural disasters and climate.

Fred Streitz, chief AI scientist at DOE’s AI and Technology Office, noted that the U.S. must work to drive AI deployment in “mission-critical areas where there are real-world consequences”. He added that trustworthiness also serves as a key component to AI and there is active research being done on that focus area.

DOE relies on its partnerships with other science agencies and industry entities to support AI research despite having a large workforce of engineers and scientists, according to Streitz.

Gen. Glen VanHerck, who leads U.S. Northern Command, said the military demonstrated the viability of communications and decision making driven by artificial intelligence, National Defense Magazine reported Wednesday.

Northcom led the virtual Global Information Dominance Exercise II last week to exhibit AI-based decision making tools, with the participation of all combatant commands.

“What we were looking to do is show the incredible value of information and how information can be used today," VanHerck said.

He also noted that AI and machine learning may boost the availability and timeliness of data in support of decision makers. VanHerck said the exercise reflects that the military has the capacity to accelerate AI and ML adoption.