The Department of Defense (DOD) has informed ethical hackers that they can now look for security issues across DOD's publicly available information systems under its expanded Vulnerability Disclosure Program.

DOD said Tuesday that its Cyber Crime Center-led program now covers public defense networks, connected devices and frequency-based communications platforms.

"This expansion is a testament to transforming the government's approach to security and leapfrogging the current state of technology within DOD," said Brett Goldstein, the director of the Defense Digital Service.

The initiative is a product of the “Hack the Pentagon” pilot project launched by the Pentagon five years ago in collaboration with bug bounty platform provider HackerOne to identify security flaws on publicly accessible defense websites.

Participants have reported over 29,000 vulnerabilities to the department since the program's inception, with more than 70 percent of the reports deemed to be valid, according to officials.

DC3 Director Kristopher Johnson said DOD's online portals account for a portion of its entire attack surface.

If you're interested in cybersecurity, check out GovCon Wire's Defense Cybersecurity Forum coming up on May 12. Click here to learn more.

The digital engineering team at the Department of Energy's (DOE) Idaho National Laboratory (INL) aims to expand the capability of general artificial intelligence by using algorithms and auditable data.

Chris Ritter, leader of the digital and software engineering group at INL, said on a Federal News Network segment that his office works to curate data and transform it into a format that could present scale-up advantages.

With data being required to train algorithms, he discussed a type of algorithm called “explainable or transparent artificial intelligence.”

"So it’s completely auditable. And we can apply some penalize regression techniques to those areas, and you can make that a more novel technique,” added Ritter.

He also talked about research efforts to address complex energy problems by applying machine learning.

"Machine learning is about having pre-programmed devices, which can conduct analysis on their own," the INL official said.

If you're interested in the government's data-related efforts then check out GovCon Wire's Data Innovation Forum coming up on June 15. Click here to learn more.

Ted Kaouk, chairman of the Federal Chief Data Officers Council, said the council is preparing to introduce 10 data science training program use cases compiled by its data skills development working group that seeks to help agencies strengthen their data workforces, FedScoop reported Tuesday.

“We have an opportunity to accelerate that learning because we can learn about what others are doing – what’s worked for them,” Kaouk said Tuesday during an ACT-IAC event Tuesday. “And I think that crosses the data skills domain; that crosses data sharing."

The council’s COVID-19 data coordination working group has created prototypes to tackle challenges related to data sharing between agencies. 

“That’s really focused on working with [the Department of Health and Human Services] to facilitate broader access to key public health data across internal agencies and developing decision support tools that are primed to be shared across agencies,” said Kaouk, who also serves as chief data officer of the Department of Agriculture.

He also expects agencies to come up with their first artificial intelligence inventories later in 2021 upon the release of guidance being developed by the Federal CDO Council with the Federal Chief Information Officers Council. 

To register for this virtual forum, visit the GovConWire Events page.

SAP National Security Services (SAP NS2) announced Tuesday its most recent FedRAMP Joint Authorization Board (JAB) approval for SAP NS2 Cloud Platform (SCP) as a Platform as a Service (PaaS). SCP is now authorized to appear on the FedRAMP Marketplace effective immediately. SAP NS2 is a subsidiary of SAP.

“SAP NS2 Cloud Platform is another important piece of the puzzle of solutions that customers can leverage in their daily operations. We are thrilled to have SCP become the newest addition to our JAB-approved solutions, joining the likes of SuccessFactors, Employee Central Payroll, and most recently, SAP Analytics Cloud (SAC). SCP is the secure core that unites all of SAP NS2 Cloud,” commented Harish Luthra, SAP NS2 Cloud’s president.

SAP Intelligence Enterprise’s foundation is SCP. By incorporating the SCP, customers can be agile, improve business value and enjoy constant innovation through integration, data to value, and extensibility of the SAP landscape.

SCP can also give customers the flexibility to build, manage and deploy applications. Customers who use SCP will have the capability to connect data and business processes to one integrated platform. Other features allow users to govern their data, gain insights about their recent operations and integrate or extend applications to optimize current processes and ignite innovation.

FedRAMP is a government program that supplies a standardized approach to security assessment, authorization and continuous monitoring for cloud products and services. FedRAMP saves time and expenses by enabling rapid procurement of information systems and services, prevents duplicate assessment efforts and ensures consistent application of information security standards across all government organizations.

About SAP NS2

SAP NS2 supports the mission of national security by providing innovative computing, analytics, and cloud solutions, all delivered by U.S. persons on U.S. soil. From custom, development to secure cloud, and virtually everything in between, SAP NS2 powers the secure intelligent enterprise.

Maj. Gen. DeAnna Burt, deputy commander of Space Operations Command, said the U.S. Space Force wants to gather more cyber personnel, National Defense Magazine reported Monday.

USSF is discussing with the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Cyber Command about expanding the former's cyber workforce, Burt said at a Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies event. She said USSF needs the expertise to handle the cybersecurity aspects of satellite communications and data networks.

Burt added that the cyber area also presents opportunities to collaborate with the private sector, which has the potential to help USSF characterize enemy behaviors. She said she expects USSF to build the envisioned cyber workforce within three to five years.

Battelle announced Monday that it is launching a new company that will perform research and development of next-generation therapies, including cell and gene therapies (CGT). The new company called AmplifyBio is backed by Battelle and outside investors with experience in pharmaceutical markets and life sciences. 

“For decades, Battelle has found new ways to innovate, AmplifyBio is a $200 million start-up with the backing of respected investors who will help us to move quickly and intelligently in this rapidly developing field of research,” commented Lou Von Thaer, president and CEO of Battelle and a 2021 Wash100 Award recipient. 

AmplifyBio’s mission will be to speed up the development and research of next-generation therapies by creating and optimizing new technologies and working to solve the problems of scaling complex treatments to help as many people as possible. 

“This is why Battelle exists—to happen to the world,” Von Thaer added. “We see a need, we see opportunities, we search for partnerships, and we keep Battelle at the leading edge of discovery for the benefit of humanity. I’m excited to see where the team takes AmplifyBio and proud to support its growth through our continued involvement.”

AmplifyBio plans to purchase a building and surrounding land on the Battelle campus. The 210,000-square-foot facility has state-of-the-art laboratory space and equipment to facilitate accelerated research into novel cell and gene therapies that AmplifyBio desires. The company will also perform research contracts for commercial clients. 

J. Kelly Ganjei has been named president and CEO of AmplifyBio and is currently completing his leadership team. Ganjei has previously served as CEO of Cognate BioServices. He possesses over 26 years of experience in the life science and information technology sectors. 

“There is great potential for advanced medicines to help so many patients across a diverse set of conditions, but there is no shortage of technical problems to solve across this sector,” Ganjei said. 

“The earlier in their development lifecycle, we can help these products, the better the outcome for everyone,” “Combining the strength of Battelle with our investors will uniquely position us for rapid growth and the potential to help millions of people around the world,” Ganjei added. 

Rimini Street, Inc. (Nasdaq: RMNI), a global provider of enterprise software products and services, the leading third-party support provider for Oracle and SAP software products and a Salesforce partner, today announced it has been recognized in the 2021 UK’s Best Workplaces™, ranking ninth in the medium-sized firm category.

This achievement follows recognition in 2020 as a Great Place to Work-Certified™ Company (GPTW) in the UK and a top 20 ranking in the 2020 Best Workplaces™ In Tech for medium-sized companies. This latest achievement saw Rimini Street UK employees rank the Company favorably for its approach to culture, workplace policies and employee well-being, which led to a 91% Trust Index© Score and a score of 95% for employee engagement.

Rimini Street is among the 183 UK-based organizations recognized by its employees as an organization that promotes a healthy workplace culture through trust, pride and camaraderie during the Covid-19 pandemic. The Best Workplaces™ award assesses both the employee experience through the Trust Index® survey and evaluates the HR and leadership practices within organizations that create a great workplace culture through the Culture Audit©.