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.

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.

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 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.