The Department of Defense’s (DOD) office of inspector general (OIG) conducted an audit of cybersecurity requirements for five weapons systems during the operations and support phase of DOD’s acquisition lifecycle and found that program officials for those systems complied with the Risk Management Framework and secured an authorization to operate. 

Program officials also initiated measures to update those cyber requirements during the O&S phase based on known cyber vulnerabilities and security threats obtained from intelligence agencies, according to OIG’s report released Wednesday.

The five weapon systems assessed in the report were the Advanced Threat Infrared Countermeasures/Common Missile Warning System; Multifunctional Information Distribution System Joint Tactical Radio System; Advanced Anti-Radiation Guided Missile; B-2 Spirit Bomber; and AC-130J Precision Strike Package.

The officials performed best practices to help reduce the risk of cyber threats to DOD’s weapon systems. These include conducting cyber tabletop exercises, participating in intelligence-based working groups and performing cyber threat and risk assessments.

“Program officials for all weapon systems should consider the best practices described in this report when developing plans and procedures for reducing cybersecurity risks within their programs,” the report states.

A cubesat designed to help the U.S. Army demonstrate the collection of data from overhead satellites to support battlefield surveillance and combat operations will fly aboard Rocket Lab’s Electron vehicle in mid-March, SpaceNews reported Monday.

The Gunsmoke-J spacecraft is one of the seven satellites that will take off from New Zealand as part of the 19th launch mission of the Electron rocket.

Lira Frye, a spokeswoman for Army Space and Missile Defense Command, said the small satellite "will demonstrate an ability to deliver situational awareness down to the lowest tactical level possible.”

In October, TriSept received a contract from Army Space and Missile Defense Command to integrate the Gunsmoke-J cubesat with the dispenser that will field the satellite into orbit.

The U.S. Coast Guard's law enforcement organization is looking to procure a software-as-a-service platform for storage, analysis and sharing of data collected through independent investigations.

A sources sought notice posted Tuesday says the Coast Guard Investigative Service wants to license or gain access to a digital evidence management system that has been certified under the Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program.

Specifically, the agency requires a DEMS SaaS operating in a vendor-provided cloud environment at the moderate impact level that works to secure controlled unclassified information.

Coast Guard added the platform should meet Criminal Justice Information Services (CJIS) compliance requirements. The service anticipates a one-year base period of performance, followed by three one-year option periods, for the procurement effort.

Interested vendors can submit responses to the notice through Tuesday.

An academic consortium will pursue research on nuclear science, engineering and security through a five-year, $25 million grant awarded by the Department of Energy's (DOE) National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA). 

DOE said Thursday it awarded the grant to a group led by the University of California, Berkeley, and will obligate $5 million per year over the grant's active period.

The research will cover the areas of nuclear material science, radiochemistry and nuclear chemistry, nuclear physics and nuclear data, radiation detection and nuclear engineering.

DOE's Lawrence Berkeley, Lawrence Livermore, Los Alamos, Oak Ridge and Sandia national laboratories will work with the consortium on this research.

“I am confident the Berkeley-led team will build on their past success and continue to produce an effective return on agency investment,” said Kasia Mendelsohn, the acting deputy administrator for defense nuclear nonproliferation at NNSA.

The members of the Berkeley-led consortium are:

• Air Force Institute of Technology
• George Washington University
• Michigan State University
• North Carolina State University
• Texas A&M University
• University of California, Davis
• University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
• University of Nevada, Las Vegas
• University of New Mexico
• University of Tennessee, Knoxville

The Defense Logistics Agency Information Operations' equipment management solutions team rolled out a bot in Dec. 2020 to handle various lease and purchase requests.

The bot processes requests from more than 53,000 devices used by DLA personnel, government and military customers, the agency said Thursday. DLA noted it has billed over $1.5 million since the bot's deployment.

"Thanks to the integration of the bot, our EMS billing specialists have additional time to communicate with customers, research other billing issues and concentrate on additional work-related tasking," said Terra Nguyen, EMS division chief at DLA.

The agency has fielded 109 bots since 2018, with 86 of them not requiring human intervention.

DLA also used robotic process automation bots to remove sensitive information from Freedom of Information Office (FOIA) solicitations, gather supplier notes and comments, validate COVID-19 post-award requests and submit reports to contracting officials. 

Naval forces of the U.S. and the U.K. have partnered to establish an international network for technology and concept exchanges between the two parties, National Defense Magazine reported Thursday.

The U.S. Navy worked with the U.K.'s royal navy to stand up the London Tech Bridge that would help the two achieve technology and operational interoperability. 

London Tech Bridge will serve as a platform where naval forces can collaborate with industry and academia to address both civilian and military technology needs.

NavalX, the U.S. Navy's office focusing on operational and developmental agility, manages multiple Tech Bridges, with the one in London being the first overseas outpost.

U.S. Navy Cmdr. Albert Arnold, London Tech Bridge's director, said the effort seeks to speed up how technologies are delivered to maritime warfighters.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has published the final version of a document to guide the cybersecurity of positioning, navigation and timing (PNT) services. 

NIST said Thursday its document titled “Foundational PNT Profile: Applying the Cybersecurity Framework for the Responsible Use of PNT Services” builds on input from the public on PNT data use.

PNT technologies support many applications that provide navigation and tracking, such as GPS. NIST created the “profile” document in support of Executive Order 13905, which aims to bolster the security of PNT services.

“Many efforts to secure PNT services were underway before we began developing this profile, but there wasn’t a formal reference for risk mitigation that everyone could use,” said Jim McCarthy, a senior security engineer at NIST and a 2016 Wash100 Award recipient. 

The agency also developed a “quick guide” document that summarizes the profile in a more understandable form. He also said NIST will review the main profile document biennially or as needed, in line with the executive order.

“Those less familiar with their own use of PNT services will benefit from the guide, as the process of implementing the profile may seem complicated for the novice user," McCarthy added.