The Marine Corps plans to invest approximately $1 billion in electromagnetic warfare systems over the next five years. The Corp wants to develop future electromagnetic systems that fall into four categories, platform-agnostic, widely distributed and scalable, capabilities on-demand and mutually supporting networks, C4ISRNET reported the story on Friday. 

“If the operational or the tactical situation calls for electronic attack, there’s a full understanding of the entire spectrum and the decision can be made to do that. If a targeting solution is required based on the spectrum data, then that sensing solution can be provided to a targeting solution and maybe a kinetic strike will occur,” commented Col. Dave Burton, program manager for intelligence systems and portfolio manager for command element systems at Marine Corps Systems Command.

“We can see the spectrum as another part of the information environment that is crucial for future operations and understanding the spectrum and being able to maneuver in the spectrum either for electronic attack, electronic protection, to deny the adversary the use of spectrum is just another aspect of warfare,” Burton added.

The Corps doesn’t want systems designed for one platform or system, but rather systems that can spread around to fit multiple airborne or ground systems, which will increase resiliency. The systems need to be scalable, meaning equipment that individuals can hold, be mounted on vehicles and more. 

The service requires system capabilities on-demand instead of exquisite systems that help marines operate inside an enemy’s sphere of influence. The systems’ networks will be designed to be mutually supportive as well.

“Realizing that gray zone activities, particularly in INDOPACOM, it’s going to help us in competition to build targeting,” Barton said. 

“We’re going to be in competition 99 percent of the time, so having that sensing capability that we could actually use is going to be huge. In conflict, I want to have those electronic attack capabilities that are going to deny, degrade, disrupt the decision cycle of an adversary. I want to have non-kinetic options that I can provide the Marine force or the joint force.”

The Department of Homeland Security's Science and Technology (DHS S&T) Directorate has selected Farmspace Systems to further develop a non-thermal technology for COVID-19 detection. 

The Tennessee-based, veteran-owned small business will mature its COVID Finder technology under a $199,653 phase one award from S&T’s Silicon Valley Innovation Program (SVIP), DHS said Thursday.

Farmspace established a dedicated team in May last year to create a non-invasive tool for COVID-19 screening. The technology uses artificial intelligence to capture and detect images of the virus in the subject's breath. 

The corresponding screening booth undergoes disinfecting via ultraviolet light. The team will use the new funds to develop a framework that would guide how the captured images are used for diagnosis.

“Exploring this technology will bolster DHS efforts to safely bring back our valued workforce,” said Melissa Oh, SVIP's managing director.

The U.S. Army announced that the service branch is seeking ways to optimize forthcoming electronic warfare equipment to operate in the Indo-Pacific theater against maritime targets. Although the Army is a land force, just as the Air Force operates primarily in the Air, Army leaders have recognized the need for advanced electromagnetic equipment in the Indo-Pacific region to counter the rising threat of Chinese aggression. 

The Army needs updated and consolidated electronic warfare equipment to successfully operate in the vast distances of the Pacific maritime region. To this end, Department of Defense (DOD) leaders have led Army efforts to prioritize the heavily naval area, including the creation of a multidomain task force working on exercises in the region and plans to base long-range precision fire practices there, C4isrnet reported the story on Thursday.

“Obviously, the Army is a terrestrial, land-centric force. However, we recognize that with the focus on INDOPACOM, our target set is greater than just the traditional armor and infantry formations,” commented Col. Daniel Holland, Army capability manager for electronic warfare.

Until recently, the Army’s research on electromagnetic spectrum-related capabilities has focused on countering Russia's threat in Europe. However, some prototype equipment has reached units operating in the Pacific theater. 

The Army is attempting to optimize electronic equipment such as the Terrestrial Layer System-Echelons Above Brigade (TLS-EAB). TLS-EAB will provide commanders with improved precision geolocation which facilitates non-kinetic fires and support kinetic targeting for maritime targets.

Holland added that the Army is awaiting a decision by its requirements oversight council TLS-EAB related funding. The service is focused on surrogate experimentation and technologies for the system in fiscal 2022 and prototyping the following year.

Furthermore, Holland said that the electronic warfare community is partnering across the service on the Multi-Domain Sensing System, which is a high-altitude intelligence system with a range of 40,000 feet. This system is designed to provide electronic warfare capabilities complementary to mid-altitude systems, such as large unmanned systems and ground systems, including TLS-EAB.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has implemented new rules to support commercial satellite launches and related operations by providing the space sector access to spectrum in the 2200-2290 MHz band.

FCC said Thursday that the move seeks to meet the needs of the burgeoning U.S. space industry that works to provide communications services to governments, businesses, and customers worldwide.

The commission also issued a notice of proposed rulemaking to request feedback from the public on a licensing process for the 2200-2290 MHz band and three other spectrum bands: 420-430 MHz, 2025-2110 MHz, and 5650-5925 MHz.

FCC said the adoption of a licensing framework for space launches will further support future growth in the commercial space sector by developing a “more predictable and streamlined process.”

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has identified a malware dubbed Supernova used by advanced persistent threat actors to compromise an organization’s enterprise network through a Pulse Secure virtual private network device.

CISA said Thursday hackers use Supernova to conduct reconnaissance and domain mapping and steal credentials and sensitive data.

According to the agency, threat actors connect to the network through the VPN appliance and go to the entity’s SolarWinds Orion server through a lateral movement to install the malware, which is described as a “malicious webshell backdoor.”

CISA noted that the threat actor responsible for Supernova is different from the hacker linked to the SolarWinds supply chain compromise. “Organizations that find SUPERNOVA on their SolarWinds installations should treat this incident as a separate attack,” the advisory reads.

CISA recommends that organizations implement multifactor authentication, deploy endpoint defense tools, secure remote desktop protocol, and other remote access tools and maintain up-to-date antivirus engines and signatures, among other measures, to improve the cybersecurity posture of their systems.

Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., and Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., have introduced a bill to help the federal government attract professionals with skills in artificial intelligence and related fields by offering scholarships.

The proposed AI Scholarship-for-Service Act would offer scholarships to undergraduate and graduate students provided that they would serve in the public sector after graduation for a period equal to the length of the scholarship's term, Thune’s office said Thursday.

“As advancements in artificial intelligence continue, the federal government must be prepared to promote ethical applications based on American values to counter competitors like the Chinese government, which prioritizes investments in this revolutionary technology,” said Peters, who serves on the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee with Thune.

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Under the bipartisan legislation, scholarship recipients would gain access to internships and an opportunity to secure positions at federal, local, state, and tribal government agencies once they complete their degrees.

“By incentivizing more talent to pursue training in this field, we can ensure America remains competitive globally in this emerging technology,” Thune said.

The Internet Association, BSA|The Software Alliance, Carnegie-Mellon University, Dakota State University and the University of Michigan support the proposed measure.

Sonny Bhagowalia, chief information officer of the Customs and Border Protection (CBP), said the agency has baked in cybersecurity measures as part of its process for managing the life cycle of data in a cloud computing environment, Federal News Network reported Thursday.

Bhagowalia said on the Federal Monthly Insights show that CBP uses cloud technology to manage privacy and protect sensitive agency data from advanced persistent threats while ensuring continuity of operations amid the pandemic.

“Even though this remote work and everything else that we’ve been doing, most of our folks are still on the front lines. Cloud has become a very important capability that we use to deliver things," Bhagowalia noted.

Technology supports agency missions such as counterterrorism, border security, transnational crime prevention, according to the CBP CIO.

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