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Rep. Adam Smith: House Armed Services Committee Sets Sights on IT Improvement, Acquisition Process
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Rep. Adam Smith: House Armed Services Committee Sets Sights on IT Improvement, Acquisition Process

Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash., chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, said he wants the committee to focus on finding new ways for the Pentagon to improve its information technology systems and tech procurement process, FedScoop reported Friday.

Smith said Friday during a virtual Brookings Institute event the House panel will be “scrubbing” older weapons platforms to help pay for new IT and command-and-control systems.

“Our C2 systems have got to become more durable, more resilient and also more replaceable,” he said. He also noted that he wants Congress and the Department of Defense to focus on “outcomes, not process,” especially in the areas of emerging technology and networks.

Smith, and Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Ala., ranking member of the House committee, initiated the Defense Critical Supply Chain Task Force to examine vulnerabilities and threats facing the defense supply chain.

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Gen. Paul Nakasone on CYBERCOM’s Response to SolarWinds Breach, ‘Defend Forward’ Concept
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Gen. Paul Nakasone on CYBERCOM’s Response to SolarWinds Breach, ‘Defend Forward’ Concept

Gen. Paul Nakasone, commander of U.S. Cyber Command (CYBERCOM) and a 2021 Wash100 Award recipient, said CYBERCOM continues to play a “key role” in the U.S. government’s ongoing response to the SolarWinds hack, Breaking Defense reported Friday.

Nakasone, also director of the National Security Agency (NSA), highlighted in his keynote speech at the CYBERCOM Annual Legal Conference Thursday the support the command has extended to the FBI, Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA). 

He discussed the command’s “defend forward” concept that involves “executing operations outside U.S. military networks” and “persistent engagement” approach that “focuses on an aggressor’s confidence and capabilities by countering and contesting campaigns short of armed conflict."

He also mentioned in his speech the cyber threats posed by Russia, China, Iran and North Korea and the importance of partnerships with the U.S. private sector and foreign allies.

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Anne Neuberger: White House Working on Industrial Control System Security Plan
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Anne Neuberger: White House Working on Industrial Control System Security Plan

Anne Neuberger, deputy national security adviser for cyber and emerging technology and a 2021 Wash100 Award winner, said the White House is working with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), energy sector and other organizations on a plan to protect industrial control systems from cyber threats, Nextgov reported Friday.

Neuberger said the plan will initially focus on operational technology that runs on systems that power gas, pipeline, water, electricity and chemical systems.

“Because of the difference in mission impact, risks, threats and culture, a deliberate and specific OT cybersecurity approach is required to secure our industrial infrastructure,” she said Friday at a SANS Institute-hosted virtual summit. 

Neuberger said an upcoming executive order in response to the SolarWinds cyber breach will include standards meant to improve software transparency.

“Today, as a network owner, if we're trying to buy a technology, network management software, we have no way to know the cybersecurity practices that were used in building that network management software or the level of risk we're introducing to our networks by buying a particular software versus a competitor one,” Neuberger said of the forthcoming EO. “That's what we need to change, because if we have that visibility, whether it's a software bill of materials … or other areas, then we can make decisions that put money on cybersecurity and say we value it.”

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DHS Informs COVID-19 Response via Lessons Learned From Past Outbreaks; Lloyd Hough Quoted
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DHS Informs COVID-19 Response via Lessons Learned From Past Outbreaks; Lloyd Hough Quoted

Department of Homeland Security's Science and Technology (DHS S&T) Directorate is using research experiences from previous disease outbreaks to inform COVID-19 response. S&T tackles COVID-19 with lessons learned from the Ebola virus, anthrax bacteria and other issues that have caused disease outbreaks, DHS said Thursday.

The Hazard Awareness and Characterization Technology Center (HACiTC) handles the technical aspects of S&T's Probabilistic Analysis for National Threats Hazards and Risks or PANTHR program.

Lloyd Hough, head of HAC-TC, said his team learned how to address knowledge gaps on diseases and identify research priorities, from past experiences. He also emphasized the importance of risk assessments.

“S&T’s risk assessment activities, conducted through the PANTHR program, consider the risk posed by a variety of chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear agents that could potentially be used by terrorists to harm the U.S.,” Hough said.

HAC-TC also supports DHS laboratories including the National Biodefense Analysis and Countermeasures Center. NBACC continuous to monitor outbreaks occurring across the globe, and learn more about coronavirus.

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AIT and MT Selected as 2020 Pavilion Partners of the Year
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AIT and MT Selected as 2020 Pavilion Partners of the Year

Pavilion Data Systems, announced Thursday that Alliance Integrated Technology (AIT) and Meadowgate Technologies (MT) are its partners for enterprise and federal sectors, respectfully. 

The enterprise winners AIT and Pavilion used an innovative solution that increased its throughput by 5x. Simultaneously, the companies cut volumetric capture and rendering times in half. The effect of these products accelerated high-quality content releases platforms that attracted and helped retain creative talent for clients such as Sony Innovation Studios. 

“Volumetric capture brings a new paradigm of size and requires the highest performance in render speeds, and our clients needed a storage solution that could meet the performance requirements of GPU-based rendering,” stated Billy Russell, vice president and chief technical officer of Alliance Integrated Technology.

“The Pavilion HyperParallel Data Platform is the only storage solution with the performance/density to address the current and future needs for volumetric capture and GPU-based rendering. Pavilion's HyperParallel Flash Array, with support for the latest in high-speed Ethernet protocols such as RDMA over Converged Ethernet (RoCE) with direct to both Microsoft and Linux hosts, delivered the performance they needed,” added Russell. 

“Pavilion Partners are an integral part of our ability to deliver universally unmatched storage solutions to customers across the globe,” said Chris McBride, Pavilion chief revenue officer. 

“AIT is one of those special partners where they are directly aligned with our mission and add the design, integration, and services value required to deliver the best solution to meet our mutual customer’s needs. It is Pavilion’s honor to recognize AIT as our Enterprise Partner of the Year,” concluded McBride. 

The federal winners MT and Pavilion safeguarded American lives and property through advanced analytics technology. 

Meadowgate Technologies commented, “the Pavilion HyperParallel Data Platform enabled us to provide solutions that surprised our very demanding customers in terms of what they could now perform. We thrive on shattering our customers’ expectations.”

“We are honored to select Meadowgate as our Federal Partner of the year in recognition of deployments meeting the most stringent performance requirements. Meadowgate has a long-standing reputation for helping our country’s federal agencies safeguard our nation’s security through best of breed technical solutions,” remarked Michael Tanner, regional vice president and head of the federal business for Pavilion Data Systems.

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Navy’s Project Overmatch Program Office Takes Charge of Multiple Networks, Information Systems
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Navy’s Project Overmatch Program Office Takes Charge of Multiple Networks, Information Systems

A newly established office at the U.S. Navy has received authority over network and information systems previously owned by other naval organizations, in support of a large-scale connectivity plan, C4ISRnet reported Friday.

The direct report program manager for Project Overmatch now has authority over all the Navy’s communications-related research, development, procurement and sustainment efforts.

Project Overmatch aims to establish a unified network capability across the Navy’s and U.S. Marine Corps’s operations, as part of the larger Joint All-Domain Command and Control concept. The military wants to implement JADC2 as an integrated network of sensors that help commanders make decisions.

Systems transferred to Project Overmatch were previously handled by Naval Sea Systems, Naval Air Systems and Naval Information Warfare Systems commands.

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Huntington Ingalls Board Elects Kari Wilkinson as EVP, Shipbuilding Division President
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Huntington Ingalls Board Elects Kari Wilkinson as EVP, Shipbuilding Division President

Huntington Ingalls Industries’ (HII) Board of Directors has elected Kari Wilkinson, Ingalls’ vice president, program management, to serve as executive vice president of HII and president of the Shipbuilding division, effective April 1. She will succeed Brian Cuccias, who will retire in April.

Wilkinson will report to HII executive vice president and chief operating officer Chris Kastner. “Kari is a respected leader with an impressive 25-year record of success managing programs and overseeing major shipbuilding initiatives at Ingalls,” Kastner said.

Throughout her career, Wilkinson has supported shipbuilding production. She has also worked with business development efforts on requirements and preliminary ship designs, and coordinated the prioritization of equipment and processes in Operations during the Hurricane Katrina recovery effort.

In 2007, Wilkinson transitioned into Program Management, where she served as a ship program manager for the San Antonio-class LPD program. She became the vice president of program management in 2016.

In this current role, she has profit and loss responsibility for all elements of program execution and serves as the principal liaison to the Navy and Coast Guard for all platforms in the Ingalls portfolio.

“Her focus on operational excellence, exemplary leadership skills and ability to build effective customer relationships well positions her for this  new role, and I look forward to working with her to continue the Ingalls Shipbuilding legacy of success,” Kastner added.

About Huntington Ingalls Industries

Huntington Ingalls Industries is America’s largest military shipbuilding company and a provider of professional services to partners in government and industry. For more than a century, HII’s Newport News and Ingalls shipbuilding divisions in Virginia and Mississippi have built more ships in more ship classes than any other U.S. naval shipbuilder.

HII’s Technical Solutions division supports national security missions around the globe with unmanned systems, defense and federal solutions, and nuclear and environmental services. Headquartered in Newport News, Virginia, HII employs more than 42,000 people operating both domestically and internationally.

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GAO: DOD Must Work on Including Weapons Cybersecurity Requirements in Contracts
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GAO: DOD Must Work on Including Weapons Cybersecurity Requirements in Contracts

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has released a report stating that the Department of Defense (DOD) must issue guidance on how to incorporate cybersecurity requirements for weapon systems into contracts.

GAO said Thursday that while the service branches developed guidance and policy documents for cybersecurity in weapons technologies, such guidance must also address the implementation of cybersecurity requirements in acquisition programs.

The DOD also needs to incorporate verification procedures and acceptance criteria into contracts, the report states.

“Specifically, cybersecurity requirements should be defined in acquisition program contracts, and criteria should be established for accepting or rejecting the work and for how the government will verify that requirements have been met,” according to GAO.

The watchdog noted that a DOD official has reported a need for the department to standardize its requirements for cybersecurity and improve how it communicates such requirements.

The U.S. Air Force serves as the only military branch that released service-wide guidelines on defining cybersecurity requirements for acquisition programs, GAO said.

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DOE Allots $115M for New Wave of Small Business-Led Clean Energy Research; Jennifer Granholm Quoted
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DOE Allots $115M for New Wave of Small Business-Led Clean Energy Research; Jennifer Granholm Quoted

The Department of Energy (DOE) will award $115 million to small businesses for research and development projects on clean energy. Interested parties may apply for these awards under DOE’s Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (SBTR) programs, the department said Thursday.

The funds will support research on a range of clean energy topics, including renewable energy, grid modernization and carbon removal. DOE also expects these projects to create entrepreneurial research opportunities for members of minority groups and underrepresented communities.

“Through this program, DOE can support small businesses with seed money they desperately need to develop and deploy cutting-edge clean energy solutions that will help America fight climate change and create jobs,” said Jennifer Granholm, secretary of energy and a clean energy advocate.

SBIR and STTR aim to help small businesses concretize, develop and potentially commercialize conceptual technologies. Those interested in the opportunity may submit letters of intent through March 31st and final applications through April 20th.

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Bipartisan Senators Call for Interagency Group to Drive Allied Efforts on Emerging Technologies
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Bipartisan Senators Call for Interagency Group to Drive Allied Efforts on Emerging Technologies

A bipartisan group of senators have introduced legislation to establish an alliance between democratic nations against authoritarian regimes like the Chinese Communist Party.

Sens. Mark Warner, D-Va, Bob Menendez, D-N.J., Michael Bennet, D-Colo., John Cornyn, R-Texas, Marco Rubio, R-Fla., Ben Sasse, R-Neb., Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Todd Young, R-Ind., introduced the Democracy Technology Partnership Act aimed at standing up an interagency office within the State Department to drive allied efforts, Warner’s office said Thursday.

The interagency office will allocate $5 billion for an International Technology Partnership Fund for joint research efforts between U.S. and allied agencies, technology companies, universities and other stakeholders in addition to providing funding for third-country industries.

The partnership will also create a public-private International Technology Partnership Advisory Board that will provide insight to the Technology Partnership Office on matters such as international trade and emerging technologies.

Other functions under the alliance's purview include supporting the screening of investments related to key capabilities and identfying alternatives for countries at risk of purchasing technologies built by providers from authoritarian nations.

Nations interested in becoming a member of the alliance must have a democratic government with advanced technology industries, a record of expressing interest in U.S. intelligence and defense partnerships and “a strong commitment to democratic values”, according to the press release.

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