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St. Louis-Based NGA Accelerator to Be Launched in March 2021
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St. Louis-Based NGA Accelerator to Be Launched in March 2021

National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) announced on Monday that a new tech accelerator is being launched to help commercial startups develop new geospatial technologies in St. Louis. Eight companies will be selected to participate during the NGA Accelerator’s inaugural 13-week program that is set to launch in late-March 2021. 

The agency has selected advanced analytics and modeling, data integrity and security, data management and artificial intelligence as the four technological focus areas for the first year’s program. 

“We think our combination of expert mentorship, a burgeoning startup community in St. Louis, and a range of support services will form the perfect foundation for any early-stage company looking to build a reputation among the government sector and beyond,” said Brian Dixon, Management Director of Capital Innovators, who will help run the Accelerator program in partnership with the Missouri Technology Corporation.  

The program boasts more than $1 million in incentives for participants, including mentorship, $100,000 in grant funding, investor connections as well as direct feedback from NGA.

NGA’s placement of the program in St. Louis is the latest move to continue the agency’s new investments in the city, which includes transferring 97 acres to build a new headquarters for the agency called “NGA West.” 

“The nation made a bet on this city and this region. We’re making the next installment on that. You’ve already returned on that investment through the talented employees, teammates that we have today,” said four-time Wash100 Award recipient Robert Cardillo. “We couldn’t be prouder that we’re going to reinvest now in the community.”

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Joe Biden Announces White House Office of Digital Strategy Members; Ron Klain Quoted
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Joe Biden Announces White House Office of Digital Strategy Members; Ron Klain Quoted

President-elect Joe Biden and vice president-elect Kamala Harris announced the members of the White House Office of Digital Strategy on Monday.

“Digital outreach will be a key pillar of the Biden-Harris Administration’s engagement with the public. By bringing a talented team of digital strategists to the White House, we will ensure a robust dialogue with the American people, wherever they are,” said Ron Klain, incoming White House Chief of Staff.

The office will continue to amplify and engage users online through the traditional measures of the White House while also forming new partnerships to extend the reach of POTUS with the American people. 

The list of new appointees to the digital team includes: 

Brendan Cohen as Platform Manager

Rob Flaherty as Director of Digital Strategy

Maha Ghandour as Digital Partnerships Manager

Jonathan Hebert as Video Director

Jaime Lopez as Director of Platforms

Carahna Magwood as Creative Director

Abbey Pitzer as Designer

Olivia Raisner as Traveling Content Director 

Rebecca Rinkevich as Deputy Director Of Digital Strategy

Aisha Shah as Partnerships Manager

Christian Tom as Deputy Director Of Digital Strategy

Cameron Trimble as Director of Digital Engagement

“This team of diverse experts has a wide range of experience in digital strategy and will help connect the White House to the American people in new and innovative ways, said President-elect Biden.

TIGTA: Taxpaper Data Not Affected by SolarWinds Product Breach
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TIGTA: Taxpaper Data Not Affected by SolarWinds Product Breach

Russell George, inspector general for tax administration at the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), informed House Ways and Means Oversight Subcommittee Chairman Bill Pascrell and ranking member Mike Kelly of the steps the Treasury IG for Tax Administration (TIGTA) has taken to ensure security of taxpayer information following a compromise involving SolarWinds Orion products.

In a response letter sent Wednesday to the House representatives, George said TIGTA determined that no taxpayer data was exposed after consulting with the IRS Computer Security and Incident Response Center to know if the breach affected operations.

He assured that additional forensic reviews and network log analysis will be made if the agency received more information related to the cyber incident.

In mid-December, the FBI and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) received calls from six senators to provide details on the SolarWind vulnerability and to list federal agencies that use the Orion Network Management products. The lawmakers also asked about data quantities and categories that were vulnerable to unauthorized access.

The Department of the Treasury is reportedly one of the agencies affected by the data breach.

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Maj. Gen. Kimberly Crider on Role of Space in Joint All-Domain C2
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Maj. Gen. Kimberly Crider on Role of Space in Joint All-Domain C2

Maj. Gen. Kimberly Crider, acting chief technology and innovation officer (CTIO) for the U.S. Space Force, said space is at the center of the Joint All-Domain Command and Control (JADC2) concept, Breaking Defense reported Wednesday.

“Space depends on information from other domains so that we can assure our space assets and we can understand where there might be threats that could impact space coming from other domains, to include the cyberspace domain. … So, space is fully a partner in the Joint All-Domain Operations and significant contributor to Joint All-Domain C2,” Crider told the publication in an interview.

She added that JADC2 is “grounded in space” and noted that the service will continue to improve and evolve the Unified Data Library (UDL).

“It’s a kind of capability that will never be ‘quote, unquote’ done,” Crider said of UDL. “We’ll always be adding new sensors and new services and new features … because JADC2 is never done. We need to ensure that we can always stay ahead of the threat; we stay ahead of our adversaries.” 

Crider also discussed the Space Force’s digital transformation efforts and use of machine learning techniques to aid in decision-making processes.

Maj. Gen. Kimberly Crider on Role of Space in Joint All-Domain C2

Maj. Gen. Crider will be featured as a keynote speaker for Potomac Officers Club's upcoming 5G Summit on Jan. 7th, 2021. 

Join Potomac Officers Club to learn about the impact that innovative technologies and 5G integration have on the private and public sectors, the steps the federal agencies have taken to remain up to speed with the rapid advancement of technology, and the future programs, plans and priorities as the nation aligns with emerging technology.

Don’t miss out on this must see event! Register here for Potomac Officers Club's 5G Summit on Jan. 7th, 2021. 

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Former Gov’t Cyber Officials Discuss Possible Outcomes If Adversaries Get Into DoD Networks; Jan Tighe Quoted
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Former Gov’t Cyber Officials Discuss Possible Outcomes If Adversaries Get Into DoD Networks; Jan Tighe Quoted

Although the Department of Defense (DoD) reported that there has been no sign of breach to date linked to a cyber vulnerability involving SolarWinds’ Orion Network Management products, former cybersecurity officials at the government discussed several scenarios that could occur as a result of hackers making their way into DoD’s computer networks, C4ISRNET reported Sunday.

“If an adversary had gotten in and moved laterally, then all the network connection points — any place you have connections between networks and those trust relationships — that becomes very difficult to defend,” said Danelle Barrett, a retired U.S. Navy rear admiral, former deputy Navy CIO and cybersecurity division director. 

Former Gov’t Cyber Officials Discuss Possible Outcomes If Adversaries Get Into DoD Networks; Jan Tighe Quoted

The vulnerability of systems administrator privileges increases the risk of accounts being manipulated to gain increased access into networks.

“They’re going get in and build all sorts of backdoors that you’re not going to be able to figure out,” Barrett said. “They’re going to be able to manipulate accounts and do things and hide their tracks. You’re not going to catch them, and they’re probably still there now.” 

Jan Tighe, a retired Navy vice admiral and former commander of 10th Fleet/Fleet Cyber Command, said DoD should determine the persistence of an intruder on the network and whether the adversary altered the data.

“You have data, but you don’t know if it’s really the right data in your network. Depending on what aspect of the DoD you’re in, that could be very damaging,” said Tighe, former deputy chief of naval operations for information warfare and a former Wash100 Award recipient. 

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GAO: Bid Protest Cases Down 2% in FY 2020; Thomas Armstrong Quoted
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GAO: Bid Protest Cases Down 2% in FY 2020; Thomas Armstrong Quoted

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) reported the total number of protests filed with GAO to challenge federal contract awards reached 2,149 in fiscal year 2020, reflecting a 2 percent drop from the 2,198 cases recorded in FY 2019.

GAO told congressional committees in a letter released Wednesday that contractors filed 2,052 bid protests, 41 reconsideration requests and 56 cost claims in FY 2020. The congressional watchdog closed 2,137 bid protest cases and 417 of those cases were associated with GAO’s jurisdiction over task orders.

Thomas Armstrong, general counsel at GAO, said in the letter the agency sustained 15 percent of the total bid protest cases in FY 2020 due to flawed solicitation and unreasonable technical assessment, among other reasons.

“It is important to note that a significant number of protests filed with our Office do not reach a decision on the merits because agencies voluntarily take corrective action in response to the protest rather than defend the protest on the merits,” Armstrong added.

$696M Defense Appropriations Bill Includes Separate Funding Accounts for Space Force
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$696M Defense Appropriations Bill Includes Separate Funding Accounts for Space Force

The U.S. Space Force (USSF) would receive $15.2 billion under the $696 billion fiscal 2021 defense spending bill approved by Congress as part of a government appropriations package, reflecting its first budget as a separate military branch, SpaceNews reported Tuesday.

The $2.3 trillion omnibus bill includes operations, maintenance, procurement, research, development, test and evaluation program lines for USSF, but the service branch's military and civilian workforce funding lines would remain under the overall USAF budget.

Congress reduced the Department of Defense's (DoD) funding request for the procurement of National Security Space Launch services by $44 million to roughly $996 million, and based the decision on contract saving estimates for the second phase of the NSSL program.

The spending package would provide $1.4 trillion to sustain government operations throughout the current fiscal year and another $900 billion to fund coronavirus relief efforts that include a reimbursement extension for federal contractors.

Eric Fanning, president and CEO of the Aerospace Industries Association, applauds Congress' move to extend Section 3610 of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act along with the Payment Protection Program.

“Aerospace and defense companies of all sizes continue to support the nation’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic—aided by relief provided early in the crisis," said Fanning, a 2018 Wash100 awardee.

"The extension of Section 3610 and the Paycheck Protection Program will help companies large and small continue to protect the health and wellbeing of their workers as they support U.S. national security and the pandemic response," he added. 

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Biden Nominates Miguel Cardona for Education Secretary
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Biden Nominates Miguel Cardona for Education Secretary

Miguel Cardona, the commissioner of education for the state of Connecticut, has been nominated to serve as secretary of the Department of Education under President-elect Joe Biden's administration.

If confirmed, Cardona will serve as the 12th secretary of education and oversee the Biden administration's efforts to address the education sector’s needs amid the COVID-19 pandemic, such as inequities and opportunity gaps across institutions, Biden’s transition team said Tuesday.

Cardona assumed his current role in August 2019 after spending more than a decade as a public-school teacher in Meriden, Connecticut. 

He previously served as assistant superintendent for teaching and learning at Connecticut’s Education Department and spent time at the University of Connecticut as an adjunct professor within the Department of Educational Leadership.

His education experience also includes time in co-chairperson roles at the Connecticut Legislative Achievement Gap Task Force and Connecticut Birth to Grade Three Leaders Council.

He is the first Latino to serve as Connecticut’s education commissioner.

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CISA Issues Draft Remote-User Case Provisions Under TIC 3.0, Nat’l Cloud Reference Architecture
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CISA Issues Draft Remote-User Case Provisions Under TIC 3.0, Nat’l Cloud Reference Architecture

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) is seeking comments on “remote user” provisions in the Trusted Internet Connections 3.0 guidance and the second volume of the National Cybersecurity Protection System Cloud Interface Reference Architecture.

The draft Remote User Use Case provisions build on the TIC’s Interim Telework Guidance, which covers multiboundary and network security recommendations for agency personnel working remotely. CISA released an updated version of TIC 3.0 in July.

Modifications in the remote-user use case include expanded definitions of mobile devices to include Bring Your Own Device provisions.

NCIRA Volume 1 standards on common cloud telemetry-based reporting patterns will be used as a basis for the draft NCIRA Volume 2 guidance.

Matt Hartman, acting assistant director of CISA's cybersecurity division, said the draft use-case guidances are meant to help agencies ensure the security of their systems upon their transition to telework approaches.

CISA also seeks to improve user experience by subjecting remote user connections to internal agency services as well as agency-sanctioned cloud services, he noted.

The agency will accept feedback on the draft TIC updates through Jan. 29, 2021.

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FAA Opens Scoping Period for Planned Environmental Assessment of SpaceX’s Texas Launch Site
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FAA Opens Scoping Period for Planned Environmental Assessment of SpaceX’s Texas Launch Site

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has begun the scoping period for a planned environmental review of SpaceX’s Boca Chica site in Texas that will house launch operations for the company’s Starship spacecraft and Super Heavy rocket.

FAA said Tuesday that the scoping period is meant to help the FAA assess potential environmental issues at the site as well as alternative operational approaches.

The agency noted that SpaceX’s proposed operational updates at Boca Chica fall beyond the company’s latest Environmental Impact Statement and require additional reviews under the National Environmental Policy Act.

SpaceX is preparing a draft environmental assessment and is slated to complete safety assessments as part of its clearance application princess.

FAA is also seeking public comments on its plans to prepare a programmatic environmental assessment for Boca Chia operations.

Interested parties must submit feedback through Jan. 22, 2021.

In September 2019, SpaceX submitted its application to the FAA to allow data-exchange operations at Boca Chica for the Starship Mk1 vehicle.

FAA approved suborbital missions for Starship at the South Texas location in mid-2020.

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