The Defense Logistics Agency is using robotic process automation to streamline supply chain management activities and reduce employee workload, DOD News reported Monday.

Frank Wood, RPA program manager at DLA, said the technology allows personnel to focus on the more complex activities in supply chain operations.

DLA Information Operations also uses a bot to process purchase requests and leases for thousands of devices, providing the agency's equipment management solutions team more time to perform other billing-related tasks.

Terra Nguyen, chief of the EMS division, said the bot addresses inefficiencies brought by missing bills, which according to her are tedious to manually deal with.

"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," she said.

Systems Planning and Analysis (SPA) has been designated a Registered Provider Organization (RPO) with the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification Accreditation Body (CMMC-AB), the company reported on Tuesday.

“SPA’s Registered Practitioners prepared SPA for a successful CMMC assessment, and we are now certified and ready to assist industry partners in this important security effort,” said Dr. William Vantine, SPA president and CEO.

CMMC will deliver a unifying standard for cybersecurity implementation and ensure that companies in the Defense Industrial Base (DIB) are able to protect and account for sensitive unclassified information, as it flows through a multi tier supply chain.

As an RPO, SPA will provide CMMC consulting and support to Organizations Seeking Certification (OSC) in the Defense Industrial Base. SPA staff has been trained in CMMC methodology and will assist DoD suppliers with trusted consultative services.

In addition, SPA will deliver CMMC assessment preparation. Services include Pre-Assessments, Process and Documentation Development, Security Control Implementation and Post-Assessment Remediation.

About SPA

Systems Planning and Analysis provides innovative and leading-edge solutions integrating technical, operational, programmatic, policy, and business factors in support of important national security objectives.

Our capabilities include Advanced Analytics; Software Tool Development; System Engineering and Safety Analysis; Strategy, Policy and Compliance; and Program and Acquisition Management.

Our employees have expertise in many domains, including Land, Undersea, Surface and Air Warfare Operations; Radar and Sensor Systems; Unmanned Systems and Counter Systems; Nuclear Deterrence Policy, Safety and Security; Defense Industrial Base; Space Systems; Ballistic Missile Systems; and Hypersonics.

The Customs and Border Protection (CBP) introduced a mobile application in Oct. 2020 and conducted a privacy impact assessment to help address privacy risks associated with the use of the CBP One app. 

CBP One seeks to serve as a single portal to various services offered by the agency and is designed for use by travelers, brokers, importers, carriers and international organizations, the agency said in the PIA report dated Feb. 19.

The PIA listed several privacy risks and one is that the mobile app can collect geolocation information that CBP can use to carry out surveillance or track the user’s movement. According to the assessment, this risk is “fully mitigated” since the agency does not track the location of the user’s device beyond the time of data submission.

“At the time the user submits his or her exit or entry, the device’s GPS is pinged by CBP One and the latitude and longitude coordinates are sent to CBP. The GPS ping is only collected at the exact time the user pushes the submit button and is used to confirm the traveler’s device is in some cases inside a certain CBP-defined radius or outside the United States,” the report reads.

Other privacy risks identified are the possibility of a user submitting data for other users without consent and submitting inaccurate information about other individuals.

The agency considers the risk “fully mitigated” because “there is no benefit in submitting inaccurate information through” the mobile app and the agency verifies whether the biographic data submitted is correct.

“In addition, any specific privacy risks related to data quality and integrity will be addressed in any standalone, function-specific PIAs,” CBP added.

The agency noted in the report that it plans to integrate the CBP ROAM app, which allows operators of small pleasure boats along the Northern Border to report their arrival into the U.S., into CBP One by spring of this year. The agency also intends to field CBP One for use by aircraft operators, seaplane pilots, bus operators, vessel operators, commercial truck drivers and agents in the near future.

The U.S. Air Force has scheduled to perform flight tests for a long-range hypersonic missile designed by Lockheed Martin under the service branch's Air-launched Rapid Response Weapon prototyping program, FlightGlobal reported Tuesday.

The demonstration for the AGM-183A ARRW boost-glide missile is planned for the first week of March and is intended to provide the Air Force with an operational hypersonic weapon by 2022. The missile will be carried by the military's bomber aircraft.

“We actually have hardware built and are getting ready for our first booster flight test next week… We’re also getting ready to transition into production within about a year on that program," said Air Force Brig. Gen. Heath Collins, program executive officer for weapons and director of the service branch's armament directorate, during an industry symposium.

In December 2019, Lockheed received a potential $988.8 million contract modification from USAF for services in support of its ARRW critical design review, test and manufacturing readiness activities. The company initially won a $480 million contract for the missile's design.