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Michael Kratsios: Agencies Should Conduct Trade-Off Analysis as They Adopt AI
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Michael Kratsios: Agencies Should Conduct Trade-Off Analysis as They Adopt AI

Michael Kratsios, U.S. chief technology officer and a 2020 Wash100 Award winner, said government officials should analyze the trade-offs as they push the adoption of artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies, Nextgov reported Tuesday.

“So, think about the [Food and Drug Administration] approving an AI medical diagnostic, or think about [the Federal Aviation Administration] approving a drone—and what they should be considering in their regulatory approach,” Kratsios said Tuesday during a fireside chat in Pittsburgh.

He cited the need for agencies to perform cost-benefit analysis with regard to AI.

“I think one of the core underpinnings of the way that the White House is directing agencies to think about this is to do that actual cost-benefit analysis,” Kratsios said. “The same cost-benefit analysis that is required by statute for any other regulation should also be done in the context of AI.”

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) released a draft of guidance in January 2020 for federal agencies as they develop regulations and policies related to AI technology. Kratsios said the guidelines would provide agencies clarity on how to look at the benefits of those technologies and assess them against some of the potential risks to come up with regulatory measures to facilitate the delivery of such platforms to the public.

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GAO: Congress Should Define Central Leadership Role to Oversee Cyber Strategy Implementation
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GAO: Congress Should Define Central Leadership Role to Oversee Cyber Strategy Implementation

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has called on Congress to consider drafting a bill to designate a leader in the White House to oversee the government’s cybersecurity efforts including the implementation of the National Cyber Strategy.

GAO said in a report published Tuesday that the National Security Council should collaborate with relevant federal agencies to update cyber strategy documents to integrate performance measures, goals and resource information, among others.

An analysis of the White House’s National Cyber Strategy and Implementation Plan showed that the documents met several desirable characteristics of a national strategy, including purpose and organizational roles and responsibilities, but failed to fully address certain factors such as resources and investments and problem definition and risk assessment.

GAO identified 23 federal agencies responsible for cybersecurity improvement efforts and found that some agencies have developed initiatives to collect intelligence data and share information on cyber attacks. The Department of Homeland Security, for instance, has helped coordinate security programs and developed policy to help protect the country’s critical infrastructure.

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DoD, NASA Sign Agreement to Push Space Collaboration
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DoD, NASA Sign Agreement to Push Space Collaboration

The Department of Defense and NASA have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to further advance collaboration in space, DoD News reported Tuesday.

The MOU was announced Tuesday by Gen. Jay Raymond, chief of space operations at the U.S. Space Force and a 2020 Wash100 Award recipient, and NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine and a fellow Wash100 Award winner. 

NASA and DoD through the Space Force will facilitate partnerships in human spaceflight, space transportation, space policy and development of best practices and standards for safe operations in space.

Other areas of collaboration are deep space survey and tracking technologies, launch support, space logistical supply and support, interoperable spacecraft communications networks and development of a talent pool of space professionals, according to the document.

Raymond said the service will defend GPS, communications, weather and missile warning satellites, the International Space Station and other assets in space that are key to the operations of the joint force.

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Army Continues Testing of Next-Gen Radio Platforms for NetModX ’20
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Army Continues Testing of Next-Gen Radio Platforms for NetModX ’20

The U.S. Army is continuing assessments of radio technologies as part of this year’s Network Modernization Experiment (NetModX) at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst in New Jersey.

As part of NetModX ’20, the Army’s Command, Control, Communication, Computers, Cyber, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (C5ISR) Center partnered with companies like Persistent Systems and Silvus to test new radios to support teaming operations between manned and unmanned platforms.

Daniel Duvak, head of the Radio Frequency Communications division at the Army C5ISR Center, said the service branch selected “very promising” radio technologies under its current initiatives and funded commercial partners to integrate resiliency features such as anti-jam elements intended for contested environments.

According to Duvak, the Army plans to include the next-generation radio technologies for the service’s Capability Set ’23—a suite of tactical network systems slated for fielding in fiscal year 2023.

He added that the Army and its industry partners need to address challenges such as reducing the radio platforms’ electromagnetic signatures for command-post survivability.

The NetModX event launched in July and is slated to run through October.

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CIA Labs Launched to Conduct National Intelligence R&D
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CIA Labs Launched to Conduct National Intelligence R&D

The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has inaugurated a new laboratory dedicated to performing research and development for national intelligence. CIA Labs will host in-house science and technology R&D and collaborate with other federal laboratories, industry and academia for various scientific pursuits, the agency said Monday.

The laboratory will tackle a variety of topics including advanced manufacturing, quantum computing and artificial intelligence; and will offer opportunities for CIA officers to secure intellectual property patents.

Interested individuals may also pursue internship opportunities with CIA Labs.

“Some phenomenal innovations have come from CIA over the years, and with CIA Labs, we’re now better positioned to optimize developments and further invest in our scientists and technologists," said Dawn Meyerriecks, head of the Directorate of Science and Technology at CIA.

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DoD to Award Grants to Bolster Natl Security Industrial Base
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DoD to Award Grants to Bolster Natl Security Industrial Base

The Department of Defense (DoD) has earmarked $25 million in grants to support six projects that aim to augment the national security industrial base. DoD said Monday that it seeks to enhance research, development and small business efforts through the funding initiative.

The Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development will receive $1.4 million to modernize in-state defense prime vertical supply chains, while the University of Alabama will secure $3.7 million to conduct workforce training and adopt manufacturing technologies in the region.

DoD awarded the Utah Governor’s Office of Economic Development $5 million to drive workforce development activities across the state, while the California Governor’s Office of Planning and Research will receive $4.9 million to update defense manufacturing capabilities and establish the California Advanced Defense Ecosystems and National Consortia.

Catalyst Connection will secure $5 million to employ an industrial production ecosystem to reinforce defense manufacturing capabilities, while the department will allot the same amount to the Ohio Development Services Agency to offer technical assistance and workforce training for small and medium-sized businesses.

DoD picked the awardees through a competitive acquisition and will provide funding from fiscal year 2020 funds. 

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Updated CISA Federal Cybersecurity Strategy Directs Improved CDM Scores Through FY 2021
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Updated CISA Federal Cybersecurity Strategy Directs Improved CDM Scores Through FY 2021

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has released an update to its action plan for strengthening federal cybersecurity in fiscal years 2020 through 2021. The initiative was led by Matthew Travis, the deputy director of CISA.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) component said in the report that it seeks to prevent 75 percent of identified “critical and high configuration-based vulnerabilities” across federal agencies by Sept. 30th, 2021.

CISA is also directing agencies to have “reliable” scores on the adaptive risk enumeration (AWARE) algorithm under the Continuous Diagnostics and Mitigation (CDM) program by the end of the fourth quarter of FY 2020.

Kevin Cox, program manager for the CDM effort, previously said at an industry event that the program’s AWARE assessment is meant to “quantify the aggregate number of opportunities for an adversary” and help agencies identify priorities for reducing their attack surface.

The updated action plan includes strategies such as increasing enterprise-wide risk posture awareness, providing tools and assistance for CDM compliance, managing malicious incidents and detecting malicious traffic for incident response.

CISA also cited evolving threat landscapes and limitations in cloud, network and encryption capabilities as challenges that agencies face in strengthening their security postures.

The agency has prevented 77 percent of known vulnerabilities through approaches like cyber hygiene scanning. However, the agency needs to focus on mitigating high value asset risks, according to the report.

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NASA Lays Down Detailed Plan for Artemis Program
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NASA Lays Down Detailed Plan for Artemis Program

NASA has formed plans that would guide activities composing Artemis, an effort to revive manned space exploration. The space agency said Tuesday its updated Artemis plans lay down current progress, key missions and partnerships essential to the program.

“As we’ve solidified more of our exploration plans in recent months, we’ve continued to refine our budget and architecture,” said Jim Bridenstine, NASA administrator and 2019 Wash100 Award recipient.

The document highlights efforts leading up to NASA's planned return of humans to the moon in 2024. The space agency will launch an Orion spacecraft with the Space Launch System rocket in 2021 for an uncrewed test, and in 2023 for the program's first manned lunar flyby.

NASA will also send demonstrations to the moon semiannually from 2021.

Gateway, a lunar outpost for the program, is also exhibiting rapid progress. The agency plans to integrate the lunar outpost's main power-propulsion and logistics segments in 2023 to support autonomous lunar missions.

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NGA’s David Gauthier on Plans to Deploy Commercial GEOINT Data Concepts
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NGA’s David Gauthier on Plans to Deploy Commercial GEOINT Data Concepts

David Gauthier, director of the commercial and business operations group at the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA), has said the agency plans to coordinate with industry on using nontraditional data sources for geospatial intelligence (GEOINT) efforts.

Gauthier told SapceNews in an interview published Monday that NGA wants to leverage “anything that provides a location of activities, objects or events” as well as approaches like radio-frequency mapping to address emerging GEOINT and analytics requirements.

“We want commercial industry to develop automated imagery exploitation algorithms, and to bring multiple sources together so that we can get a stream of information or daily feeds, and activity updates that feed our national security algorithm,” he noted.

According to Gauthier, NGA is specifically interested in nontraditional imaging approaches such as hyperspectral imagery and synthetic aperture radar-based (SAR) small satellite imagery.

He added that he envisions data collation methods that “wouldn’t normally be attainable from imagery alone” in the long run.

“We want companies to be vibrant and in a competitive market that sells to a lot of sectors,” said Gauthier. “SAR will be an interesting one. There’s a lot of demand but also a lot of supply and we’ll see what happens.”

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Bipartisan Legislation to Drive Quantum Network Dev’t; Rep. Lee Zeldin Quoted
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Bipartisan Legislation to Drive Quantum Network Dev’t; Rep. Lee Zeldin Quoted

Reps. Lee Zeldin, R-N.Y., and Bill Foster, D-Ill., have unveiled a bipartisan bill that seeks to drive the establishment of a quantum network in the U.S.

The Quantum Network Infrastructure Act of 2020 will launch a national research and development effort that will speed up the implementation of quantum technology, the office of Lee Zeldin said Wednesday.

"This bipartisan legislation continues to invest in the implementation of this revolutionary technology, including right here at Brookhaven National Lab," said Zeldin.

Brookhaven National Laboratory received $115 million in funds to build a quantum information science research hub. The facility also worked with Stony Brook University to lay out an 80-mile quantum network testbed in New York.

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