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Navy Dept Creates Board to Lead Electromagnetic Battle Space Efforts
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Navy Dept Creates Board to Lead Electromagnetic Battle Space Efforts

The Department of the Navy (DON) has established a board that would oversee the implementation of a strategy, doctrine and policy for electromagnetic warfare. The Electromagnetic Battle Space Governance Board (EMBS) will lead and guide the creation and application of these materials that would shape how DON pursues its EMBS enterprise, the department said Sept. 23rd.

DON's electromagnetic spectrum operations will consist of information, doctrine, training, military supplies, governance, facilities and other requirements necessary to build an EMBS enterprise.

The EMBS Governance Board will serve as an adviser to DON senior leadership, including the Navy secretary, on how to address enterprise-wide EMBS issues.

The board will also provide insight to help DON sustain EMBS operations and support warfighters via strategic investments, and establish various work teams for integrated projects.

Senior officials from the U.S. Navy and the U.S. Marine Corps, as well as secretariat-level stakeholders, will compose the governance board.

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NIST Releases Draft Guidance on Data Integrity, Ransomware Protection
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NIST Releases Draft Guidance on Data Integrity, Ransomware Protection

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has released a draft guidance to help agencies ensure the integrity of their data against ransomware threats in line with recognized cybersecurity requirements.

NIST’s National Cybersecurity Center of Excellence (NCCoE) partnered with Mitre on the draft document as part of the initiative to “help organizations implement technical capabilities that address data integrity issues,” according to a notice published Thursday.

The effort comes as part of NCCoE’s data integrity projects that seek to improve understanding of architectures, capabilities and other resources to support a comprehensive data integrity strategy.

Authors of the draft paper include NIST’s Jennifer Cawthra and Mitre’s Michael Ekstrom, Lauren Lusty, Julian Sexton, John Sweetnam and Anne Townsend. NCCoE will accept feedback on the draft guidance through Nov. 13.

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Glenn Woroch Named FCC Chief Economist; Ajit Pai Quoted
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Glenn Woroch Named FCC Chief Economist; Ajit Pai Quoted

Glenn Woroch, adjunct professor emeritus at the University of California-Berkeley, has joined the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to serve as chief economist for one year. Woroch will advise the agency's chairman, commissioners, bureaus and officers on economic issues as part of his new role, FCC said Friday.

He led Haas Business School's Center for Research on Telecommunications Policy as executive director from 1995 through 2013. He also worked as a senior member of GTE Laboratories' technical staff.

"I look forward to learning from his insights into various aspects of the Commission’s critical work," said Ajit Pai, FCC chairman.

Woroch served as a peer reviewer for various journals and joined the editorial boards of Telecommunications Policy, Journal of Regulatory Economics and Information Economics & Policy.

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Sens. Rob Portman, Gary Peters Propose Bill to Guide Gov’t Cybersecurity Allotments
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Sens. Rob Portman, Gary Peters Propose Bill to Guide Gov’t Cybersecurity Allotments

Sens. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, and Gary Peters, D-Mich., have presented a bill to improve the U.S. government's cybersecurity investments.

The Risk-Informed Spending for Cybersecurity would task and guide federal agencies to allot limited resources for the more significant cyber matters, Portman's office said Thursday.

The bill would address findings from a June 2019 report that many agencies have not adopted and applied effective cybersecurity frameworks. The Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, chaired by Portman, assessed agencies to produce the report.

“This bipartisan legislation will help give federal agencies the information they need to make informed decisions about their cybersecurity budgets,” Portman said.

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CNSI Names Gaurav Maini as SVP, Managing Director; Todd Stottlemyer Quoted
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CNSI Names Gaurav Maini as SVP, Managing Director; Todd Stottlemyer Quoted

CNSI has appointed Gaurav Maini as senior vice president and managing director for CNSI’s operations in Chennai, India, the company reported on Monday. Maini will lead a team responsible for delivering innovative, secure, high-performance and scalable technology products in support of CNSI’s clients.

“We are thrilled to have Gaurav on the CNSI team,” said Todd Stottlemyer, CEO of CNSI and 2019 Wash100 Award recipient. “Because of his extensive healthcare and technology experience in both the U.S. and India, Gaurav inherently understands the complexity of our industry… Gaurav will be instrumental in helping us build solutions that meet our clients’ needs today, and in the future.”

Maini, a global healthcare leader, most recently served as managing director of Philips VitalHealth Asia Pacific, prior to joining CNSI. With the company, he was responsible for driving Philips’ population health management solutions, with focus on the management of healthcare data, coordination of care and patient and clinician engagement. 

“He knows what it takes to build and deploy technology solutions to help improve health outcomes, better manage population health, and bend the cost curve,” Stottlemyer added. 

Before his eight-year tenure with Philips, Maini served with Epic, an Electronic Medical Records (EMR) software provider, where he was part of the Executive Committee. With Epic, he managed  deployments of EMR systems at Kaiser Permanente, Johns Hopkins, Sutter and Geisinger Health systems. He has managed various development teams.

“I am thrilled to be a part of a strong leadership team and an exceptional technology team delivering on CNSI’s vision: to be the market leader and most trusted partner for innovative and transformative technology-enabled solutions that improve health and social services outcomes and reduce costs,” said Maini.

 About CNSI

CNSI delivers a broad range of health information technology enterprise solutions and customizable products to a diverse base of state and federal agencies and commercial clients. We align, build, and manage innovative, high-quality, cost-effective solutions that help clients achieve their mission, enhance business performance, reduce costs, and improve the health for over 50 million Americans. 

Headquartered in McLean, Virginia, CNSI employs a world-class team of technologists, program managers, and subject matter experts, all of whom have experience with large scale mission-critical information technology implementations.

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Hexagon US Federal Wins NGA CWS Contract to Support Source Directorate Mission; Tammer Olibah Quoted
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Hexagon US Federal Wins NGA CWS Contract to Support Source Directorate Mission; Tammer Olibah Quoted

Hexagon US Federal has been awarded a five year, $15 million Cartographic Web Service (CWS) contract by the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA), the company reported on Monday.

“We’re proud to provide CWS as part of our NGA support as a critical element to the Source Directorate mission,” said Tammer Olibah, Hexagon US Federal CEO. “It’s an honor to be a partner for NGA as they undertake modernization efforts which are vital to national security.”

As the prime contractor on the single award contract, Hexagon US Federal will provide the CWS for the high volume, rapid production of maps and charts. Hexagon US Federal’s CWS system was selected following a NGA evaluation of differing Automated Finishing Systems (AFS). The company’s system will provide NGA and its allies with the ability to rapidly generate high volumes of mapping and charting products.

The contract is a continuation of support Hexagon US Federal previously provided to NGA. The contract work began in Sept. 2020 with a base of one year, and an option of up to four additional years. Work will take place primarily in Huntsville, Alabama, with support from other locations throughout the United States.

Hexagon US Federal also received a spot on NGA’s contract vehicle for content management of community-sourced data on topographic and human geography under a potential 10-year contract worth $920 million, the company reported in 2018.

About Hexagon US Federal

Hexagon US Federal is part of Hexagon serving the U.S. federal market. Hexagon is a global leader in sensor, software and autonomous solutions. We are putting data to work to boost efficiency, productivity, and quality across industrial, manufacturing, infrastructure, safety, and mobility applications. Our technologies are shaping urban and production ecosystems to become increasingly connected and autonomous – ensuring a scalable, sustainable future.

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Accenture Names New Executives to Global Management Committee; Julie Sweet Quoted
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Accenture Names New Executives to Global Management Committee; Julie Sweet Quoted

Accenture has appointed Bhaskar Ghosh as chief strategy officer, advancing the company’s Global Management Committee. The company also named Simon Eaves as managing director in Accenture’s U.K. and Ireland business., Accenture reported on Monday. 

“Bhaskar brings incredible vision and business acumen to his new role as chief strategy officer,” said Julie Sweet, CEO of Accenture. “Under his leadership, he helped grow Accenture into a technology industry powerhouse and expanded our data, cloud and security offerings. 

Ghosh’s appointment is effective immediately. He will be responsible for the company’s strategy and investments, including ventures and acquisitions, as well as the growth strategy for Accenture’s Industry X business.

He most recently served as advisor to Sweet, including growth and investment strategy, business performance, organizational effectiveness and restructuring initiatives. Previously, Ghosh was group chief executive of Accenture Technology Services, where he directed strategy and investments, and leading platforms, products and global technology delivery.

“His vast experience will be invaluable as we invest to help our clients become cloud first and transform every aspect of their businesses with technology. Bhaskar’s long track record of creating ‘tech for good’ and commitment to inclusion and diversity make him ideal to help us drive responsible business by design into every aspect of our strategy,” Sweet added. 

Accenture has also named Simon Eaves as managing director of Accenture in the U.K. and Ireland, effective Jan. 1, 2021. In the role, Eaves will be responsible for the company’s industries and services in those countries. He will succeed Olly Benzecry, who has served in the role since 2011. Benzecry will continue as chairman until he retires at the end of August 2021.

Eaves has served with Accenture for two decades. Most recently, he served as chief strategy officer. In the role, he led the rapid evolution of Accenture’s industry points of view on COVID-19 and its global ventures & acquisitions strategy. 

“As Simon assumes overall leadership of our business in the U.K. and Ireland, I’m confident that his seasoned expertise and commitment to our people and workplace equality will strengthen and grow Accenture in this critical market,” said Sweet.

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Senate Confirms LtGen Michael Groen as JAIC Director
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Senate Confirms LtGen Michael Groen as JAIC Director

The U.S. Senate has confirmed LtGen Michael Groen to be the new director of the Joint Artificial Intelligence Center (JAIC), the Department of Defense’s (DoD) division for developing and advancing artificial intelligence (AI) technologies, FedScoop reported on Monday. With Groen’s recent confirmation, he has also been promoted to major general.

In his new role, Groen will be responsible for spearheading the development of emerging technologies. JAIC recently announced that the center will expand its solutions to new warfighting initiatives, transitioning from the earlier, lower-risk projects.

To help operationally prepare the DoD for AI, the JAIC integrates technology development, with the requisite policies, knowledge, processes and relationships to ensure long term success and scalability.

JAIC will use AI to solve large and complex problem sets that span multiple services; then, ensure the Services and Components have real-time access to ever-improving libraries of data sets and tools.

Groen has a long history of working with military technology and intelligence. Before his appointment, Groen served as the chief of the Marine Corps. intelligence and on the Joint Staff in senior positions. Most recently, Groen served as deputy chief of computer network operations at the National Security Agency (NSA).

He was nominated for assignment as the Joint Artificial Intelligence Center’s (JAIC) next director and promotion to the rank of lieutenant general in Sept. 2020. Groen will succeed Nand Mulchandani, who has served as acting JAIC director.

Mulchandani assumed the role, following Lt. Gen. Jack Shanahan’s retirement. Shanahan, two-time Wash100 Award recipient, served as a notable leader for JAIC, driving stronger AI initiatives and improving recruitment to test the technology’s capabilities. Shanahan retired Aug. 1 from the U.S. Air Force after more than 35 years of service.

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Kevin Fahey on DoD’s New Software Development, Acquisition Policy
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Kevin Fahey on DoD’s New Software Development, Acquisition Policy

Kevin Fahey, assistant secretary of defense for acquisition, said a new policy that seeks to guide services’ software development and acquisition efforts was finalized and signed by Hon. Ellen Lord, undersecretary of defense for acquisition and sustainment and a 2020 Wash100 Award winner, Inside Defense reported Friday.

“Just this week, Ms. Lord signed out the final version of the software acquisition [policy], so now 5000.01, .02, we have all the pathways, we’re on our way on the instructions,” Fahey said Friday at a National Defense Industrial Association conference.

The updated DOD Directive 5000.01 and DOD instruction 5000.02, “Operation of the Defense Acquisition System” provide program managers with “acquisition pathways” that they can use to procure various types of capabilities, according to the report.

Kevin Fahey on DoD's New Software Development, Acquisition Policy

Hon. Ellen Lord will be featured as the keynote speaker during Potomac Officers Club's upcoming 5G Summit on October 27th. Don’t miss out on this must see event! Register here for the 5G Summit. 

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Joe Francescon: Irregular Warfare Annex to NDS Communicates DoD’s Proactive Efforts Against Security Threats
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Joe Francescon: Irregular Warfare Annex to NDS Communicates DoD’s Proactive Efforts Against Security Threats

Joe Francescon, deputy assistant secretary of defense for special operations and combatting terrorism, said the unclassified summary of the Irregular Warfare Annex to the 2018 National Defense Strategy allows the Department of Defense (DoD) to relay to interagency and industry partners and to the public about its proactive initiatives to prevent crises, DoD News reported Friday.

"Officials hope this summary reassures the American public, allies, partners and the international community of the department's strongest commitment to be proactive against the security challenges confronting the nation," Francescon said.

Francescon cited how countries like Russia and China adopt IW tactics to influence the public such as using social media to undermine democratic institutions and stealing intellectual property.

He noted the IW Annex presents a strategy to help DoD deal with such threats and those include the use of non-kinetic options to avoid war, including collaboration with allies and partners, interagency cooperation and partnership with industry.

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