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USAF Launches Digital University to Enhance IT & Cybersecurity Training; Master Sgt. James Crocker Quoted
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USAF Launches Digital University to Enhance IT & Cybersecurity Training; Master Sgt. James Crocker Quoted

The U.S. Air Force has projected to launch its Digital University by the end of 2020, which will enhance training for front-line IT and cybersecurity workers, FedScoop reported on Friday. 

“With Digital University, we are able to democratize technical training across the Air Force and we are already seeing impressive results as Airmen gain the necessary skills to meet our digital modernization and growth needs,” said Master Sgt. James Crocker, BESPIN’s chief technology officer.

The online university has been made available to airman in a beta version, and will develop its catalog of courses to upskill the workforce. The Digital University was developed as a part of the “Digital Air Force” strategy. 

The strategy was developed to consolidate IT networks and increase the technical acumen across the entire department. Business and Enterprise Systems Product Innovation (BESPIN) will host the beta version. 

The skills-based courses will focus on tactical operators of IT networks and cybersecurity missions on a day-to-day basis to strengthen their skills and provide digital literacy through the courses. 

“At a time of accelerated digital transformation, we are committed to nurturing innovation and delivering the best possible training to our Airmen,” Crocker added.

In addition, The U.S. Space Force will require draw upon the aspects of the Digital University to enable its workforce to pass a minimum level of training to prove their knowledge, skills and capabilities, and become digitally fluent, Federal News Network reported on Friday.

U.S. Air Force MG Kim Crider, mobilization assistant to the chief of Space Operations, has developed a strategy to integrate the Digital University that will provide a minimum level of education to Space Force servicemembers and civilians.

About Digital University

Digital University is a critical initiative of the Air Force’s broader “Digital Air Force” strategy, which kicked off in early 2020. The primary focus of this strategy is to consolidate and advance Air Force IT systems while creating better data efficiencies across the entire organization.

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Donna Peebles, SBA Associate Administrator for 8(a) Business Development, Discusses Recent BD Efforts Across Federal Agencies
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Donna Peebles, SBA Associate Administrator for 8(a) Business Development, Discusses Recent BD Efforts Across Federal Agencies

Donna Peebles, associate administrator of 8(a) business development (BD) at the Small Business Administration (SBA), works to provide effective business development tools to procurement-ready small business firms seeking 8(a) certification and mentor protégé agreements.

She has provided commentary on the recent efforts federal agencies have made to support business development nationwide. Peebles recently announced her support for  the General Services Administration (GSA) issuance of the solicitation for the 8(a) STARS III Governmentwide Acquisition Contract (GWAC).

GSA’s GWAC is part of the agency’s process to simplify work with federal agencies for small businesses from different socioeconomic categories, focusing on IT acquisition projects.

“Over the last nine years, the 8(a) STARS II GWAC has successfully leveled the playing field for hundreds of small disadvantaged IT contractors in the 8(a) Business Development Program. Through this vehicle, and the partnership of GSA and SBA (Small Business Administration), many 8(a) firms have grown and prospered while delivering essential capabilities to the federal government,” Peebles said.

The new STARS GWAC will have a $50 billion ceiling to focus on emerging technologies and performance outside of the continental U.S.

“I am very proud of GSA’s work in developing the STARS III GWAC with a contract ceiling of $50 billion, more than twice the size of STARS II,” said GSA administrator Emily Murphy and 2020 Wash100 Award recipient. “STARS III continues GSA’s legacy of creating opportunities for small disadvantaged businesses while helping federal agencies accomplish information technology (IT) missions.”

Peebles has also made significant efforts to advocate for minorities within small businesses. Peebles has spearheaded the SBA’s Business Development 8(a) Program, with the potential and capabilities to grow into successful businesses. 

SBA’s 8(a) Program has assisted firms develop and grow through one-on-one counseling, training workshops, management and technical guidance. The program has also provided access to government contracting opportunities to enable companies to become competitors within the federal marketplace. In fiscal year 2018, small businesses received more than $17.6 billion in 8(a) contract dollars.

“We’ve been able to regularly exceed targeted goals, consistently increase staffing year over year, and leverage relationships established throughout our engagement with SBA,” said Parker Green, small business founder and graduate of SBA’s 8(a) Program. 

SBA’s Office of Business Development was created to help small disadvantaged businesses compete in the marketplace. It is also designed to help companies gain access to federal and private procurement markets. 

The office has provided business development support, including procurement assistance, business counseling, training, financial assistance, surety bonding and other management and technical assistance to prepare small disadvantaged firms for procurement and other business opportunities.

GovConWire Events will host its 2020 Business Development (BD) Trends Forum on August 27th. Click here to register for the event. 

Featuring Stephanie Shutt, director of GSA's Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) Program Management Office (PMO), the event will discuss current Business Development (BD) trends, tips for securing contracts and Fiscal Year 2021 federal budget projections.

The forum will also include an expert panel, hosting federal and industry executives that will dive into the future of business. Join GovConWire’s virtual forum to learn all about the latest trends in Business Development.

Click here to register for the 2020 Business Development (BD) Trends Forum.

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DARPA Program Finds AI Algorithm to Defeat Human Pilot; Justin Mock, Col. Daniel Javorsek Quoted
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DARPA Program Finds AI Algorithm to Defeat Human Pilot; Justin Mock, Col. Daniel Javorsek Quoted

During a Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) competition program, an artificial intelligence (AI) algorithm, developed by Heron Systems, defeated a human F-16 fighter pilot in a virtual dogfight simulation, C4ISRNET reported on Friday.

“From a human perspective, from the fighter pilot world, we talked about we trust what works. And what we saw was that in this limited area, in this specific scenario, we’ve got AI that works,” said Justin Mock of DARPA and fighter pilot.

The algorithm easily defeated the fighter pilot in all five rounds, which concluded DARPA’s Air Combat Evolution program competition. The program was launched to analyze automation in air-to-air combat and improve human trust in AI systems.

The conditions in the simulation were not  equivalent to realistic aerial combat. The AI system had perfect information, which experts commentating stated never occurs in the field, and the human pilot flew a fake stick in a virtual seat.

Heron’s AI system exhibited notable aggressiveness and accuracy that would attempt shots that are unlikely to occur in training environments. While the system was successful, it experienced some error in basic fighter maneuvers by turning away from enemy aircraft, but would recover by its “superior aiming ability,” Mock added. 

Heron was one of eight AI teams selected by DARPA to take part in the final round of the agency’s competition. Other competitors included Lockheed Martin, Perspecta Labs, Aurora Flight Sciences, EpiSys Science, Georgia Tech Research Institute, PhysicsAI and SoarTech.

“Artificial intelligence shows a lot of promise. It’s kind of been bang or bust in the past,” Col. Daniel Javorsek said. “In the larger ACE program, our plan is to take the modeling and simulation work that we’re doing here and translate it from that digital environment into the real world. And it turns out that’s a pretty important jump to make.”

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Space Force Requires Workforce to be Digitally Fluent; LTG David Thompson Quoted
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Space Force Requires Workforce to be Digitally Fluent; LTG David Thompson Quoted

The U.S. Space Force will require its workforce to pass a minimum level of training to prove their knowledge, skills and capabilities, and become digitally fluent, Federal News Network reported on Friday.

U.S. Air Force MG Kim Crider, mobilization assistant to the chief of Space Operations, has developed a strategy to integrate the Digital University that will provide a minimum level of education to Space Force servicemembers and civilians.

“Crider is establishing a core set of knowledge and training activities that every single member of the Space Force will be required when it comes to digital,” said LTG David Thompson, vice commander of the U.S. Space Force. 

Crider’s finalized plan will be delivered to Space Force commander and 2020 Wash100 Award recipient, John Raymond, in fall 2020. Crider has also planned the development of a digital headquarters from a process and procedure perspective will not rely on disparate, disconnected systems.

“Another one of the elements she’s building on is a pure digital strategy. How we handle our data, how we process our data, how we expose our data and how we allow others access to and manipulate the data,” Thompson added. “She already is full and deep in terms of having built and execute a strategy to make us a digital service.”

Crider also stated that the service is set to publish its 2020 science and technology roadmap and recognizes the need to work with industry to bring that plan to fruition, ExecutiveGov reported on Thursday. 

“We agree with the industrial base report,” Crider said of the “State of the Space Industrial Base 2020: A Time for Action to Sustain U.S. Economic & Military Leadership in Space” report released by the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) and the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) in July. “We have to coordinate with industry and other government leaders.”

She said Wednesday at the Ascend virtual conference that the service branch backs the idea of establishing “unity of effort” across industry, academia and government to incentivize the industrial base.

Crider cited examples of technology areas where the Space Force can work with industry, including satellite-based communications, power generation in space, space transportation, logistics and positioning, navigation and timing.

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DOE Plans AI Training to Develop IT Talent; Cheryl Ingstad Quoted
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DOE Plans AI Training to Develop IT Talent; Cheryl Ingstad Quoted

The Artificial Intelligence (AI) Office, within the Department of Energy (DoE), has announced its plans to launch an AI training module in fall 2020 to develop talent in computer science, the FedScoop reported on Friday. 

“One of the things we’ve heard is that the scientists really want to work in the area of their specialty, but they don’t want to become AI experts to utilize these tools or to manage the data,” said Cheryl Ingstad, director of AITO. “So how do we get data managers and how do we get AI experts to the operational levels here and the research levels to support our scientists that way?”

Future modules will be developed by the Artificial Intelligence and Technology Office (AITO) in coordination with DOE‘s 17 National Laboratories and see experts explain the benefits AI can bring to their organizations.

DoE has faced challenges to recruit, retain and develop a workforce structure for AI professionals. With the training module, AITO has planned to convert the technology workforce employees with an interest in AI into specialists. 

The department has drafted an AI strategy that will be integrated throughout DoE; however, it must be reviewed before the agency takes action. DoE has also projected that the department will chair an AI working group to share best practices and provide dashboards that inform transformations across agencies.

DoE’s AI strategy has included partnerships between internal offices and external agencies, academia, first responders and the industry to address adversarial AI and cyberattacks that cause machine learning models to misinterpret system inputs. 

AITO adversarial AI partnerships are in the beginning stages, but DOE sees itself as entering a new “space race” with AI for the next several decades most likely, Ingstad said. “It matters who wins,” Ingstad added. “We are in this race against others, who do not have the same values that we have.”

The DoE AITO has also launched a consortium with Microsoft to advance the development of AI-based tools to enable first responders to better respond to natural disasters and help them save lives and protect property.

The First Five Consortium will bring together government, industry, academic and nonprofit organizations to develop AI platforms in support of humanitarian relief and disaster response efforts. 

“AITO is proud to lead on getting near real-time information into the hands of our First Responders,” Ingstad said in regards to the First Five. “This will allow them to save more lives and protect assets and our nation’s resources. This is just one project of the broader effort, which will include contributions from all our partners, to use technology to improve humanitarian assistance and disaster response in our nation.”

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Accenture Partners with Equinor to Migrate SAP Software to Microsoft Azure; Gunnar Presthus Quoted
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Accenture Partners with Equinor to Migrate SAP Software to Microsoft Azure; Gunnar Presthus Quoted

Accenture has partnered with Equinor, an international energy company, to migrate Equinor’s SAP software environment to Microsoft Azure public cloud, Accenture reported on Thursday.

 “Accenture is excited to support Equinor in its SAP journey to the cloud. This is a prerequisite for digital transformation, enabling business resilience that is key to navigating a continually changing environment,” Gunnar Presthus, Accenture’s global client account lead for Equinor, said. 

Under the partnership, Accenture will support Equinor’s business objectives to optimize IT costs and increase cost transparency by shifting to an agile, high availability and scalable platform for SAP systems. Accenture will direct its efforts toward Equinor’s Cloud Management. 

Accenture will also manage Equinor’s SAP systems from on-premise data centers to the Microsoft Azure cloud to simplify IT operations in a cloud environment. Accenture will use myWizard, its proprietary intelligent automation platform, to automate processes across the enterprise. 

“Working together with Accenture we are helping to simplify and accelerate our customer’s journey of moving their SAP systems to Microsoft Azure to help realize the benefits of the cloud,” Gjert Terje Gjersvik, SAP’s global account director for Equinor, said.    

Potomac Officers Club will host its Secure IT Modernization in Today’s Environment Virtual Event on Wednesday, August 26th. Click here to register for the Secure IT Modernization in Today’s Environment Virtual Event.

Michael Mestrovich, principal deputy chief information officer for the U.S. Department of State (DoS), will serve as a keynote speaker at the event. Mestrovich will address the integration and expansion of 5G and other emerging technologies; adaptation to a “new normal,” such as teleworking and reentry; and how leaders and businesses can use mission software factories to their advantage. 

Mestrovich will be joined by an expert panel, featuring Paul Girardi, assistant vice president of Cybersecurity with AT&T Public Sector. 

Register for  Potomac Officers Club’s Secure IT Modernization in Today’s Environment Virtual event to learn more about how to evolve and adapt quickly in crisis to ensure global accessibility and connectivity. 

Click here to register for the Secure IT Modernization in Today’s Environment Virtual Event.

About Accenture

Accenture is a leading global professional services company, providing a broad range of services in strategy and consulting, interactive, technology and operations, with digital capabilities across all of these services. We combine unmatched experience and specialized capabilities across more than 40 industries — powered by the world’s largest network of Advanced Technology and Intelligent Operations centers. With 513,000 people serving clients in more than 120 countries, Accenture brings continuous innovation to help clients improve their performance and create lasting value across their enterprises.

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NCSC’s Constance Taube on Cyber Threat Data Sharing in Response to Vulnerabilities Posed by 5G
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NCSC’s Constance Taube on Cyber Threat Data Sharing in Response to Vulnerabilities Posed by 5G

The adoption of 5G could introduce supply chain vulnerabilities into critical infrastructure and Constance Taube, deputy director of the National Counterintelligence and Security Center (NCSC), said NCSC is “working out a repeatable process”  that seeks to help the federal government streamline cyber threat data sharing with industry partners, Federal News Network reported Thursday.

Taube said Wednesday at an INSA webinar that the intelligence community is now is a better position to receive and transmit cyber threat information given its previous efforts to improve communication lines in support of cyber attack response and prevention initiatives.

“When we have threat information, it is worse to have it and not use it than it is to not have it. We’re cognizant of that and we are very carefully and mindfully working in the information-sharing space,” she said.

Taube also mentioned the need to have trusted telecommunications providers.

“The critical need for trust in a telecoms provider, especially when there are so many vulnerabilities that 5G will bring can’t be overstated. And in short, the company Huawei epitomizes concerns about the dangers of networks that can be manipulated, disrupted or controlled by authoritarian governments with no democratic checks or balances, no regard for human rights, privacy or international norms,” she noted.

Potomac Officers Club will host its 5G Summit on October 27, 2020. Click here to register for the event. Ellen Lord, undersecretary of defense for acquisition and sustainment and four-time Wash100 Award recipient will serve as a keynote speaker at the summit.

She will discuss emerging programs, priorities and challenges within the integration process of the new 5G framework. As emerging technologies continue to become an integral part of business and innovation, leaders across all divisions must stay ahead of the curve to tackle national and global issues.

5G wireless technology is anticipated to unleash unprecedented levels of connectivity between millions of new internet of things devices and there are already a range of deployments making their way across the U.S. and in a few federal agencies.

5G Summit Banner

Join Potomac Officers Club for its 5G Summit on Oct. 27, 2020 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.

Hon. Ellen Lord, undersecretary for acquisition and sustainment at the Department of Defense (DoD) and four-time Wash100 Award recipient, will be featured as the keynote speaker. Don’t miss out on this must see event! Register here for the 5G Summit on October 27th.

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NAPA Report Says Commerce Dept ‘Best Suited’ to Handle Space Traffic Management; Wilbur Ross Quoted
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NAPA Report Says Commerce Dept ‘Best Suited’ to Handle Space Traffic Management; Wilbur Ross Quoted

A National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA) report has concluded that the Department of Commerce (DOC), particularly its office of space commerce (OSC), is the best agency to oversee space traffic management work within the federal government.

NAPA’s panel of fellows evaluated OSC, the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) office of commercial space transportation (AST), NASA and the Department of Defense (DoD)against four primary factors: functional and technical competency; partnerships; organizational leadership and capacity; and stakeholders and customers.

NAPA said OSC’s concept of operations seeks to facilitate collaboration with military, domestic and international entities to make the space domain sustainable that can enable research and commercial activities to thrive.

“OSC views its STM responsibilities principally as a data management function, rather than principally as a task of managing space traffic,” according to the report.

The report recommends that Congress authorize appropriations and provide authorities for OSC to perform the task of integrating capabilities to carry out STM and space situational awareness responsibilities. SpaceNews reported that the Department of Commerce welcomed NAPA’s findings.

“I am pleased to see that following an intensive survey of key government and industry stakeholders, NAPA’s findings independently validate that the Department of Commerce is the best civil agency to lead the commercial and international SSA/STM mission,” Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said in a statement. “We look forward to working with the Congress to quickly advance this critical space mission.”

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Brian Harrell Leaves CISA Infrastructure Protection Post
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Brian Harrell Leaves CISA Infrastructure Protection Post

Brian Harrell, a senior official responsible for physical infrastructure protection at the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), stepped down from his post to return to the private sector, CyberScoop reported Thursday.

He joined DHS in 2018 and has helped launch cyber drills for critical infrastructure firms. He previously served as managing director of enterprise security at Duke Energy and director of critical infrastructure protection programs at North American Electric Reliability Corp.

A spokesperson for CISA said Steve Harris, the agency’s deputy assistant director, will take over Harrell’s post in an interim basis starting Monday, Aug. 24. 

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Army Research Lab Makes Power Line Detection Tech
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Army Research Lab Makes Power Line Detection Tech

Army Research Laboratory (ARL) has created a software-sensor combination designed to help unmanned aircraft systems prevent clashes with nearby power lines. ARL said Wednesday it uniquely configured 3D sensors in a way designed to inform autopilot systems about detected power lines.

“Power lines are small and difficult to see with radar or optical sensors, but they generate large fields that can be easily detected with low-power, low-cost, passive electric- and magnetic-field sensors,” said David Hull, an Army researcher.

The resulting system brings a reduced size, weight, power and cost requirements compared to that of existing, larger wire detection technologies. ARL also expects the technology to support other use cases such as drone-based freight delivery and power line inspection.

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