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Dave Spirk: DoD’s Data Strategy Focuses on Warfighters, Decision-Makers
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Dave Spirk: DoD’s Data Strategy Focuses on Warfighters, Decision-Makers

Dave Spirk, chief data officer at the Department of Defense (DoD), said DoD’s new Data Strategy focuses on the needs of service personnel and senior leaders involved in decision-making, Nextgov reported Thursday.

“Previously, we focused on ensuring that there were networks and transports to send packages of information and data, when and where it needed to go,” Spirk said Wednesday at a National Defense Industrial Association symposium. “When we talk about inside out, we're really talking about putting the warfighter and the senior leader who needs to make a better decision at the center of everything.”

DoD released in early October 2020 the Data Strategy to help the department transform into a data-centric organization that considers data as a strategic resource critical to maintaining operational advantage on the battlefield.

Spirk cited the lack of systems interoperability and enterprise data management as some of the hurdles to the strategy’s implementation and how the strategy addresses the Joint All-Domain Operations Command and Control concept.

“When you lay the data strategy out, and you really go to the principles inside of it, I think what you'll see even down to the vision statement is it really is about creating operational advantage and efficiencies,” Spirk said. “The operational advantage puts JADC2 right at the heart of the data strategy, and it was designed to be that way.”

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Steve Kunze: CFO Council Eyes 2021 Release of Strategic Plan for Federal Financial Workforce
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Steve Kunze: CFO Council Eyes 2021 Release of Strategic Plan for Federal Financial Workforce

Steve Kunze, deputy chief financial officer at the Department of Commerce (DOC), said the CFO Council expects to unveil early next year a strategic plan for the “workforce of tomorrow,” Federal News Network reported Thursday. He said the council’s working group has been collaborating with the Joint Financial Management Improvement Program for nearly a year on the strategy. 

Work includes performing an “environmental scan” or assessment of over 1,200 papers from consulting firms, professional organizations and academics to analyze trends that will shape the government’s financial workforce in the next two decades.

“Data and technology are the two things that are going to be driving what the financial management professional is going to be living, and what that environment is going to look like,” Kunze said Wednesday at ACT-IAC’s virtual ReImagine Nation ELC conference.

The working group is working to identify competencies and skill sets that financial professionals will need in the future based on the identified trends as well as developing objectives for agencies to meet under the strategic plan. The team will then submit the proposed plan to the full council for evaluation and approval.

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CDOs Expect 2021 Federal Data Strategy Action Plan to Include More Data Sharing Opportunities
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CDOs Expect 2021 Federal Data Strategy Action Plan to Include More Data Sharing Opportunities

The 2021 Federal Data Strategy Action Plan is expected to be released in December 2020 and agency chief data officers intend to see more partnership and data sharing opportunities in the next strategy, FedScoop reported Thursday.

Kirsten Dalboe, CDO at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, said during a discussion at ACT-IAC’s Reimagine Nation ELC 2020 that specific measures in the next action plan could help advance the Federal Data Science Training Program and address confusion in data use agreements at agencies.

“Giving agencies the space to continue to mature their practices over the next year will be really important,” Dalboe said. “And I think a big area I’m hoping to see growth in for the Year 2 strategy is really around sharing, the coordination, the community aspect.”

Kshemendra Paul, CDO at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), said the VA is working with the Department of Defense on a joint analytics and data strategy, which will center on customer experience metrics with regard to joint policy development, analytics, data sharing and interoperability.

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DOE Selects Projects for $80M Coal FIRST Energy Plant Investment
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DOE Selects Projects for $80M Coal FIRST Energy Plant Investment

The Department of Energy (DOE) plans to award $80 million for four cost-shared projects that will aim to develop electricity and hydrogen energy plant technologies with net-zero carbon emissions. DOE said Wednesday that its Office of Fossil Energy selected four projects under the Coal FIRST program that seeks to eventually design, develop and integrate the sought energy systems.

The projects will cover early-stage research for the development of plants powered by coal, waste plastics, natural gas and biomass. These plants would also exhibit carbon capture, utilization and storage.

Participants will design energy plant systems, evaluate potential host sites, analyze investment cases and conduct studies on system integration. The National Energy Technology Laboratory will provide oversight across these efforts.

The participants are:

  • CONSOL Energy
  • Electric Power Research Institute
  • University of Illinois
  • Wabash Valley Resources
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DHS OIG: CISA Needs to Further Election Security Efforts
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DHS OIG: CISA Needs to Further Election Security Efforts

The Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) Office of the Inspector General (OIG) issued a report stating that the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) must take additional steps to secure the U.S. election infrastructure.

The OIG report dated Oct. 22 states that DHS has improved coordination and CISA was able to create guidelines for securing systems required throughout the 2020 election cycle.

However, the IG noted that CISA’s plans “do not sufficiently mitigate other potential risks” such as terrorism threats or targeted violence. The agency’s strategy also does not identify external stakeholder dependencies that “impede mission performance,” the report states.

Factors such as duplicate data, limited staffing and inadequate authorities also hindered CISA’s capacity to provide additional assessments and services, according to the report. CISA must improve information sharing, update its planning documents and facilitate timely evaluations and assistance to key stakeholders, the IG said.

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USAF Cyber, ISR Unit Eyes Open-Systems ABMS Tech; Lt. Gen. Mary O’Brien Quoted
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USAF Cyber, ISR Unit Eyes Open-Systems ABMS Tech; Lt. Gen. Mary O’Brien Quoted

The U.S. Air Force’s new office for cyber as well as intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance operations is continuing work to establish the service branch’s Advanced Battle Management System (ABMS).

“We’ve got to streamline the speed and accuracy of repetitive tasks,” Lt. Gen. Mary O’Brien, deputy chief of staff for A2/6 said. “We’ve got to free up and shift human intention and cognition toward those higher-level reasoning and judgment problem sets.”

The A2/6 unit is working on efforts to deploy modular software-defined mesh network capabilities and other open-architecture systems such as radios to support communication and translation across disparate platforms, National Defense Magazine reported Wednesday.

The unit is also working on operations across the electromagnetic spectrum including information warfare to support the joint all-domain command and control (JADC2) concept.

“Their mission is to defend and ensure electromagnetic spectrum access for the Air Force and DoD activities in support of our national policy objectives and global operations,” she noted.

“We will need to embrace modern technologies, especially those from our industry partners, to deliver the operational networks and threat information our joint warfighter needs to generate combat power,” O'Brien added. 

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FCC Changes Policy on Infrastructure Modifications to Support 5G Adoption
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FCC Changes Policy on Infrastructure Modifications to Support 5G Adoption

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has revised policy that governs the approval of wireless infrastructure modifications under the Spectrum Act of 2012. The revision allows infrastructure modifications to remain qualified as long as transmission equipment is not deployed at areas exceeding 30 feet beyond site boundaries, FCC said Tuesday.

The commission executed this revision to support accelerated 5G implementation and facilitate equipment collocation. FCC aligned the revision with the Nationwide Programmatic Agreement for the Collocation of Wireless Antennas, policy that prevents these excavation efforts from requiring federal historic preservation reviews.

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FMG Announces Efforts to Bolster Federal Mobile Security
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FMG Announces Efforts to Bolster Federal Mobile Security

The Federal Mobility Group (FMG) has launched efforts to help agencies protect mobile devices operating in environments that lack security.

FMG evaluated and improved data reporting aspects of the Federal Information Security Management Act, published guidance for teleworking, assessed threat defense ecosystems and educated agencies on credential management, the Chief Information Officer Council said Wednesday.

These efforts aim to help government agencies understand mobile security threats, implement credential management techniques and identify device configuration robustness.

The group also advises agencies to analyze threats that may affect mobile devices and backend systems, leverage enterprise mobile security tools, trial then implement a mobile device management system and update mobile security and operating systems frequently.

These efforts support and align with the nearly concluded National Cybersecurity Awareness Month. FMG works to tackle issues that challenge mobile device security, 5G implementation and other related matters.

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NASA, ESA Sign Agreement for Artemis Gateway Modules
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NASA, ESA Sign Agreement for Artemis Gateway Modules

The European Space Agency (ESA) has signed an agreement with NASA to provide updated communications tools, habitation and refueling modules for an orbital outpost designed for the Artemis mission. ESA will also operate elements of the Artemis Gateway and deliver European Service Modules for the Orion spacecraft as part of the agreement, NASA said Tuesday.

The habitation module will contain Gateway’s Environmental Control and Life Support System, accommodate science experiments and feature additional crew work and living space for the team. The Japanese government will also contribute parts and docking ports for the module.

“The Gateway is designed to be supplemented by additional capabilities provided by our international partners to support sustainable exploration,” said Kathy Lueders, NASA associate administrator for the human exploration and operations mission directorate.

NASA will assemble Gateway within the lunar orbit as a staging point for missions to the moon. The outpost will also serve as a rendezvous point for the Space Launch System. Gateway will also handle testing technologies for human missions to Mars.

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GSA Looks to Add CMMC Requests in Alliant 2 IT Contract’s Replacement
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GSA Looks to Add CMMC Requests in Alliant 2 IT Contract’s Replacement

The General Services Administration (GSA) is planning to incorporate requirements under the Department of Defense’s (DoD) Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) program into a governmentwide contract that will replace the Alliant 2 vehicle.

GSA previously included CMMC language in a previously issued request for proposals and is looking to add the requirements in the Polaris small business contract for information technology support, FCW reported Wednesday.

Carlton Shufflebarger, acting director of the Office of IT Category at GSA, said at a recent AFCEA event that his office seeks to renew focus on cybersecurity as emerging concepts like 5G are being rolled out.

“DoD is one of our most valued customers,” he said. “We place great importance and priority on meeting their needs. So we wanted to insure that our contracts meet DoD's needs today and in the future, as well as other agencies."

GSA Looks to Add CMMC Requests in Alliant 2 IT Contract's Replacement

Katherine Arrington, chief information security officer (CISO) for the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition (OUSDA) for the Department of Defense (DoD) and 2020 Wash100 Award recipient, will be featured as the keynote speaker for the Fall 2020 CMMC Forum. Click here to register for the Fall 2020 CMMC Forum.

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