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FCC Advances Secure Networks Act Implementation
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FCC Advances Secure Networks Act Implementation

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has started integrating into its supply chain rulemaking proceeding provisions of the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Act in an effort to safeguard the country’s communications infrastructure from security threats.

FCC said Thursday that it has met its obligation under the Secure Networks Act, which was enacted in March, by implementing in November 2019 a measure that prohibits the use of Universal Service Fund to buy or maintain any communications equipment or services from companies that pose a national security threat.

The commission also announced a Second Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to seek feedback from the public on plans to implement portions of the Secure Networks Act. These include proposals with regard to the creation and maintenance of a list of covered communications services and equipment and a ban on the use of USF and other federal subsidies for products placed on the list.

FCC declared Huawei and ZTE as national security threats in late June. The designation prohibits organizations from using the $8.3 billion fund to buy, maintain, modify or support any services or equipment provided by the two companies.

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DCSA Offers Update on Security Clearance Processing Times, Adjudications
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DCSA Offers Update on Security Clearance Processing Times, Adjudications

The Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency (DCSA) has seen the number of security clearance investigations rise to approximately 205,000, but the figure is still within DCSA’s “steady state” target of between 200,000 and 225,000 in active investigations, Federal News Network reported Thursday.

“The inventory has slightly increased over the past few weeks, mostly due to the COVID-related impacts,” Heather Green, director of DCSA’s Vetting Risk Operations Center, said Wednesday at a meeting of the National Industrial Security Program Policy Advisory Committee. “We have seen a steady state of submissions for industry, but we do have an increase of cases on hold due to the inability to collect some records for the investigations to close.”

The report said DCSA has 74,100 pending adjudications to date, compared with 160K adjudications in its mid-2019 inventory. DCSA data also shows a gradual decline in security clearance processing times.

The processing of the majority of secret clearances took 89 days to complete during the third quarter of this year, down from an average of 163 days in 2019. The top secret clearance processing times recorded an average of 135 days, down from the 305-day average from the previous year.

To date, the Department of Defense (DoD) has approximately 2.2 million clearance holders enrolled in its continuous evaluation program, up from 1.4 million CE enrollees in November 2019. DCSA said 455,000 of the current enrollees are industry clearance holders.

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Hon. Ellen Lord Calls for Another Review of Weapon Export Controls
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Hon. Ellen Lord Calls for Another Review of Weapon Export Controls

Hon. Ellen Lord, undersecretary for acquisition and sustainment at the Department of Defense (DoD) and a 2020 Wash100 Award winner, said she hopes to reassess export controls on some of the country’s weapons systems in the next six months, Defense News reported Thursday.

“I am concerned that sometimes we are losing international competitions, because we have — as we have increased our capability, we have not increased the capabilities that we export in a commensurate fashion,” Lord said Thursday at a Reagan Foundation-hosted event.

“And we sometimes are having some of our potential customers, typically in the Mideast turn to Russia or China — you see the same thing in India, for instance.”

She said at the event that she wants DoD to help strengthen the National Technology and Industrial Base, which includes the U.K., Canada and Australia.

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DOE Funds Atmospheric Research Projects
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DOE Funds Atmospheric Research Projects

The Department of Energy (DoE) has awarded $19 million in grants through the Atmospheric Research Program to 31 projects that aim to update the Earth system models' capacity to perform weather forecasts.

The projects tackle various areas in atmospheric science such as the development of data products, atmospheric process within the northern and southern latitudes and interactions between clouds and aerosols, DOE said Wednesday.

DOE selected the awardees through a competitive peer-review and will provide funding from fiscal year 2020 funds. Earth system models work to perform large-scale simulations of environmental processes via supercomputers.

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Geospark Analytics to Update Hyperion App Under USAF Contract
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Geospark Analytics to Update Hyperion App Under USAF Contract

Geospark Analytics has received a contract from AFWERX through the second phase of the Small Business Innovation Research vehicle to incorporate collaborative capabilities into a cloud-based mobile application.

The Hyperion app utilizes artificial intelligence to forecast social, political and economical risks worldwide, Geospark said Wednesday.

The company aims to streamline the distribution of analysis and threat data between aircrews and the U.S. Air Force's intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance and operational support units through the contract.

Geospark plans to market the updated Hyperion app to customers from the commercial operations and travel security sectors.

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Airmen Propose VR Tech for B-52 Bomber Training
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Airmen Propose VR Tech for B-52 Bomber Training

Airmen are exploring the use of virtual reality to train for B-52 Stratofortress aircrew operations. The U.S. Air Force said Tuesday it demonstrated the Virtual Reality Procedures Trainer proposed by Air Force Global Strike Command's Maj. Mark Budgeon, 11th Bomb Squadron Chief Pilot and Chief of Innovations Maj. Justin Stephenson and Maj. Brandon Wolf of the 307th Operations Support Squadron.

The demonstration took place at StrikeWerx in Louisiana with support from VR training company King Crow Studios. The company helped USAF develop and demonstrate the VR Procedures Trainer that works to educate and assess B-52 trainees.

“It would be accessible to them all the time, so they can take it home and practice,” Wolf said.

Accessed via VR goggles, the system generates a 360-degree simulation of the bomber aircraft's cockpit. King Crow Studios will work to complete a VRPT prototype within the year.

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Air Force Materiel Command Presents New Readiness Plan; Gen. Arnold Bunch Quoted
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Air Force Materiel Command Presents New Readiness Plan; Gen. Arnold Bunch Quoted

Air Force Materiel Command has unveiled a plan that highlights four focus areas aiming to sustain the Department of the Air Force’s combat readiness.

The plan revolves around AFMC’s efforts to boost readiness and lethality, speedily perform deliveries, strengthen the materiel team and foster connections in support of the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force, USAF said Wednesday.

The plan also redefines AFMC’s mission and includes a goal to diversify the command’s workforce.

“AFMC built the most powerful Air Force in the world and our nation still depends on us to build and power the Air Force of the future,” said Gen. Arnold Bunch, AFMC Commander.

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Vice Adm. Nancy Norton: DoD Eyes Launch of Zero Trust Architecture by Year’s End
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Vice Adm. Nancy Norton: DoD Eyes Launch of Zero Trust Architecture by Year’s End

Vice Adm. Nancy Norton, director of the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) and a 2018 Wash100 Award recipient, said DISA is collaborating with the National Security Agency (NSA) and other agencies to develop and release by the end of 2020 an initial zero trust architecture in an effort to strengthen cybersecurity across the Department of Defense (DoD), Signal Magazine reported Wednesday.

Norton, also commander of the Joint Force Headquarters-DoD Information Network, said the zero trust architecture will be used by the U.S. Army and other DoD components and will mark a move away from the network-centric security model amid threats posed by state and non-state actors.

“This paradigm shift from a network-centric to a data-centric security model will affect every arena of our cyber domain, focusing first on how to protect our data and critical resources and then secondarily on our networks,” she said at the Army’s virtual 2020 Signal Conference.

“Under our traditional defense-in-depth approach, we have tried to make the DODIN trusted and safe territory. Under our new zero trust model, we will always assume that our internal networks are as hostile as external networks.”

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House Appropriations Committee OKs $24.6B in FY21 Financial Services, General Gov’t Funding
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House Appropriations Committee OKs $24.6B in FY21 Financial Services, General Gov’t Funding

A House panel has approved $24.6 billion in funding for the departments of the Treasury and Judiciary as well as the Executive Office of the President and independent agencies like the Small Business Administration.

The House Appropriations Committee said Wednesday it voted 30-22 to pass the draft Financial Services and General Government (FSGG) funding bill for fiscal year 2021.

The bill, which represents an $808 million increase in discretionary funding from FY 2020, includes $61 billion for broadband services and $6 billion for federal building refurbishment.

House Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Rep. Nita Lowey, D-N.Y., said the bill also covers over $37 billion in lending authorities as well as budget increases for entrepreneurial development initiatives.

Rep. Mike Quigley, D-Ill., said the FSGG bill brings focus to the integrity of U.S. markets while supporting small businesses and providing equal access to internet services.

“During these uncertain times it is important we do everything we can to provide Americans stability and ensure resources are available,” said Quigley, who heads the Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Subcommittee.

According to a Nextgov report, Quigley proposed amendments in the bill to support 5G infrastructure development and increased efforts to ban foreign-owned telecommunications providers like Huawei and ZTE in 5G initiatives.

The House panel additionally recommends the General Services Administration and Technology Modernization Fund to accelerate efforts to update citizen-facing services, according to the report.

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16th Air Force Gets Full Operational Capability Authorization; Timothy Haugh Quoted
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16th Air Force Gets Full Operational Capability Authorization; Timothy Haugh Quoted

The U.S. Air Force’s new cyber and information warfare-focused command unit has achieved full operational capability that certifies it for activities with the U.S. Cyber Command (USCYBERCOM) and National Security Agency (NSA), C4ISRnet reported Wednesday.

Established in October 2019, 16th Air Force/Air Forces Cyber integrates the operations of the 24th and 25th AF that involve cyber, electronic warfare and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions.

Lt. Gen. Timothy Haugh, commander of 16th AF, told attendees at a Mitchell Institute webcast that the Air Force component will focus on driving convergence with partners such as the FBI and the departments of State and Homeland Security.

“In partnership with Air Combat Command as our lead [Major Command], we have now established the structure of the organization,” he said.  “We organized that staff really consistent with what a [joint task force] looks like."

According to Haugh, 16th AF also began standing up subordinate elements such as the J-39 responsible for coordinating information with combatant commands and the joint staff.

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