Dominic Cussatt, deputy chief information officer and principal deputy assistant secretary for information technology at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), said the VA is supporting 140,000 teleworking employees amid the ongoing pandemic, Nextgov reported Wednesday.

Cussatt told the publication in an interview that the department delivered thousands of mobile devices to personnel in need and added 15,000 to its Veterans Health Administration workforce in response to the COVID-19 crisis.

The VA also blocked “hundreds of millions of malware attempts” in April and has at least 45 priority cybersecurity projects underway, he noted.

In addition, Cussatt said the VA plans to modernize its legacy equipment and expand bandwidth as well as telehealth capacities to address veteran needs. The department reported over 100K patient visits through VA Video Connect in early May, according to the report.

Speaking on the VA’s other digital transformation goals, Cussatt said the department aims to reroute 50 percent of network traffic through the cloud and establish a virtual cloud environment to support activities encompassing telehealth, remote work, telecounseling, benefits processing and legal procedures.

A human-rated centrifuge built by the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) participated in a NASA space launch Saturday. The centrifuge features interchangeable cockpits and works to adapt and accommodate any customer at an accelerated pace, the U.S. Air Force said Wednesday.

AFRL also designed the centrifuge to help fast-jet aviators train in an environment with nine times the normal force of gravity. A team composed of engineers from NASA and AFRL worked to convert the centrifuge from an aircrew training platform into an astronaut testing facility.

“With the new vehicles back in the family with those G-loads, we’re basically reviving that whole G-training aspect and every astronaut will start going down this path,” said Michael Barratt, an astronaut and physician at NASA.

The U.S. Marine Corps tested an updated version of a narrowband satellite suite designed to help warfighters link with satellite communications networks.

The Marine Corps Systems Command partnered with I Marine Expeditionary Force to assess the Mobile User Objective System in simulated mortar and coordinated airstrike support exercises, the service branch said Wednesday.

“We tested the system through user evaluation exercises to understand not only what the capability can do on paper, but how we can use it to increase lethality and provide redundancy across the [Fleet Marine Forces]," said Lt. Col. Jeff Decker, ground radios product manager at MCSC

Decker noted MUOS met the military service's expectations during the field tests.

Built by Lockheed Martin, MUOS allows warfighters to augment data and voice communication access through the use of cellular technology. The system also employs an updated AN/PRC-117G multiband radio and an antenna kit to provide simultaneous network access.

Indiana University's Pervasive Technology Institute has received a potential five-year, $20 million award from the National Science Foundation (NFS) to develop and implement a cloud computing system for artificial intelligence, data analysis and research applications.

IU said Monday that its Jetstream 2 system is designed to simplify high-performance computing and data processing for users with limited supercomputer experience. NSF awarded an initial grant valued at $10M and intends to obligate the remaining funds within the next five years.

"The NSF's renewal and expansion of Jetstream will push the total NSF investment in IU-led computing systems to over $50 million in the last decade, and we are grateful to the NSF for their confidence in IU's leadership and abilities in this vital scientific area for the United States," said Michael McRobbie, IU president.

The new project follows IU's original Jetstream system that the university developed in 2014 to provide data analysis and cloud computing for scientific endeavors. The existing system also supports COVID-19 research.

Seagate Government Solutions and SYNNEX Corporation have announced an extension to their existing agreement, where SYNNEX will serve as a public sector distributor for Seagate Secure Self-Encrypting Drives (SEDs) with FIPS 140-2 Level 2 certification, Seagate reported on Thursday. 

“We are excited to work with SYNNEX to bring this much-needed technology to the government market. The challenges surrounding securing critical data and IP are forever increasing. Seagate’s technology is a critical component of an overarching security infrastructure, aiding both contractors and Government agencies alike,” said Mike Moritzkat, CEO of Seagate Government Solutions. 

Seagate SEDs are compliant with the Trade Agreements Act (TAA) and have achieved Common Criteria (CC) Certification (ISO/IEC 15408) to aid agencies in mitigating security risk, achieve regulatory compliance and provide transparent security. 

The secure and compliant SEDs will offer significant performance and TCO advantages over CPU and full-disk encryption methods. SEDs will be streamlined to enable a one-person IT department to manage and maintain. 

The company was the first company to achieve the FIPS 140-2 Level 2 certification. FIPS 140-2 Level 2 is the worldwide standard for cryptographic modules certification from the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the Canadian Communications Security Establishment Certification (CSEC). 

Seagate is also the only hard disk drive manufacturer to qualify as “Designed in the U.S.A.” via U.S. Customs and Border Protection and meet the TAA requirements for the GSA Schedule and other U.S. government contracts.

“Seagate FIPS-140-2 SEDs protect Data at Rest and reduce IT drive retirement costs –two key goals of every government agency,” said Ed Somers, vice president, Public Sector and Vertical Markets, SYNNEX. “With Seagate, we can offer our government customers and reseller partners the widest selection of FIPS 140-2 certified SEDs to prevent the loss and theft of sensitive data and achieve regulatory compliance.” 

About Seagate Government Solutions

Seagate Government Solutions is a U.S.-based business entity of Seagate Technology LLC focused on the federal government’s big data, scale-out storage, and security needs. 

Seagate Government Solutions will draw from Seagate’s purpose-engineered storage and security storage technology – encompassing a robust supply chain, from components and storage devices to file systems – to deliver the levels of security, performance, efficiency, complexity reduction and risk mitigation especially needed in this space.

NextgenID has launched Supervised Remote In-person Proofing (SRIP) to help companies adapt to critical business practices, including enrollment for high assurance credentials, to accommodate the need for heightened personal safety precautions as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the company reported on Thursday.

“To address these concerns, NextgenID offers Supervised Remote In-person Proofing (SRIP) technology for HSPD-12 identity credential issuance, which complies with COVID-19 social distancing safety guidelines AND maintains the high assurance environment through full compliance with all federal standards and regulations,” states Dario Berini, COO of NextgenID.

NextgenID noted that the reduction of identity proofing can cause new challenges and threats. The company stated that reduced requirements from high assurance identity proofing coupled with the amount of identity data available from theft can create a significant risk of fraudulent enrollments that could threaten the trust fabric established through HSPD-12 high assurance credentialing.

NextgenID’s solution will provide critical security measures that assist organizations make changes in operations and workflows to avoid new health risks to improve credentials without being compromised.

SRIP will enable the complete in-person proofing process to be managed and completed as if the operator was there in person. Operators can see, talk to and guide users as required, which maximizes safety and efficient workflow.

Government agencies can continue the enrollment processes mandated for credential issuance and renewal without compromise, while meeting guidelines for social distancing and other safety precautions.

NextgenID’s SRIP technology will be matched with the company’s ID*Capture Kiosk to enable agencies to comply with these instructions by allowing them to continue normal operations without the need for deviations or waivers that would impact security.

NextgenID’s ID*Capture Kiosk is an all-in-one system designed to securely perform all enrollment processes and workflow requirements. The kiosk will facilitate the complete and accurate capture at IAL levels 1, 2 and 3 of all required personal identity documentation and includes a full complement of biometric capture support for face, fingerprint, and iris.