/
Executive Mosaic Launches GovConWire Events; 2020 Business Development Trends Forum Coming on Aug 27th
Published on
Executive Mosaic Launches GovConWire Events; 2020 Business Development Trends Forum Coming on Aug 27th

After almost two decades of success hosting events and keeping the government contracting (GovCon) community woven together and informed on the latest developments in the industry.  Through Potomac Officers Club (POC), Executive Mosaic has launched ‘GovConWire Events’ to continue our mission of connecting executives to each other.

Our mission is to enable GovCon professionals across the country to receive the knowledge and expertise needed to remain current with the evolving GovCon marketplace, technology, and government leaders of consequence as well as build an organization dedicated to teaching and empowering executives across the country.

Beyond that, we want to weave together a fabric of interactive participation and partnering among the smaller and midsize contractors and provide access to some of the very best government speakers and government contracting speakers available in today’s market.

GovConWire hosted its first event on June 30th during the ‘How to Increase Cybersecurity and Return on Investment of Existing PIV Infrastructure for Cross-Agency Encryption’ Webinar.

Our first of many virtual events featured keynote speakers from across the industry, including Dr. Chris Edwards chief technology officer (CTO) of Intercede, Kyle Neuman, managing director of SAFE Identity; Sam Andoni, founder and president of Zeva Inc., Jeff Nigriny, president and founder of Certipath and Mike Horkey, founder and CEO of Tru-Concepts LLC, as the webinar’s moderator.

GovConWire Events also offers the chance to rewatch the webinar in case you missed the initial event on June 30th. Click here to register and watch the ‘How to Increase Cybersecurity and Return on Investment of Existing PIV Infrastructure for Cross-Agency Encryption’ Webinar.

GovConWire will host its next virtual webinar on Aug. 27th with the 2020 GovCon Business Development Forum featuring Stephanie Shutt, director of GSA’s Multiple Award Schedule Program Management Office (PMO) as the keynote speaker.

The webinar will also feature a full expert panel with Frank Kelley, vice president of Defense Acquisition University (DAU), as one of the panelists. GovConWire will announced more expert panelists from across the federal government in the weeks leading up to the webinar.

Click here to register for GovConWire’s 2020 GovCon Business Development Forum on Aug. 27th to dive into current BD trends, tips for securing contracts and FY2021 federal budget projections.

//
Kevin Cox: CDM Program Helps Pandemic Response Agencies Improve Network Visibility
Published on
Kevin Cox: CDM Program Helps Pandemic Response Agencies Improve Network Visibility

Kevin Cox, manager of the Continuous Diagnostics and Mitigation (CDM) program, said the program is working with the federal agencies involved in vaccine research and other COVID-19 pandemic response efforts to help them improve their data protection and network visibility, FedScoop reported Tuesday.

“We’re helping to ensure they have a better understanding of what their networks look like – everything that’s connected,” Cox said. “If they don’t know what’s on their network, they can’t protect it.”

He said the CDM program is helping the Small Business Administration (SBA) and other agencies tasked with administering loans to companies impacted by the health crisis counter cyber issues by enhancing their network visibility.

Cox noted that the program is also aiding agencies to address security gaps related to telework arrangement.

//
GSA’s Allen Hill on Transition to EIS Telecom Contract
Published on
GSA’s Allen Hill on Transition to EIS Telecom Contract

Allen Hill, acting deputy assistant commissioner at the General Services Administration’s (GSA) Federal Acquisition Service (FAS), said the transition to the potential 15-year, $50 billion Enterprise Infrastructure Solutions (EIS) contract for telecommunications and information technology services is now underway at GSA, Federal News Network reported Tuesday.

“We have 208 solicitations that are expected right now,” Hill told the network in an interview. “That’s 45 out of 208 Fair Opportunities, of which 29 have had task orders by large agencies, 14 of those by medium agencies, and two of them are small agencies.”

Hill said GSA wants to be proactive when it comes to addressing agencies’ technology requirements by constantly working with vendors and has seen a wider pool of contractors and an increase in competition as more agencies shift to EIS. He also shared his insights on the EIS transition.

“We need to modernize our network. And if you’re going to use cloud technology, you need to create a network that works with the cloud, Hill said. "So we’re trying to be the enablers for them, to not have to be concerned about what those technologies are and making sure that EIS is continuously able to deliver modernized capabilities for the agencies. EIS is more of the new way of how telecommunications should be done.”

//
DoD Legislative Chief Robert Hood to Step Down
Published on
DoD Legislative Chief Robert Hood to Step Down

Robert Hood, assistant secretary for legislative affairs at the Department of Defense (DoD), will step down from his post on Friday, July 24th, Foreign Policy reported Monday.

Hood is responsible for arranging calls between the White House nominees and senators to address issues prior to confirmation hearings, responding to lawmakers’ questions and scheduling nominees for such hearings, according to former Senate aides.

Hood’s resignation will leave the department without a legislative chief to help get eight nominees for civilian positions at DoD through the confirmation process. Anthony Tata, the Trump administration’s pick for the role of undersecretary of defense for policy, is set to appear before a Senate confirmation hearing next week.

Hood previously served as a special assistant to President George W. Bush in the office of legislative affairs, principal deputy assistant secretary of defense for legislative affairs, director of congressional affairs at the National Nuclear Security Administration and senior legislative assistant to House Speaker Newt Gingrich.

Prior to his current post at the Pentagon, Hood was with CH2M as vice president for government affairs.

//
Army NETCOM Pilots Zero-Trust Cybersecurity
Published on
Army NETCOM Pilots Zero-Trust Cybersecurity

Army Network Enterprise Technology Command (NETCOM) has tested the use of a cloud-based zero-trust environment for boosted cybersecurity.

ETCOM launched a pilot program to demonstrate the zero-trust security approach in Microsoft Office 365, the Army said Monday. The zero-trust approach would require devices to undergo authentication before linking to the Army's network.

“We stood up a team that’s actually trying to implement a zero-trust environment using an MS365 environment that’s going to help inform our zero-trust architecture,” said Patrick Dedham, deputy to NETCOM's commander.

Dedham added that his command would need a zero-trust architecture based on the Department of Defense Information Network to facilitate secure access from anywhere. NETCOM has assumed additional responsibilities with the turnover of daily network operations from Army Cyber Command last month.

NETCOM operates a facility at Arizona-based Fort Huachuca where the Army's DoDIN segment is handled.

//
DOE Unveils $64M Funding Opportunity for Hydrogen R&D Projects
Published on
DOE Unveils $64M Funding Opportunity for Hydrogen R&D Projects

The Department of Energy (DOE) has earmarked $64 million in funds to finance 18 projects that aim to explore and drive the wide-scale production and usage of hydrogen in the U.S. 

The projects will focus on the production of electrolyzers and the development of high-strength carbon fiber for hydrogen storage tanks, DOE said Monday.

The efforts will also look to identify durable fuel-cell systems and parts for medium and heavy-duty trucks. DOE seeks to spur demonstrations of large-scale hydrogen usage and develop a training program for fuel cells workforce through the investment.

/
U.S. Army Allots New Funds for Tactical Network Prototyping
Published on
U.S. Army Allots New Funds for Tactical Network Prototyping

The U.S. Army plans to use newly allocated funds for prototyping activities in support of the service's tactical network, C4ISRnet reported Monday.

Justine Ruggio, communications director of the Army’s Network Cross-Functional Team, said the CFT secured almost $30 million for prototyping investments in the current fiscal year. The Army seeks low-Earth orbit satellites to boost the bandwidth for certain capability sets.

Michael Breckenridge, an official from a technology-focused office within the Army, said his team is working with industry to determine what future investments can be made in LEO constellations.

Breckenridge is the acting associate director at the Office of Science and Technology within Army Combat Capabilities Development Command’s Command, Control, Communication, Computers, Cyber, Surveillance and Reconnaissance or C5ISR Center.

/
IG Report: CBP Failed to Analyze Alternative Procurement Approaches for Border Wall Effort
Published on
IG Report: CBP Failed to Analyze Alternative Procurement Approaches for Border Wall Effort

An inspector general report has found that Customs and Border Protection (CBP) failed to execute effective acquisition authorities to support the construction of the southern border wall between the U.S. and Mexico.

The Office of the Inspector General (OIG) for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said in a report released July 14 that CBP didn’t conduct an analysis of alternatives to identify “the most effective, appropriate, and affordable” capabilities to ensure operational control of the border.

CBP also relied on outdated border wall approaches to select materiel alternatives, according to the OIG report.

In addition, the report found that the DHS component failed to implement a well-documented methodology for managing investments in areas impacted by the border that would “best benefit from physical barriers.”

A 2017 prioritization strategy previously identified impedance and denial, access and mobility and mission readiness as key areas needed for operational control in the border wall effort.

CBP has received over $12 billion for the border wall's construction since May 2017, according to the report.

//
House Republicans Call for Renewed Focus on China-Linked Cyber Attacks
Published on
House Republicans Call for Renewed Focus on China-Linked Cyber Attacks

Three Republican ranking members of House committees are urging the Trump administration to take a stronger stance on reported cyber attacks from China that target critical U.S. infrastructure.

In a letter to President Trump dated July 20, Michael McCaul, R-Texas; Greg Walden, R-Ore., and Patrick McHenry, R-N.C., said the nation is still facing “continued malicious activity” from China but the U.S. government’s response to such attacks “was always muted.”

The letter states that China’s cyber threats “have only grown more aggressive” amid the COVID-19 pandemic, with the FBI recently accusing China-linked hackers of penetrating U.S. institutions for intellectual property related to research on the novel coronavirus.

McCaul, Walden and McHenry noted that while they applaud current efforts to increase investigations into Chinese threats, the administration needs to expand authorities on sanctioning China-linked hackers to “send a clear message” to the adversary nation.

They also request a classified briefing with the Departments of the Treasury and State as well as other relevant agencies to monitor progress on mitigating China-linked attacks and discuss potential sanctions.

McCaul serves as a ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee while Walden is a ranking member of the Energy and Commerce Committee. McHenry serves as a ranking member of the Financial Services Committee.

/
Binghamton University Receives Center of Academic Excellence Designation
Published on
Binghamton University Receives Center of Academic Excellence Designation

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the National Security Agency (DHS) has designated Binghamton University as a national center of academic excellence in cyber research until 2025.

The university said Monday it furnished a 200-page application that included details on research grants, faculty resumes and published cybersecurity studies to receive the designation. Binghamton also submitted letters to DHS and NSA in line with the application.

Ping Yang, director at Binghamton's Center for Information Assurance and Cybersecurity and an associate professor, said the designation could enable the university to offer grants and scholarship opportunities to students and the faculty.

The CAE program aims to mitigate vulnerability in the U.S. information infrastructure through the promotion of research and higher education in cyber defense.

1 … 1,460 1,461 1,462 1,463 1,464 … 2,704