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.

Stephen Kitay, deputy assistant secretary of defense for space policy, said the Department of Defense’s (DoD) Space Acquisition Council is assessing initial results of a survey about the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the space industrial base, SpaceNews reported Wednesday.

“We are seeing reports of schedule impacts, strain on supply chains and adjustment to future business plans,” Kitay, a member of the council, said Wednesday at an American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics-hosted podcast.

He said DoD has initiated efforts to support space industry suppliers during the crisis, such as waiving cost penalties for program delays.

“Sustaining the space industrial base is a national security concern,” Kitay said. “We continue to make contract awards, and in some cases have accelerated those awards."

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is looking for public and private sector experts to take part in an exercise focused on evaluating the digital forensics community’s capacity to conduct mobile- and computer-based investigations.

NIST said Tuesday the three-month online exercise will deploy a “black box” concept to assess the performance of digital capabilities in processing simulated evidence for real-life cases including homicide and intellectual property theft.

Participants will undergo a two-hour exam and download the digital evidence from NIST’s website. Forensic resources must be processed through one virtual computer and one mobile phone, the agency noted.

According to NIST, participants will be allowed to use “whatever forensic software tools they choose” to answer questions during the test which is aimed at evaluating the reliability of experts' methods for producing results.

“We want to understand the state of the practice,” said Barbara Guttman, head of the digital forensics research program at NIST. “Can experts produce accurate and reliable information when examining data from a digital device?” 

NIST intends to publish anonymized results of the exercise as part of the study.