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K2 Intelligence Names Danny McGlynn SVP to Modernize Financial Crime Risk; Chip Poncy Quoted
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K2 Intelligence Names Danny McGlynn SVP to Modernize Financial Crime Risk; Chip Poncy Quoted

K2 Intelligence Names Danny McGlynn SVP to Modernize Financial Crime Risk; Chip Poncy Quoted

Danny McGlynn, former principal deputy assistant secretary of the Office of Intelligence and Analysis (OIA) for the U.S. Department of the Treasury, has been appointed senior vice president of K2 Intelligence Financial Integrity Network, the company announced on Wednesday.

“Danny’s leadership experience working for the Treasury Department is invaluable, having played a key role in developing several of the counter-illicit finance strategies that guide global policies today…adding Danny’s expertise and management skills to help grow our best-in-class team,”said Chip Poncy, co-head of the firm’s financial crimes risk and compliance practice.

McGlynn will be responsible for managing and expanding the firm’s online products and services team, with particular focus on developing the firm’s newest offering, the Dedicated Online Financial Integrity Network (DOLFIN), an eLearning platform and online interface that offers continuing education, training, testing and certification resources and risk management tools.

He will bring over 20 years of experience to his new position with K2 Intelligence. In McGlynn’s former role as principal deputy assistant secretary, he was responsible for leading intelligence research and analysis to safeguard the international financial system from abuse and combat threats to national security.

McGlynn has held a variety of positions in OIA and the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). As acting assistant secretary for OIA, he was responsible for managing the organization’s receipt, analysis and dissemination of intelligence related to the Department’s mission to safeguard the international financial system, ranging from abuse and to combat threats to U.S. national security.

He previously served as the Director for OIA’s Middle East-Europe and Iraq Issues offices, helping to lead the Department’s effort to utilize intelligence information to conceptualize, coordinate and implement strategies to deny terrorist and insurgent groups access to funding.

During his career, Mr. McGlynn has also served as Treasury’s liaison to the United States Central Command, as a Compliance Specialist and Foreign Terrorist Programs Analyst with OFAC and as a Presidential Management Fellow.

“Deepening our bench of experts and enhancing our core offerings for clients will continue to set us apart as the leader in risk management solutions, and we look forward to working with Danny to help drive training and other initiatives,” Thomas Bock, co-head of the firm’s financial crimes risk and compliance practice, commented.

About K2 Intelligence Financial Integrity Network (FIN)

K2 Intelligence is an industry-leading investigative, compliance, and cyber defense services firm founded in 2009 by Jeremy M. Kroll and Jules B. Kroll, who is credited with originating the modern corporate investigations industry. Redefining 21st-century corporate intelligence, the firm combines subject-matter expertise with cutting-edge technology, bringing to bear the industry’s best multidisciplinary teams to solve its clients’ most difficult problems.

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Raytheon Tests First SM-2 from Restarted Production Line; Mitch Stevison Quoted
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Raytheon Tests First SM-2 from Restarted Production Line; Mitch Stevison Quoted
Raytheon Tests First SM-2 from Restarted Production Line; Mitch Stevison Quoted

Raytheon has announced on Wednesday that the company has successfully  flight tested the first SM-2 surface-to-air missile from the company's restarted production line with support from the U.S. Navy. 

"The SM-2 is in high demand because of its advanced capabilities and history of more than 2,700 successful flight tests from U.S. Navy and international ships," said Dr. Mitch Stevison, Raytheon Strategic and Naval Systems vice president.

The SM-2 Block IIIB missile launched, flew and provided accurate telemetry data to the range, and engaged an airborne Navy target. The missile will enable navies to defend against anti-ship missiles and aircraft. 

Raytheon has delivered over 11,000 SM-2 missiles to customers worldwide. In 2020, the company will begin to provide Australia, Japan, South Korea and the Netherlands with more than 280 missiles from its latest production batch.

"Navies worldwide have relied on this missile and it will continue to provide fleet protection for decades to come," added Stevison. 

In Dec. 2018, Raytheon‘s missile systems business has received a potential four-year, $149.4 million cost-plus-incentive contract for the engineering, manufacturing, and development of Standard Missile-2 Block IIIC. 

Work will continue in Arizona, Colorado, Ohio, New York and England through October 2022. SM-2 is a fleet-area air defense weapon system designed to target anti-ship missiles and aircraft threats at an altitude of up to 65K feet from approximately 90 nautical miles.

The missile is a part of layered defense that works to safeguard naval assets from threats through its semi-active radar seeker technologies and solid rocket motor propulsion. Naval Sea Systems Command will respectively obligate $50 million and $234.6 thousand in research, development, testing and evaluation funds for fiscal years 2018 and 2019 at the time of award.

About Raytheon

Raytheon Company, with 2019 sales of $29 billion and 70,000 employees, is a technology and innovation leader specializing in defense, civil government and cybersecurity solutions. With a history of innovation spanning 98 years, Raytheon provides state-of-the-art electronics, mission systems integration, C5I® products and services, sensing, effects, and mission support for customers in more than 80 countries. Raytheon is headquartered in Waltham, Massachusetts.

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CBP Uses Eye-Tracking Tech for Impostor Detection. ID Validation Training
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CBP Uses Eye-Tracking Tech for Impostor Detection. ID Validation Training
CBP Uses Eye-Tracking Tech for Impostor Detection. ID Validation Training

New U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers use an eye-tracking technology jointly developed by CBP, the Department of Homeland Security's science and technology directorate and the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center to increase their ability to validate the identities of people entering the country.

The Eye-dentify platform works to help newly-hired CBP personnel learn about impostor detection, ID validation and X-ray screening approaches, DHS said Tuesday.

Florida-based technology firm Design Interactive helped build the device through an S&T-backed project.

CBP’s Office of Field Operations Academy has implemented 24 Eye-dentity systems since 2016. The agency found that the performance of officers in detecting impostors improved by 9 percent when they used the platform in three training sessions that each lasted for three minutes.

The average amount of time trainees spent to recognize impostors improved by 10 percent, DHS noted.

According to the department, CBP fielded 12 updated systems last year to conduct simultaneous training of entire classes and increase the amount of time students spend using the technology.

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Unisys Releases 4 Key Public Sector Contract Wins, Growth throughout FY2019; Eric Hutto Quoted
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Unisys Releases 4 Key Public Sector Contract Wins, Growth throughout FY2019; Eric Hutto Quoted
Unisys Releases 4 Key Public Sector Contract Wins, Growth throughout FY2019; Eric Hutto Quoted

Unisys Corporation has announced four of the company’s key public sector contracts in 2019 and public sector growth accredited to the government and industry demand for IT modernization, the company reported on Wednesday. 

"[The contracts] reflect our expertise in infrastructure modernization and hybrid cloud solutions, for which demand is strong. As a result of the increased flexibility pro forma for the sale of U.S. Federal, we will have better ability to pursue these opportunities going forward, with sales efforts already underway," said Eric Hutto, senior vice president and president, Unisys Enterprise Solutions. 

Unisys secured a two-year, $144 million contract from a U.S. state government  for an integrated security framework and related disaster recovery services as well as to continue to provide private hybrid cloud services. The company will provide mission-critical systems and data to state agencies and citizens. The contract was awarded in the fourth quarter of 2019.

The company also expanded its relationship with an Australian state government agency to move workloads away from the client's on-premise data center into Unisys-managed hybrid cloud environments. The contract was awarded in the fourth quarter of 2019.

Unisys closed a contract to provide a range of secure IT services for European Fisheries Control Agency (EFCA). EFCA, an European Union (EU) agency established to assist EU member states in complying with the rules of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP), will utilize Unisys’ support services to improve its operational information systems and secure access. 

The company will also enhance EFCA’s tools needed for coordination and cooperation among national control and inspection activities. The contract was awarded in the third quarter of 2019. 

Unisys signed a new three-year contract with the Department of Transportation (DoT) for a state government in Brazil responsible for vehicle and driver licensing. Under the agreement, Unisys will provide ClearPath Software Series Technology, including ePortal and ClearPath Forward services for application modernization. The contract was awarded in the fourth quarter of 2019.

The company recorded a growth of 7 percent year over year in non-GAAP adjusted revenue for the public sector in 2019 in its fourth-quarter and full-year 2019 earnings report. Public sector business accounted for 30 percent of the company's 2019 global revenue.

"This series of contract wins highlights our ability to deliver a wide range of secure, innovative solutions and services to federal, state and local governments all over the world," said Eric Hutto, senior vice president and president, Unisys Enterprise Solutions. 

About Unisys

Unisys is a global information technology company that builds high-performance, security-centric solutions for the most demanding businesses and governments. Unisys offerings include security software and services; digital transformation and workplace services; industry applications and services; and innovative software operating environments for high-intensity enterprise computing. 

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Air Education & Training Command to Develop Competency-Based Training Platform
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Air Education & Training Command to Develop Competency-Based Training Platform
Air Education & Training Command to Develop Competency-Based Training Platform

Air Education and Training Command has partnered with other major U.S. Air Force commands in an effort to build a competency-based training system for career enlisted aviator and aircraft maintainer positions.

The partnership aims to incorporate virtual and augmented reality, artificial intelligence, machine learning approaches into the Integrated Technology Platform, the Air Force said Tuesday.

“ITP will work to identify and utilize new technologies to teach to these occupational competencies while also implementing new methodologies for training that is learner-centric,” said Masoud Rasti, chief of force development strategy and technical adviser at AETC.

Rasti added the command is looking to adopt mixed and hands-on training equipment such as the Microsoft-built HoloLens 2 headset.

AETC and its partners began constructing virtual training hangars that will feature AR mechanisms, instructor tools and the 3D Aircraft Mission Design Series.

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Mark Esper Oversees Zero-Based Reviews of Combatant Commands
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Mark Esper Oversees Zero-Based Reviews of Combatant Commands
Mark Esper
Mark Esper

Defense Secretary and a 2020 Wash100 Award winner Mark Esper is expected to finish by September zero-based budgeting reviews of combatant commands’ force posture to ensure that they meet the priorities of the National Defense Strategy, DoD News reported Tuesday.

A senior defense official said U.S. Southern Command and U.S. Africa Command have completed the review process, which comes amid the emergence of great power competition with Russia and China.

"We need to take a look at our foundation and we need to do a 'zero based review,'" the official told reporters at the Pentagon. "That is what this is all about, and every [combatant command] has to go through this process."

Esper oversaw zero-based reviews of fourth estate agencies in late 2019 and the Department of Defense found $5B in savings that can be shifted to DoD’s high-priority requirements.

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NOAA Unveils Artificial Intelligence Strategy
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NOAA Unveils Artificial Intelligence Strategy

NOAA Unveils Artificial Intelligence Strategy

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has released a new strategy to help expand the application of artificial intelligence in its missions.

The NOAA AI strategy sets five goals to improve coordination, understanding, application and awareness of AI across the agency and one of the goals is establishing efficient organizational processes and structure to advance AI.

There are five supporting objectives for the first goal, including the establishment of an AI center or a similar entity to facilitate coordination of AI research, data acquisition and algorithm development, among others.

The second goal calls for the advancement of AI research and innovation in support of the agency’s mission. One of the supporting objectives is establishing an annual research and development competition for AI applications in environmental science.

The three other goals of the strategy are accelerating the transition of AI research to applications, expanding and strengthening AI partnerships and promoting AI proficiency in the workforce.

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Janice Degarmo on State Department’s New Data Analytics Center
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Janice Degarmo on State Department’s New Data Analytics Center
Janice Degarmo
Janice Degarmo

Janice Degarmo, acting chief data officer at the State Department, told Federal News Network in an interview published Tuesday about the newly established Center for Analytics and how it helps the department address foreign policy issues through data analytics.

Degarmo discussed the use of various data sources to help the center understand and predict the evolving world dynamics and CFA's collaboration with offices to develop data forward strategies to address issues concerning 5G technology, China or Iran, among others.

When asked about the selection of datasets, she said the center works with policy experts, the intelligence community and other agencies to bring in the most defensible data. “Data integrity is at the heart of what the Center for Analytics, it’s one of our values. And so we were always very mindful on purposeful to make sure that we’re bringing in the right data to solve the problems,” Degarmo added.

Degarmo noted that leveraging the power of data as a strategic asset is one of the goals of a chief data officer and that requires collaboration. She also cited how the center looks at issues surrounding the COVID-19 virus.

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DOE Eyes Cybersecurity Training Effort for Nontechnical Energy Personnel
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DOE Eyes Cybersecurity Training Effort for Nontechnical Energy Personnel
DOE Eyes Cybersecurity Training Effort for Nontechnical Energy Personnel

The Department of Energy plans to expand three of its cybersecurity education initiatives and train up to 2,000 technical and nontechnical personnel in the energy sector, Fifth Domain reported Monday.

DOE intends to invest in its cyber engineering program at the Idaho National Labs focused on training operators on defending energy systems against nation-state threats targeting the supply chain and relevant networks. DOE also wants to provide access to data from its “CyberForce” national cybersecurity competition held last year.

“We have to find better ways to understand and close that skills gap in operational technology,” said Sean Plankey, principal deputy assistant secretary for cybersecurity, energy, security and emergency response at DOE, during the RSA Public Sector Day 2020.

Plankey’s announcement comes after the Office of Management and Budget established a reskilling academy for federal cyber personnel.

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NSA Continues Academic Engagement Program
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NSA Continues Academic Engagement Program
NSA Continues Academic Engagement Program

The National Security Agency has renewed an effort to bolster its scientific and technical workforce through partnerships with academia. NSA said Monday that it invites colleges to take part in the OnRamp II program that offers scholarships, internships and cybersecurity research opportunities to students.

OnRamp II seeks to engage science, technology, engineering, and mathematics students who come from underrepresented communities. The program would also grant faculty members the opportunity to rest and take a break from teaching. 

“We are really excited about this new chance to partner with colleges and universities and to provide opportunities benefitting students, faculty, the institutions, as well as NSA,” said Kathy Hutson, the agency's senior strategist for academic engagement.

OnRamp II follows the program's first run that began in 2009. The initial run provided academic, financial and career support to participants. The agency will select up to four schools for OnRamp II's first year. Interested universities and colleges may submit proposals through April 10.

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