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Secret Service to Form Cyber Investigations Advisory Board
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Secret Service to Form Cyber Investigations Advisory Board
Secret Service to Form Cyber Investigations Advisory Board

The Secret Service has initiated efforts to launch a new council to provide its office of investigations with insights on current trends in cyber crime, technology and financial crime, CyberScoop reported Wednesday.

Jonah Hill, a senior cyber policy adviser at the Secret Service, will serve as executive director of the 16-member Cyber Investigations Advisory Board.

“What we’re trying to do is get a diverse set of viewpoints and experience and expertise from industry, from academia, from state and local government, really to kind of get a holistic picture of some of the threats we face and some of the approaches the Secret Service can take to combat those threats,” Hill said.

The agency has started inviting cybersecurity professionals from the private sector to join the board and advise the investigations unit on how to counter cyber crimes.

Hill said the board is expected to convene its first meeting by summer.

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GSA Introduces Web Design Standards
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GSA Introduces Web Design Standards

GSA Introduces Web Design Standards

The General Services Administration issued new standards to guide federal agencies as they develop public-facing websites and help them comply with the 21st Century Integrated Digital Experience Act.

The website standards call for agencies to use the maturity model to incrementally adopt the U.S. Web Design System and deliver better digital experiences, GSA said Wednesday.

The maturity model comes in three levels: integrate design principles; follow user experience guidance; and use USWDS code.

There are five USWDS design principles that support the guidance codified in 21st Century IDEA and those are starting with real user needs; earning trust; embracing accessibility; promoting continuity; and listening.

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USAF and Mass Virtual Form VR Maintenance Training Suite Dev’t Partnership
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USAF and Mass Virtual Form VR Maintenance Training Suite Dev’t Partnership
USAF and Mass Virtual Form VR Maintenance Training Suite Dev't Partnership

The U.S. Air Force has partnered with Mass Virtual to develop a virtual reality tool that will accommodate maintenance training for the C-130 aircraft, DVIDS reported Tuesday.

The planned VR system will employ a virtual hangar that will require trainees to accomplish various tasks such as tire and brake replacement activities. USAF eyes to integrate the unit at the 19th Maintenance Group's training section and expects around 230 airmen to secure maintenance training through the platform.

“We could potentially see this in the work centers, providing Airmen who are feeling a bit rusty with an opportunity to run through the program a couple times before going out to perform the job,” said  Master Sgt. Nicholas Massingili, 19th Maintenance Group development and instructor section chief.

Massingili noted the service branch anticipates the system to be completed in the summer.

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USAF Promotes New Theme for AFWERX Program
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USAF Promotes New Theme for AFWERX Program
USAF Promotes New Theme for AFWERX Program

The U.S. Air Force is inviting industry to explore a number of opportunities under the AFWERX Challenge program that aims to promote technological innovation in support of the service branch.

The program's Fusion/Showcase segment will revolve around the theme "Base of the Future" this year, tackling the areas of installation security and resiliency, operational technology, innovation culture and construction logistics, USAF said Sunday in a SAM notice.

USAF is interested in a range of technologies including operational artificial intelligence and 3D printing. The service branch is also concerned with the issue that airmen aren't always receiving the best technology experience.

AFWERX will also host challenge definition workshops that tackle issues affecting USAF stakeholders and mission performance.

Interested parties may submit responses through March 15.

Navy to Designate Expeditionary Sea Bases as Battle-Ready USS Ships
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Navy to Designate Expeditionary Sea Bases as Battle-Ready USS Ships
Navy to Designate Expeditionary Sea Bases as Battle-Ready USS Ships

The U.S. Navy has decided to commission all expeditionary sea base vessels as USS warships for the capacity to pursue a wider range of missions, USNI News reported Tuesday.

The USS designation will allow the ships to engage in offensive battle, in addition to their original function as transport vessels.

“This re-designation provides combatant commanders greater operational flexibility to employ this platform in accordance with the laws of armed conflict,” Lt. Tim Pietrack, a Navy spokesperson, told USNI News.

The ships will not carry the USNS designation under Military Sealift Command as a result of the decision.

The Navy commissioned ESB-3 Lewis B. Puller as a USS ship in 2017 and will continue to do so with other vessels of the class, starting with ESB-4 Hershel "Woody" Williams in weeks to come, said Rear Adm. Bill Galinis, the Navy's program executive officer for ships.

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GSA Issues First Robotic Process Automation Program Playbook
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GSA Issues First Robotic Process Automation Program Playbook
GSA Issues First Robotic Process Automation Program Playbook

The General Services Administration has released a playbook for agencies seeking to implement robotic process automation to modernize their operations, FedScoop reported Tuesday.

GSA issued the first version of the RPA Program Playbook after establishing a Community of Practice last year focused on accelerating RPA adoption in the government.

According to GSA, RPA is a low to no-code commercial off-the-shelf technology intended to “automate repetitive, rules-based tasks.” The guide noted that in order to effectively implement RPA capabilities, agencies must first ensure proper coordination between the RPA program manager and chief information officer.

Agencies must also establish and deliver aggressive goals, invest in process assessments, balance governance and productivity priorities and develop strategies for technology options.

“All agencies are charged with pursuing workload elimination, and RPA provides a low-cost tool to make an immediate impact,” wrote Gerard Badorrek, chief financial officer and community chairman at GSA, in the playbook. “The opportunity for RPA to transform federal operations is massive.”

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Air Force, Northcom Conduct Aircraft Data Transmission Test; Will Roper Quoted
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Air Force, Northcom Conduct Aircraft Data Transmission Test; Will Roper Quoted
Will Roper
Will Roper

The U.S. Air Force and U.S. Northern Command have tested the data transmission capacity of F-22 and F-35 fighter aircraft that deploy different radio systems, Defense One reported Tuesday.

Preston Dunlap, the Air Force’s chief architect, said the team used radio systems built by Northrop Grumman and Lockheed Martin as well as Honeywell antennas to process data from both aircraft, which deploy different datalink languages.

As part of the test, the team also used the Air Force's hybrid Microsoft and Amazon Web Services cloud platform called CloudOne to process data from SpaceX’s Starlink low-Earth orbit satellite.

Will Roper, assistant Air Force secretary for acquisition, technology, and logistics and 2019 Wash100 Award winner, said the recent test marks an achievement in the multiyear Advanced Battle Management System initiative.

“The idea with the [ABMS] is that the people are no-longer the glue,” he said. “The information flows everywhere all at once and the people are the assessors, the analyzers, the feedback providers that help the analytics doing the pushing get better and better.”

The Air Force plans to conduct similar tests every four months. The next assessment, slated to take place in April, will be facilitated with U.S. Strategic Command and involve the Skyborg drone.

DHS S&T Backs Public Safety Comms Framework Modernization Project
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DHS S&T Backs Public Safety Comms Framework Modernization Project
DHS S&T Backs Public Safety Comms Framework Modernization Project

Georgia Tech Applied Research Center has received $704K in funds from the Department of Homeland Security's science and technology directorate to update a public safety communications framework.

GTARC will modernize the information sharing and safeguarding Trustmark framework's federated identity, credential and access management capability to help address the lack of software tools that can support emergency communications interoperability, DHS said Tuesday.

Robert Dew, a senior technologist adviser at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, said the effort will augment public safety agencies' coordination and communication capacities during emergency situations.

The Trustmark framework establishes a set of standards, software tools, artifacts and approaches in IS&S and federated ICAM activities.

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GSA’s Mary Davie to Assume NASA Leadership Post; Emily Murphy Quoted
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GSA’s Mary Davie to Assume NASA Leadership Post; Emily Murphy Quoted
Mary Davie
Mary Davie

Mary Davie, director of the General Services Administration’s program management office for human resources shared services, will step down from her role to assume a leadership position at NASA, Federal News Network reported Tuesday.

Davie, who is also a former Wash100 winner, will support organizational transformation efforts at NASA’s Mission Support Directorate as part of her new role. 

Throughout her more than 30-year career at GSA, Davie held deputy and assistant commissioner roles with responsibility over Federal Acquisition Service initiatives. She also helped lead efforts to merge the Office of Personnel Management’s operations with GSA activities last year.

Emily Murphy, the GSA administrator and 2019 Wash100 Award recipient, said in an email to staff that Davie led governmentwide efforts such as category management, strategic sourcing and various cyber and information technology programs during her tenure.

Davie will begin in her new role at NASA on Feb. 3.

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ACT-IAC Reveals AI Playbook to Assess AI Implementation; David Wennergren Quoted
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ACT-IAC Reveals AI Playbook to Assess AI Implementation; David Wennergren Quoted
ACT-IAC Reveals AI Playbook to Assess AI Implementation; David Wennergren Quoted

The American Council for Technology and Industry Advisory Council (ACT-IAC) has released  the "Artificial Intelligence (AI) Playbook for the U.S. Federal Government," which has assessed and operationalized AI implementation for federal agencies, the company announced on Wednesday.   

The AI Playbook has been designed for advanced practitioners and those who are new to AI in the federal government. ACT-IAC has stated the importance of separating reality from marketing when agencies compare which use cases can benefit from an AI solution.

"The AI Playbook is designed to help the United States Federal Government achieve successful outcomes and reduce risk in its understanding and application of AI technologies," said David Wennergren, CEO of ACT-IAC.

ACT-IAC has reported that AI has accelerated government services, including  medical research and disaster recovery, to help improve and expedite federal services. AI has also helped the government reduce errors and costs of paper-intensive processes, while encouraging cross divisional collaboration. 

The Playbook has provided more efficient and effective ways to service citizens through adapting AI  into government agencies, which will provide new value-added services and serve as a catalyst to modernize IT. The company has introduced a new process and series of phases consisting of assessment, organization readiness, selection, implementation and integration.

ACT-IAC has designed the guide to help organizations understand necessary actions to deliver minimally viable product (MVP), proof of concept (POC), pilot/limited fielding, initial operational capability (IOC) and a fully operational system to support their overarching objectives.

"This important work directly supports the President's Management Agenda (PMA), Cross Agency Priority (CAP) Goal 6 – Shifting from Low-Value to High-Value Work," Wennergren added.

The report was produced through a collaborative, volunteer effort by a working group of 133 leaders from government and industry plus academia and associations, hosted by the ACT-IAC Emerging Technology Community of Interest (COI). It also follows the General Service Administration's Office of Government-wide Policy Modernization and Migration Management (M3) framework used for Shared Services.

About the American Council for Technology and Industry Advisory Council (ACT-IAC)

The American Council for Technology and Industry Advisory Council (ACT-IAC) is a non-profit educational organization created to provide a safe haven for collaboration and the only place where government and industry can work together as true partners towards a shared vision of a more effective, efficient and innovative government.

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