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Brian Whittaker Appointed to Lead GSA Digital Services on Acting Basis
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Brian Whittaker Appointed to Lead GSA Digital Services on Acting Basis
Brian Whittaker
Brian Whittaker

Brian Whittaker, deputy executive director of General Services Administration's the Centers of Excellence initiative, has been named acting director of 18F, GSA's digital services agency, Fedscoop reported Monday.

He will succeed Angela Colter who finished her tenure last week. Colter led 18F, part of GSA's Technology Transformation Service, over a span of four years.

“In this new leadership role, I will begin by getting a better idea of the needs of 18F employees, collecting feedback from partners and identifying areas in government where we can make the biggest impact," Whittaker told Fedscoop.

The new 18F leader joined GSA in 2016 as a program manager for contract vehicles in collaboration with the Office of Management and Budget.

The experienced program lead also held roles with private sector firms such as Grant Thornton and Lockheed Martin where he oversaw federal procurements of airport security tools.

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DOE Supports R&D Efforts for Construction Tech Under $74M Funding Opportunity
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DOE Supports R&D Efforts for Construction Tech Under $74M Funding Opportunity
DOE Supports R&D Efforts for Construction Tech Under $74M Funding Opportunity

The Department of Energy has awarded $74M in funds to support efforts that will potentially augment energy performance rates in U.S. infrastructure and the electric grid.

DOE said Monday it has tapped 63 projects that cover research, evaluation and developmental activities for construction practices and building technologies.

The projects are required to address cybersecurity gaps in buildings and associated equipment and will cover various topics such as solid-state lighting, fuel-based building gears and novel thermal energy storage materials.

Daniel Simmons, assistant secretary of energy efficiency and renewable energy at DOE, said the department aims to build tools that may allow Americans to optimize building capabilities.

DOE noted 125M commercial and residential facilities account for around 75 percent of U.S. electricity consumption and 40 percent in energy usage.

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Gen. Paul Nakasone: DoD Important Factor in Elections Security
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Gen. Paul Nakasone: DoD Important Factor in Elections Security
Paul Nakasone
Paul Nakasone

Gen. Paul Nakasone, 2020 Wash100 Award recipient who leads both the National Security Agency and U.S. Cyber Command, said the Department of Defense plays a vital role in the security of national elections, DoD News reported Monday. The Election Security Group, an organization within USCYBERCOM, stood up in response to Russian interference during the 2018 midterm elections.

"The biggest success was we put in place, both organizationally and from a business practice standpoint, a focus on an enduring mission to protect the democratic process," Nakasone said at the Reagan National Defense Forum.

The group works to investigate adversaries that pose cyber threats to election security. The FBI and entities from the Department of Homeland Security receive the group's information to protect elections from foreign threats.

On the other hand, USCYBERCOM uses hunt forward operations wherein cyber teams globally look into adversarial cyber activities. These operations provide situational awareness in support of national security. The NSA and the command work together to inform agencies concerned with potential attacks.

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Al Whitmore, President of BAE I&S Sector, Receives Third Wash100 Award From Jim Garrettson, CEO of Executive Mosaic
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Al Whitmore, President of BAE I&S Sector, Receives Third Wash100 Award From Jim Garrettson, CEO of Executive Mosaic
Al Whitmore, President of BAE I&S Sector, Receives Third Wash100 Award From Jim Garrettson, CEO of Executive Mosaic

Jim Garrettson, founder and CEO of Executive Mosaic, presented Al Whitmore, president of the Intelligence & Security (I&S) sector of BAE Systems, with his third consecutive Wash100 Award as a part of the 2020 selection on Wednesday on Monday. 

Executive Mosaic recognized Whitmore in 2019 for his efforts to grow BAE Systems Inc.’s I&S business through major contract awards and pushing the unit to make strides in emerging technology. His efforts to those missions have continued into 2020 and have secured his third consecutive Wash100 Award.

For over three decades, BAE Systems has provided its services to federal agencies under various contracts, including a prime position on a current $17 billion Solutions for Intelligence Analysis 3 (SIA 3) with the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA). 

The company has also received a $437 million task order to provide data-based open source support for the U.S. Army’s I&S Command among many other contracts. 

In addition, BAE has established a robotics operations center, in partnership with UiPath, to support the high-volume data processing tasks of national security missions. BAE also opened an innovation hub at the Georgia Cyber Center in Augusta, Ga. to expand its support for cybersecurity programs and its workforce in the region.  

Under Whitmore’s leadership, BAE’s capabilities will expand to improve efficiency in cloud, artificial intelligence and machine learning, enterprise IT modernization and data analytics as the company advances systems integration capabilities.

Executive Mosaic congratulates Al Whitmore and BAE Systems on the 2020 Wash100 Award selection. Whitmore’s leadership and dedication to advance technology capabilities for the company and protect U.S. national security showcase the impact he could have on the GovCon sector in 2020.

About Wash100 

The Wash100 Award, now in its seventh year, recognizes the most influential executives in the GovCon industry as selected by the Executive Mosaic team in tandem with online nominations from the GovCon community. Representing the best of the private and public sector, the winners demonstrate superior leadership, innovation, reliability, achievement and vision.

Visit the Wash100 site to learn about the other 99 winners of the 2020 Wash100 Award. On the site, you can submit your 10 votes for the GovCon executives of consequence that you believe will have the most significant impact in 2020.

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Kristen Baldwin Joins FAA as CIO
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Kristen Baldwin
Kristen Baldwin

Kristen Baldwin, deputy chief information officer at the Department of Transportation, has been tapped to serve at the Federal Aviation Administration as CIO, Federal News Network reported Monday. Baldwin has succeeded Sean Torpey, who assumed the role on an acting basis since December 2016.

Prior to her previous role, Baldwin held the role of associate CIO for business technology alignment and governance. She also worked as director at the Office of the Chief Information Officer's Resource Management Office. She took part in DOT's Open Government effort and served as a senior accountable official for the Office of Management and Budget's PortfolioStat program.

The FAA published a roadmap that details the agency's plans from 2019 through 2022.

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Mike Garris, Maj. Sam Gray, Terry Busch to Serve as Panelists at Potomac Officers Club’s AI Summit 2020 on Feb. 13th
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Mike Garris, Maj. Sam Gray, Terry Busch to Serve as Panelists at Potomac Officers Club’s AI Summit 2020 on Feb. 13th
Mike Garris, Maj. Sam Gray, Terry Busch to Serve as Panelists at Potomac Officers Club’s AI Summit 2020 on Feb. 13th

Mike Garris, chief technology advisor of National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence (NSCAI), Maj. Sam Gray, program manager at the Autonomy & AI Portfolio of Strategic Capabilities Office (SCO), and Terry Busch, technical director of Machine-Assisted Analytic Rapid-Repository System (MARS) of Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) will serve as panelists during Potomac Officers Club’s 2nd Annual Artificial Intelligence Summit 2020 on Thursday, Feb. 13th.

Register here for POC’s 2nd Annual Artificial Intelligence Summit 2020.

Chris Powell, chief technology officer (CTO) of NT Concepts will moderate the "Managing Enterprise-Scale Data Engineering in Support of Enterprise-Scale AI" panel.  Powell supports the horizontal integration of geospatial, software and data analytics across our solutions to help our customers analyze, visualize, and understand their data at NT Concepts. 

Garris brings 32 years of experience to the panel, with focuses in AI, image processing, pattern recognition and biometrics. He also currently serves on the National Science and Technology Council’s (NSTC) Subcommittee on Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence (ML/AI).

Gray, in his role, focuses on technologies associated with machine learning, AI, robotics, autonomy and cloud computing. He helps develop innovative methodologies for conducting smarter sustainment of DoD platforms. Additionally, Gray integrates emerging commercial capabilities, including cloud computing and advanced data analytics, into the Department.

Busch provides program development, technical direction, and strategic tactics for DIA’s program. He also supports foundational intelligence and has worked to modernize the intelligence database, integrating a new system that is intended to provide a greater capability to the Department and intelligence community (IC).

Robert Work, senior counselor for Defense and Distinguished Senior Fellow for Defense and National Security, and Charles Romine, director of the Information Technology Laboratory (ITL) at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), will serve as keynote speakers prior to the panel. 

Join the Potomac Officers Club for our 2nd Annual Artificial Intelligence Summit. Don’t miss out on the opportunity to hear public and private sector leaders discuss government AI programs and priorities, new initiatives and how to achieve enterprise AI.

Register here for POC’s 2nd Annual Artificial Intelligence Summit 2020.

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SOSi Acquires NorthStar Systems to Advance Data Analytics Software; Julian Setian Quoted
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SOSi Acquires NorthStar Systems to Advance Data Analytics Software; Julian Setian Quoted
SOSi Acquires NorthStar Systems to Advance Data Analytics Software; Julian Setian Quoted

SOS International (SOSi) has announced the acquisition of NorthStar Systems, an advanced analytics software company headquartered in Denmark, to advance technical capabilities, the company announced on Tuesday. 

“We’re on the leading edge of developing human language and communication technology applications in the U.S. Government market, including artificial intelligence, neural network-based machine translation, and automatic speech recognition,” said Julian Setian, SOSi president and CEO. 

The acquisition will add to SOSi’s expansion, making NorthStar Systems the company’s fifth acquisition since 2016. SOSi will gain NothStar’s service offerings and technology solutions. 

SOSi will use Northstar’s systems to continue the development of the company’s data analytics platform that uses multiple protocols to navigate, identify, index and visualize unique communication data sets built to support key mission areas. 

In addition, the company has developed a proprietary cloud-based artificial intelligence platform that utilizes learning algorithms to sort over one million data sources in real-time throughout the world. The combined platform uses a variety of indicators to identify and track data trends to improve situational awareness and enhance national security.

SOSi leverages Agile/DevOps development principles to quickly design and develop software solutions that meet its customers’ unique performance, quality, and delivery needs. 

“We’re continuing to expand our strategic position by acquiring unique and differentiating technologies where we see the potential for growth,” added Setian.

In July 2019, SOSi announced the acquisition of Vykin Corporation, a business specializing in providing communications, intelligence and IT support to the Department of Defense (DoD) and the intelligence community.

The acquisition provides SOSi with a prime spot on the Defense Intelligence Agency’s (DIA) Enhanced Solutions for the IT Enterprise (E-SITE) contract and a National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) contract supporting its Scaled Agile Framework Enterprise (SAFe) and cloud development requirements.

“It also strengthens our current IT and network engineering qualifications and makes us responsible for developing the DoD’s mission partner environment, which facilitates communications with our international allies around the globe,” said Setian in regards to the July acquisition. 

About SOSi

Founded in 1989, SOSi is the largest private, family-owned and operated technology and services integrator in the aerospace, defense, and government services industry. Its global portfolio includes military logistics, intelligence analysis, software development, and cybersecurity.

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ORI Names Robert Pick Public Sector VP to Improve Strategic Growth; Shannon Brown Quoted
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ORI Names Robert Pick Public Sector VP to Improve Strategic Growth; Shannon Brown Quoted
ORI Names Robert Pick Public Sector VP to Improve Strategic Growth; Shannon Brown Quoted

ORI has appointed Robert Pick as vice president of the company’s public sector practice to expand strategic growth and improve IT capabilities, ORI announced on Tuesday. 

“There is no doubt that his addition will further our mission to bring best-in-class data analytics and technology solutions to government clients to transform their data into actionable insights…With such a rich background in delivering leading-edge IT and digital services to government agencies, Bob’s combination of tech savvy, IT leadership, and results-driven strategic planning is an ideal fit for ORI,” said ORI president, Shannon Brown.

In the role, Pick will lead ORI’s public sector strategic growth activities, utilizing his expansive knowledge in IT management, strategic planning and implementation, systems development and support and process improvement. 

Prior to joining ORI, Pick served as vice president of business development with HighPoint Global between Oct. 2017 to July 2019. In his position, he provided operations oversight, business development and capture support. 

He also supervised the IT services and support team, where he planned, modified and implemented business marketing strategies geared toward reaching revenue goals, accumulating clients and growing the business.

Pick also served in a variety of senior leadership roles with Primescape Solutions between March 2015 and Oct. 2017. In his most recent position as vice president, Pick supervised operational and corporate business development. 

As program director with NARTech from July 2013 to May 2015, Pick specialized in Web-enabled development, maintenance and integration services to federal government clients. He also assessed at CMMI Level 5.

Between April 2012 and Feb 2013, Pick served as vice president of mission solutions with Salient Federal Solutions, where he provided management leadership and direction to over 100 technical and professional resources supporting up to 10 contracts with revenue totals of $20 million annually.

During his 15-year tenure with Advanced Technology Systems from 1992 to 2007, Pick served in a variety of managerial roles, where he provided support services to government departments, including the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the United States Coast Guard. 

“I am thrilled to join ORI in providing new and innovative services to help government solution providers better understand each customer’s experience. With data analysis and data mining solutions that truly hear the ‘voice of the customer,’ we arm government clients with the data needed to drive strategic decisions that improve the customer experience,” added Pick. 

About ORI

ORI is a full-service customer experience (CX) consulting firm applying innovative data collection, data analysis, and IT services to help government, commercial, and association clients gain a full understanding of citizen and customer expectations. By offering quick and efficient data collection, agile research and analysis, and systematic listening to mine all types of structured and unstructured customer feedback for insights, ORI translates data into decisions and decisions into stronger citizen and customer engagement. 

ORI, a certified women-owned small business (WOSB) and eight-time Inc. 5000 honoree, has been recognized consistently for three decades for the successful delivery of data collection and processing and customer satisfaction research services.

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Leidos Creates New Scientific Advisory Board to Advance Pre-Clinical Drug Development Featuring Jose Conejo-Garcia, Patrick Lucy, Philip Hinds; James Pannucci Quoted
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Leidos Creates New Scientific Advisory Board to Advance Pre-Clinical Drug Development Featuring Jose Conejo-Garcia, Patrick Lucy, Philip Hinds; James Pannucci Quoted

Leidos Creates New Scientific Advisory Board to Advance Pre-Clinical Drug Development Featuring Jose Conejo-Garcia, Patrick Lucy, Philip Hinds; James Pannucci Quoted

Leidos Health Group has announced its new Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) within the Explorations in Global Health (ExGloH) division to develop pre-clinical pipeline of peptide-based immune modulators, the company announced on Tuesday.

“We are excited and privileged to have the opportunity to work with this group of oncology and infectious disease thought leaders on drug development initiatives from discovery through drug commercialization,” said James Pannucci, Ph.D., vice president and director of ExGloH. “Their insights will help advance our pipeline of peptide-based checkpoint inhibitors, beginning with LD10 clinical development.”

The ExGloH SAB consists of experts in oncology and drug development, including Dr. Philip Hinds, Dr. Jose Conejo-Garcia and Patrick Lucy.

Hinds currently serves as professor and chair of the Department of Developmental, Molecular, and Chemical Biology (DMCB) at Tufts University School of Medicine (TUSM). He specializes in oncology, cell and developmental biology and molecular biology. He was the first to demonstrate that P53 possesses tumor suppressor activity and is subject to inactivating point mutations in human cancers.

Conejo-Garcia is the chair of the Department of Immunology at H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Research Institute, and co-leader of the Immunology Program at H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center. He has continuously been recognized for his contributions to elucidate many of the mechanisms driving protective immunity against gynecologic cancers and is an expert in Tumor Immunology.

Lucy brings over 26 years of bio-pharmaceutical experience to Leidos’ SAB. He is a founder and current chief business officer (CBO) of Pfenex Inc, where he is responsible for the overall portfolio strategy and business development for the company.

He also has experience in alliance management, product and technology licensing, intellectual property, and bio-pharmaceutical processing, operations, facility design, construction and validation.

“I look forward to serving as an advisor to the team of entrepreneurs that will work together as part of the Leidos ExGloH Scientific Advisory Board,” said Patrick Lucy, ExGloH SAB member. “The peptide-based immunomodulator platform, Microtide, that ExGloH has developed presents a compelling opportunity to advance the science in the active checkpoint inhibitor space.”

About Leidos

Leidos is a Fortune 500® information technology, engineering, and science solutions and services leader working to solve the world’s toughest challenges in the defense, intelligence, homeland security, civil, and health markets. The company’s 36,000 employees support vital missions for government and commercial customers. Headquartered in Reston, Va., Leidos reported annual revenues of approximately $10.19 billion for the fiscal year ended December 28, 2018.

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IBM Releases X-Force Threat Intelligence Index 2020 to Outline Cyber Vulnerabilities; Wendi Whitmore Quoted
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IBM Releases X-Force Threat Intelligence Index 2020 to Outline Cyber Vulnerabilities; Wendi Whitmore Quoted

IBM Releases X-Force Threat Intelligence Index 2020 to Outline Cyber Vulnerabilities; Wendi Whitmore Quoted

IBM Security has released the IBM X-Force Threat Intelligence Index 2020 to provide insight into how cybercriminals’ techniques have evolved after decades of access to over 10 billion corporate and personal records and more than 100 thousand software flaws, the company reported on Tuesday.

IBM X-Force conducted its report based on insights and observations from monitoring 70 billion security events per day in more than 130 countries. In addition, data is gathered and analyzed from multiple sources including X-Force IRIS, X-Force Red, IBM Managed Security Services, and publicly disclosed data breach information.

“The amount of exposed records that we’re seeing today means that cybercriminals are getting their hands on more keys to our homes and businesses. Attackers won’t need to invest time to devise sophisticated ways into a business; they can deploy their attacks simply by using known entities, such as logging in with stolen credentials,” said Wendi Whitmore vice president of IBM X-Force Threat Intelligence.

IBM’s report recognized the trends in ransomware attacks worldwide in the public and private sectors. The company shows the growth ransomware activity in 2019. IBM X-Force has deployed its incident response team to ransomware incidents in 13 different industries worldwide.

The company also stated that as consumers become more aware of phishing emails, phishing tactics by hackers become more targeted. With Quad9, IBM observed a squatting trend in phishing campaigns. The report showed that attackers have impersonated consumer tech brands with tempting links, using tech, social media and content streaming companies to click links in phishing attempts.

The report marked three key highlights, including Configure it Out, Banking on Ransomware and Tech Trust Takeover for Phishing, to help industry leaders discover pitfalls in cyber industries. IBM’s research revealed that of the more than 8.5 billion breached records reported in 2019 and over 85%, were due to misconfigured cloud servers and other improperly configured systems.

IBM has shown that the most active banking leaders found in this year’s report, such as TrickBot, were increasingly observed to insight ransomware attacks. Additionally, novel code used by banking trojans and ransomware ranked highest compared to other malware variants discussed in the report.

IBM X-Force has reported that tech, social media and content streaming household brands make up the “Top 10” spoofed brands that cyber attackers impersonate in phishing attempts. Hackers utilize the trust put in technology providers over notable retail and financial brands, including Google, YouTube and Apple.

“Protection measures, such as multi-factor authentication and single sign-on, are important for the cyber resilience of organizations and the protection and privacy of user data,” Whitmore concluded.

About IBM Security

IBM Security offers one of the most advanced and integrated portfolios of enterprise security products and services. The portfolio, supported by world-renowned IBM X-Force® research, enables organizations to effectively manage risk and defend against emerging threats. IBM operates one of the world’s broadest security research, development and delivery organizations, monitors 70 billion security events per day in more than 130 countries, and has been granted more than 10,000 security patents worldwide.

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