House Approves Four-Week Stopgap Spending Bill
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House Approves Four-Week Stopgap Spending Bill


House Approves Four-Week Stopgap Spending Bill

The House on Tuesday voted 231-192 to pass a continuing resolution to fund government operations through Dec. 20 in order to prevent a government shutdown, Defense News reported Wednesday.

The stopgap funding bill includes a provision for a 3.1 percent salary increase for military personnel, a spending measure for the Import-Export Bank. The CR seeks to authorize the extension of three provisions under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act and increase 2020 census spending.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said he would bring the bill to the floor provided that it does not include contentious policy provisions. “A clean CR through Dec. 20 would pass the Senate. And the White House has indicated President Trump would sign it.”

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FAA Makes Efforts to Digitize Airmen Notice Bulletins
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FAA Makes Efforts to Digitize Airmen Notice Bulletins


FAA Makes Efforts to Digitize Airmen Notice Bulletins

The Federal Aviation Administration has been working to digitize its notice bulletins that contain logistical data of airports, FCW reported Monday.

Abigail Smith, the agency’s director of technical training, said these Notice to Airmen or NOTAM bulletins provide information on closed runways, flight navigation and other factors that air traffic controllers and pilots need to know about for flight safety.

For years, FAA used a paper-based system to deliver NOTAMs, complicating data accessibility. The agency is working with industrial and government partners to streamline NOTAM creation and delivery and make data more digitally accessible, Smith said.

Airline and aeronautics industry parties are providing consultancy support to help FAA further digitize NOTAM. The agency intends to have the digital NOTAM system ready by Jan. 24, 2020.

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CIT, George Mason University Support DHS Smart Building Effort
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CIT, George Mason University Support DHS Smart Building Effort


CIT, George Mason University Support DHS Smart Building Effort

The Center for Innovation Technology and George Mason University have partnered to help the Department of Homeland Security study smart building technologies under a four-year, $19M contract.

The effort aims to support public safety and aid first responders in building-related rescue operations, CIT said Monday.

The university’s Fairfax Campus hosted an exhibition of these technologies the same day, with an active threat exercise for demonstration purposes.

Volunteers, law enforcement officers, first responders, academic researchers and other stakeholders took part in the exercise that supports SCITI Labs, a DHS-sponsored program that seeks to address public safety issues via smart city technologies.

“The program is a showcase for the power of collaboration among federal, state and local government, and our university and industry partners,” said Brian Ball, Virginia secretary of commerce and trade.

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DHS S&T Taps SecureKey, Factom for Fraud Prevention R&D Effort
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DHS S&T Taps SecureKey, Factom for Fraud Prevention R&D Effort


DHS S&T Taps SecureKey, Factom for Fraud Prevention R&D Effort

The Department of Homeland Security has awarded $397,292 to SecureKey Technologies and Factom to conduct phase one research and development activities focused on mitigating cases of fraud.

DHS said Monday that Toronto, Canada-based firm SecureKey received $200,000 to study the implementation of identity network capabilities in issuing and validating digital credentials as part of the Science and Technology Directorate’s Preventing Forgery and Counterfeiting of Certificates and Licenses effort.

SecureKey’s project, titled “Identity Documents Proofing, Presentation and Exchange system”, involves using the company’s Verified.Me identity network offering to assist the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and Transportation Security Administration’s operations.

In a separate release, DHS said it awarded $197,292 to Austin, Texas-based firm Factom for the “Applying Cross-Blockchain Technology to Help Prevent Forgeries or Counterfeiting of Certificates and Licenses” project. Factom will explore the use of blockchain concepts in verifying identities involved in the importation of items such as raw materials.

The other transaction agreements fall under S&T’s Silicon Valley Innovation Program, which earmarks a maximum of $800,000 to participating companies to cover four phases of R&D work for homeland security applications.

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John Raymond: Space Command Looks to Define Operational Authorities, Expand Workforce
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John Raymond: Space Command Looks to Define Operational Authorities, Expand Workforce


John Raymond
John Raymond

Gen. John Raymond, commander of the U.S. Space Command, said the new command plans to establish a “campaign plan for space” and focus on deploying intelligence capabilities, Space News reported Monday.

At a Center for Strategic and International Studies event, Raymond noted that the proposed campaign plan will revolve around identifying needed resources and defining the command’s legal authorities to execute operations. He added that he is collaborating with the Department of Defense to establish the command’s “space operational authorities” in compliance with the Space Policy Directive-4 issued earlier this year.

“We’ll get additional authorities,” he said. “We’ve put those together, and I’m very hopeful that those will be approved here in the very near term.”

Space Command has expanded its workforce to 400 and is slated to transfer to a new location from its current headquarters at Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado Springs following regulatory assessments. Raymond said he expects the command’s staff to reach 500 in early 2020.

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Adm. Charles Richard Now Commander of USSTRATCOM
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Adm. Charles Richard Now Commander of USSTRATCOM


Charles Richard
Charles Richard

Adm. Charles Richard of the U.S. Navy has assumed leadership of U.S. Strategic Command at a ceremony that took place Monday. Richard, USSTRATCOM’s former deputy commander, succeeds Gen. John Hyten, who will go on to serve as Joint Chiefs of Staff’s vice chairman, the command said Monday.

The change of command marks Richard’s third time to fill a position in USSTRATCOM. The new USTRATCOM leader’s former roles include commander work with Submarine Force Atlantic and Naval Station Norfolk’s Allied Submarine Command. He advised NATO commanders on submarine-related topics during his time commanding Allied Submarine Command.

“After serving alongside Admiral Richard, I cannot think of anyone more qualified to lead this command,” said Hyten said.

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Eric Smith: China’s Centralized Gov’t Brings Potential Cyber Vulnerabilities
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Eric Smith: China’s Centralized Gov’t Brings Potential Cyber Vulnerabilities


Eric Smith
Eric Smith

Lt. Gen. Eric Smith, commander of the  Marine Corps Combat Development Command, said the U.S. should focus on discovering ways of using offensive cyber capabilities to exploit weaknesses in authoritarian regimes, Fifth Domain reported Monday.

Smith, also the deputy commandant for combat development and integration, told attendees at an AFCEA event that adversaries like China may have difficulties in the event of a cyber attack due to their need to maintain central control. This is in contrast to the U.S., which disperses its essential services through interconnected networks.

He added that residents can still rely on authorities at the local, county, state and national levels while the Chinese would have to seek assistance from a centralized government.

“If I take all the cameras offline and all the mechanisms of control cease, Shanghai is not Shanghai anymore six months after that event,” according to Smith.

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Sen. John Howley Proposes Bill to Protect National Security, Sensitive Personal Data
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Sen. John Howley Proposes Bill to Protect National Security, Sensitive Personal Data


John Hawley
John Hawley

Sen. John Hawley, R-Mo., has proposed legislation that seeks to protect U.S. citizens’ personal data from hostile foreign nations that may pose security risks. The National Security and Personal Data Protection Act would prohibit the transmission of user data or encryption keys to foreign countries such as China and storage of information there, Hawley’s office said Monday.

Under the legislation, companies that seek to conduct business in the U.S. would not be allowed to collect more than the required data figure and should not utilize the gathered information for secondary purposes.

The bill would also require certain international companies to undergo a pre-approval process with the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. for proposed merger transactions.

Members of the Senate Judiciary Committee’s crime and terrorism subcommittee recently held a hearing to discuss China’s connection to the technology industry.

U.S. authorities are looking into the security of a social media video application, called TikTok, after lawmakers raised concerns that the Chinese government could obtain military images from the platform for weapons training use.

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Ajit Pai: FCC to Hold Public C-Band Spectrum Auction for 5G
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Ajit Pai: FCC to Hold Public C-Band Spectrum Auction for 5G


Ajit Pai
Ajit Pai

Ajit Pai, chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, said FCC plans to put the 280 megahertz of the C-band spectrum up for public auction to support 5G connectivity.

In a letter sent Monday to a Senate committee, Pai wrote that the public auction “will afford all parties a fair opportunity to compete for this 5G spectrum, while preserving the availability of the upper 200 megahertz of this band for the continued delivery of programming.”

He discussed the four principles FCC should pursue through an ongoing rulemaking related to the C-band spectrum. These include making the spectrum available for 5G networks quickly and generating revenue for the federal government.

The C-band spectrum provides wireless clients and entrepreneurs capacity to transmit large data volumes and geographic coverage. Pai’s letter was addressed to Sen. Roger Ricker (R-Miss.), chairman of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee.

University of Maryland Wins DOE-Hosted Cybersecurity Competition; Rick Perry Quoted
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University of Maryland Wins DOE-Hosted Cybersecurity Competition; Rick Perry Quoted


University of Maryland Wins DOE-Hosted Cybersecurity Competition; Rick Perry Quoted

A collegiate team from University of Maryland won the fifth iteration of a Department of Energy contest aimed at developing future cybersecurity professionals in the energy sector. The 2019 CyberForce Competition drew 105 teams of students that included undergraduates and Ph.D. candidates, DOE said Monday.

Participants were tasked to defend and maintain the integrity of one of four energy infrastructures from a simulated attack and to enable communication with the other systems. Argonne National Laboratory and nine other DOE-funded labs collaborated with industry and National Guard to develop the scenarios used in the challenge.

“These competitions identify and honor tomorrow’s cybersecurity experts to encourage their continued work in a vital field,” said Energy Secretary Rick Perry.

DOE’s CyberForce Competition Professional Pilot program coincided with the collegiate contest and tested the abilities of defensive cyber operators through a simulated setting.

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