U.S. Naval War College held a game on military-level approaches to protect energy grids in case of emergencies. Members of finance, energy, government and academic sectors took part in the Defend Forward: 2019 Critical Infrastructure War Game that took place July 25 to 26, the U.S. Navy said Wednesday.

The school’s Cyber and Innovation Policy Institute hosted the event as the third installment in a series of cyber infrastructure challenges. The Navy intends to use findings to support the Cyberspace Solarium Commission’s strategic efforts.

Mark Montgomery, the commission’s executive director, said the private sector holds a large fraction of the national security critical infrastructure. “We need to ensure it is protected and supported at the same level as our government-operated infrastructure,” he said.

Kevin Walsh, Federal Information Technology Acquisition Reform Act executive for the Government Accountability Office, said the scorecard will deploy new data center optimization metrics by the Office of Management and Budget, FCW reported Wednesday. Walsh told attendees of a recent ACT-IAC event that GAO is establishing a balance on evaluation metrics for the FITARA scorecard, which is based on publically available information.

Maria Roat, chief information officer for the Small Business Administration and Agriculture Department CIO Gary Washington noted that while they have made progress in improving their respective agencies’ IT spending through FITARA, the metrics for Federal Information Security Management Act compliance need to improve.

According to Roat, the cybersecurity rating “measures two systems out of hundreds” and is “not indicative of what agencies are doing.”

The Government Accountability Office assessed and validated Defense Logistics Agency contractors that specialize in reverse engineering techniques. GAO found in a report published Wednesday that 124 companies conducted reverse engineering projects from fiscal year 2015 through 2018.

Additionally, the accountability agency confirmed that 103 of the companies are small businesses. Representatives from DLA and small business firms noted that the approach may open opportunities for potential work.

The government watchdog also found that DLA’s Maritime, Land and Aviation commands established measures to protect the patents of reverse engineering projects. GAO noted that DLA utilizes reverse engineering to lower costs, optimize competition between contractors and manufacture spare parts for vessels, missiles and aircraft systems.

The U.S. Navy will commission its newest Freedom-class littoral combat ship into service on Saturday at the Naval Air Station in Key West, Fl. The Lockheed Martin-build USS Billings, named after the largest city in Montana, to support the Navy’s missions in near-shore and open-ocean environments, the Department of Defense said Wednesday.

It will be the eighth Freedom-variant ship owned by the service branch and will work to counter “anti-access” threats like high-speed craft, mines and quiet diesel submarines. Lockheed Martin leads the industry team tapped to design and manufacture the Freedom-class vessels, while Austual USA spearheads the production of the Independence-variant under the LCS program.

Sen. Jon Tester, ranking member of the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, will deliver the principal address at the commissioning ceremony.

Vice Adm. Michael Gilday told senators during a confirmation hearing that he will prioritize cybersecurity and defense industrial base protection if confirmed as chief of naval operations, Fifth Domain reported Thursday.

Gilday, previously the director of the Joint Staff and commander of the U.S. Fleet Cyber Command and 10th Fleet, said at the Senate Armed Services Committee hearing that he wants to drive collaborative efforts with industry, including small companies that have the capacity to develop rapidly scalable technologies.

“The character of modern warfare is changing to a multidomain battlespace with significant emphasis on space, electronic, information and cyber domains,” he wrote in reponse to questions submitted before the hearing. “Digital technologies have the potential to be a force multiplier, putting data at the center of all of our decisions and transforming how we fight, stay ready and conduct business operations.”

President Trump announced his intent to nominate Gilday as CNO last month.

Sens. Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., and John Cornyn, R-Texas, unveiled a bill enacting a Department of Homeland Security program offering federal agencies a wide range of cybersecurity tools to continuously monitor government networks. The Advancing Cybersecurity Continuing Diagnostics and Mitigation Act would expand the availability of CDM platforms at the federal, state and local levels as well as create data-based risk and incident reporting policies, Hassan’s office said Tuesday.

“Cyber-attacks on government networks are increasing in frequency and sophistication, so updating the programs and tools federal agencies use to thwart these attempts is critical,” said Cornyn. “By codifying the CDM program and providing congressional oversight, we can ensure the federal government is better prepared for cyber threats.”

Hassan also co-sponsored legislation that would make DHS cyber hunt and incident response groups permanent to help agencies and companies counter security threats.

The Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency has issued a report about the potential risks posed by 5G mobile network adoption to U.S. supply chains, network security and trusted options. CISA said in the report, published Wednesday, that the use of 5G components produced by unreliable firms could expose U.S. companies to malicious software and other vulnerabilities.

“5G will use more components than previous generations of wireless networks, and the proliferation of 5G infrastructure may provide malicious actors more attack vectors,” according to the report.

CISA called on the U.S. government to advance the development of trusted 5G technologies, ensure robust security capabilities for 5G services and applications, promote international standards and processes and work with the private sector on risk mitigation efforts in order to manage vulnerabilities and build up the security of communication networks amid 5G adoption.