The Office of Management and Budget and the National Archives and Records Administration issued in late June a memorandum that directs federal agencies to electronically manage all permanent electronic records before the end of 2019, Federal News Network reported Friday.

By the end of December 2022, agencies will be prohibited from operating their own record centers and NARA will no longer accept paper files, according to the memo. The guidance also set that deadline for agencies to convert into electronic format their temporary records.

The document also requires the Office of Personnel Management to assess by 2020 the job series for archivists and records management professionals and update them to integrate electronic records management functions and responsibilities.

“It is going to force change and to have agencies think differently about how they can make this transformation. It will accelerate digital transformation,” Michael Lewis, vice president and general manager of Iron Mountain’s public sector, said of the memo.

Colt Whittall, an advisor at Eletype, has joined the U.S. Air Force as chief experience officer, Fedscoop reported Wednesday.

Under his new role, Whittall will assist the service branch in augmenting its communications capabilities through transformative efforts in information technology service delivery.

Aside from his current capacities, Whittall served as vice president and client partner at Isobar and founded Endlesss Wave Capital in 2018. He also held various roles at Deloitte and Roundarch.

The accredited customer experience professional obtained his bachelor and master’s degrees at the University of Colorado Boulder.

Matthew Donovan, acting secretary of the U.S. Air Force, told SpaceNews in an interview published Sunday that he will continue to push for the creation of a separate space service in Congress.

“Let’s unleash the space professionals so they can grow and become the equivalent of the Air Force after separating from the Army,” he told the publication.

Donovan said he expects to field questions from congressional committees in the next few weeks with regard to the new space force as they reconcile the Senate and House versions of the fiscal 2020 National Defense Authorization Act.

“There are a couple of things that are really very promising,” said Donovan, who was named interim Air Force secretary in May. “Both recognize that we need some sort of space force or corps. And both recognize that the best place to keep it is in the Department of the Air Force.”

“We do understand it’s a system of compromises,” he noted. “We’ll make sure they have all the information they need, especially as they go into conference. Our folks are engaged almost daily with professional staff members.”

Reps. Stephanie Murphy, D-Fla., Derek Kilmer, D-Wash., Peter King, R-N.Y., and Will Hurd, R-Texas, have introduced a bill that aims to address digital content forgery or “deepfake” cases.

The Deepfakes Report Act of 2019 would task the secretary of homeland security to annually publish a report on technologies, gneneral applications and countermeasures regarding digital forgery, Murphy’s office said Tuesday. The annual report would also include authority-related proposals to address the issue.

Deepfakes refer to falsified digital media that perpetrators use as fake evidence, and may come in the form of images, video or audio.

“Our government needs a strategy to counter disinformation and work with the private sector to address these threats,” Hurd said.

Huawei Technologies has expressed disagreement with the results of a study conducted by Columbus, Ohio-based cybersecurity firm Finite State, which found that the Chinese company’s gear is more likely to contain defects than products from rival firms, The Wall Street Journal reported Friday.

“Due to the approach Finite State has taken and the weakness of their tools and methodology, the results are at best suspect and at worst just inaccurate,” according to Huawei’s product security incident response team. “This could have been avoided by collaborating rather than taking a political stance on security.”

Finite State issued in June the results of a study, which found that more than half of approximately 10K firmware images encoded in over 500 variants of Huawei-built network devices contained at least one vulnerability that could be exploited by potential adversaries. The cyber firm compared Huawei’s gear with equipment from Juniper Networks and Arista Networks.

“We stand by our report,” said Finite State CEO Matt Wyckhouse. “Our position is still that Huawei’s vulnerabilities are extensive, they are real, and they are pervasive across their product line.”

Adm. Bill Moran, the U.S. Navy’s nominee for chief of naval operations, has declined his appointment as the 32nd CNO due to ongoing investigations, USNI News reported Sunday.

Moran, who was slated to formally assume the role on Aug. 1, wrote in a statement that he intends to retire amidst investigations into his personal email correspondence and relationship with a retired staff officer who has been “held accountable over allegations of inappropriate behavior.”

According to the more than 38-year Navy veteran, his decision will support the department’s commitment to “ensuring a culture and work environment where every person is treated with dignity and respect and free from hostile behavior of any kind.”

Adm. John Richardson, the current CNO, will continue in his role until another nominee has been selected and confirmed.

Senate confirmed Moran in May along with Vice Adm. Robert Burke who will assume the role of vice CNO.