The Department of Homeland Security Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency is seeking network, data and access management capabilities to support its new approach to continuous diagnostics and mitigation, Government CIO Media reported Thursday.

Kevin Cox, CDM program manager at CISA, noted during the 2019 RSA Federal Summit in Washington, D.C., said the agency wants to provide the necessary capabilities for protecting  systems and data as technological threats continue to evolve. Officials want to ensure that agency systems are integrated with diagnostic tools and sensors to have standardized and searchable data.

CISA is planning to award a contract in May for the development of a “federal dashboard” focused on CDM integration. The agency is also considering partnerships with industry on mobile data protection efforts.

“It’s not just security value. It’s operational value. It’s awareness value. We really want to expand what the agencies will be able to do there,” Cox said.

Margaret Weichert, deputy director of management for the Office of Management and Budget, said at the FedScoop IT Modernization Summit that agency leaders will have direct-hire authority for information technology talent soon, FedScoop reported Thuirsday.

Weichert noted the regulation, which will enable IT managers to approach agency heads for direct-hire authority when there is a shortage of critical IT staff, will be published as a final rule on the Federal Register during the next few days.

She is also serving as acting director of the Office of Personnel Management and said progress is being made on the OMB GEAR Center, which covers test-and-learn skill building activities.

“There will be a lot more coming in terms of changing this very antiquated set of policies we have around people,” Weichert  said.

Lt. Gen. John Thompson, the U.S. Air Force’s Space And Missile Systems Center commander, said the military branch is releasing a final launch services solicitation within the next two weeks, Space News reported Wednesday.

Thompson noted in a testimony to the Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Strategic Forces that competition for the National Security Space Launch program must push through according to schedule despite industry concerns. The service received recommendations to extend deadlines for space firms to further develop their platforms.

Air Force officials intended to issue a final request for proposals for the LSP effort in March 29. The service delayed the RFP release to April ahead of an expected award date in spring 2020, according to Thompson. Launches scheduled for 2022 will potentially get funding from the Air Force’s budgets for fiscal years 2020 through 2024.

The Government Accountability Office recommended the Department of Defense implement practices to address cost and schedule challenges facing the department when procuring space technology platforms. GAO said Wednesday that it found that space leadership changes, potential satellite threats, funding issues and workforce gaps could affect the department’s acquisition of weather satellites and missile warning, communications and navigation systems. 

The report also noted that while space systems assist government and military operations, their deployment may cost billions of dollars. GAO cited the launch of a satellite communications system was delayed by three years and the mission cost jumped more than 117 percent. 

The agency’s recommends are based on DoD space program reports created over the last decade and findings on the status of defense procurement efforts.

Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Tom Cotton, R-Ark., introduced a bill intending to secure senator-owned electronic assets from potential cyber attacks. The Senate Cybersecurity Protection Act would authorize the senate sergeant at arms to help senators and associated staff boost the protection of their personal electronic devices and digital accounts, Wyden’s office said Wednesday.

The SSA doesn’t hold authority to use government funds for the cybersecurity of non-government-issued, senator-owned devices. The bipartisan bill hopes to address this gap in authority.

“Cybersecurity experts agree – malicious foreign entities used targeted hacks to influence the 2016 election to their benefit, and these attacks are only going to grow more frequent and sophisticated,” Wyden said. “The Senate doesn’t have the luxury of ignoring the changing landscape of cyber-attacks,” he added. 

Lt. Gen. David Berger, head of Marine Corps Combat Development Command, said the service branch needs new amphibious ships to support future war at sea, Military.com reported Wednesday. Berger, recently tapped to be the next commandant of the Marine Corps, said at a recent meeting in Congress that the service lacks the vital ships needed for large operations.

He cited maintenance work suspended operations of some of its aging vessels. The general called on defense leaders to help the Marine Corps get new ships with modern command-and-control and offensive systems to replace legacy-class amphibious ships.

“You really need the new ships in all type-model-series to give us another level of capability,” Berger said.

Meanwhile, lawmakers are questioning Navy officials for not including funding for amphibious ships in the service’s 2020 budget request.

“We see no amphibious ship request, no amphibious connectors,” said Rep. Rob Wittman, R-Va. “So there’s some concern about where we’re going to be with the necessary capability in the Navy for Marine Corps operations.”