The Federal Acquisition Security Council will meet with agencies for the first time to form a risk reduction strategy for the federal supply chain, Federal News Network reported Thursday.

The plan will highlight potential government efforts that would reduce risks in the federal supply chain and implement an information-sharing environment to facilitate procurement activities.

A representative from the Office of Management and Budget will chair the council. Membership will be composed of senior-level executives from multiple federal components including the Department of Defense, the Department of Commerce and the General Services Administration.

The information and communications technology supply chain risk management task force within the Department of Homeland Security’s National Risk Management Center will help the council develop policies that can guide the government’s purchases of commercial technology products.

The Department of Energy’s Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security and Emergency Response is working with the national energy laboratories to develop a tool that can help private infrastructure providers evaluate operational costs, FCW reported Thursday.

Karen Evans, assistant secretary of CESER, said at a recent Energy Electricity Advisory Board meeting that the tool will have a simple interface enabling relevant personnel such as engineers and cybersecurity staff to access a range of cost information.

“They want to know for ‘X’ amount of dollars how much risk is being reduced in the enterprise,” she said. “We’re working on a tool right now that will answer that question.”

The department  previously announced that CESER would receive $157M to launch early-stage research and development efforts to fortify grid cybersecurity and help private companies improve their infrastructure capacity to withstand both natural and manmade phenomena.

The Government Accountability Office issued a report Thursday stating that the Department of Defense does not conduct a routine monitoring of its space acquisition workforce.

The Pentagon needs to collect comprehensive data on the size, mix and location of its workforce that will handle the planned $65B procurement of space offerings such as satellites, launch vehicles and ground control facilities through 2023, according to the report.

The government watchdog added that properly collecting data about the space acquisition workforce would ensure that appropriate personnel will be assigned to the new Space Development Agency and Space

However, the department does not have a complete list of space acquisition programs and lacks  data systems that can identify space acquisition personnel. Employees working on space procurement are scattered across units with some personnel supporting space and non-space initiatives, according to the report.

The watchdog reported that at least 8K space acquisition personnel, including military and civilian staff, work in various U.S. locations at the end of 2017.

Steven Walker, director of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, said at a Senate hearing that one-third of AI Next projects are creating artificial intelligence technologies or running in AI, the Department of Defense said Thursday.

Walker testified before the Senate Armed Services Committee on Tuesday along with Michael Brown, director of the Defense Innovation Unit, and Lt. Gen. Jack Shanahan, director of the recently created Joint Artificial Intelligence Center.

Walker noted that DARPA has 20 new programs run by AI. More than 80 programs within the agency are AI-driven following the agency’s $2B investment in the field.

Brown told senators that the Defense Innovation Unit seeks to develop AI-based computer vision capabilities in an effort to “maintain our technology edge, not only in AI, but in other dual-used technologies.”

“The more we collaborate with the private sector on mutually beneficial projects, the more opportunities we’ll have to engage in open dialogue about the applications and principles for the use of AI,” Brown said.

The artificial intelligence center’s first two national mission initiatives include using AI for disaster response and predictive maintenance for the U.S. Army’s UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter, Shanahan said. He added that the center is at the “early problem-framing stage” for a proposed national mission initiative for fiscal year 2020.

A Government Accountability Office report says the Department of Defense must address three issues to fully institutionalize the responsibilities and authorities of the chief management officer to oversee the Pentagon’s business operations. GAO said in the report published on Thursday that DoD has yet to determine how the CMO will carry out its authority to direct military services on business reforms especially if there is disagreement with a department.

The two other issues cited include the CMO’s oversight of Defense Agencies and DoD Field Activities or DAFAs and the transition of responsibilities from the chief information officer to the CMO.

“Making determinations on the three unresolved issues and issuing guidance would help ensure a shared understanding throughout the department of the CMO’s role in leading DOD’s enterprise-wide business reform efforts,” according to the report.

GAO made four recommendations, including the need to codify and operationalize the CMO’s discretionary and statutory authorities through a departmentwide guidance.

Lt. Gen. Stephen Fogarty, head of Army Cyber Command, said ARCYBER prioritizes building and maintaining critical networks and information warfare capabilities to counter agile enemies, DVIDS reported Wednesday. 

The Department of Defense Information Network is “the most important, the most complex, weapons system DoD employees are operating 24/7,” Fogarty said during his keynote address at the Armed Forces Communications Electronics Association’s 2019 Army Signal Conference in Springfield, Va on Wednesday. 

“The network is the critical capability that is going to allow us to fight and win on modern battlefields. … All the other (Army) priorities are actually dependent upon that effective network,” he said. Fogarty discussed how persistent intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions, situational awareness, logistics and other operations rely on the network.

He mentioned ARCYBER’s critical tasks, including his command’s plan to integrate cyber, information operations and electronic warfare into its mission to establish a systematic information warfare capability. Fogarty also mentioned ARCYBER’s partnerships with academia and industry on tech development efforts and the need to hire and retain top talent.

Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan said the Pentagon’s $718 billion funding request for fiscal 2020 is a “requirement-informed budget” supporting the National Defense Strategy and addressing threats posed by Russia and China, the Department of Defense website reported Thursday.

Shanahan, a 2019 Wash100 winner, testified on Thursday before the Senate Armed Services Committee to provide an overview of DoD’s FY 2020 budget request and how its provisions intend to respond to those specific threats. The proposed budget supports nuclear triad modernization, improvements to the missile defense system, hypersonics development and investments in cyber and space capabilities.

Shanahan noted the budget’s shipbuilding portion includes the construction of Gerald R. Ford-class aircraft carriers and three Virginia-class submarines. David Norquist, DoD’s comptroller and a fellow 2019 Wash100 winner, and Marine Corps Gen. Joseph Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, joined Shanahan during the Senate hearing.

The Wash100 award, now in its sixth 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 2019 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 2019.