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FBI in Search of Vendors for Facial Recognition Capabilities
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FBI in Search of Vendors for Facial Recognition Capabilities

The FBI is conducting market research to identify qualified sources that can provide advanced facial recognition technology for its law enforcement operations.

FRT enables the development of investigative leads and detection of relevant case information, which could prove critical to catching perpetrators and mitigating threats, the agency said Monday.

Through the request for information, the FBI wants to hear from parties with existing open-source and publicly available face image repositories and functioning FR capabilities to search the same database.

The potential vendors should also ensure they can deliver the required capabilities in a software-as-a-service package.

The FBI envisions that open-source FRT would support its mission of safeguarding national security, protecting the American people and upholding the Constitution.

The data gathered through the RFI will inform the bureau’s acquisition approach for an upcoming solicitation.

Interested businesses are invited to submit their capability statements no later than Oct. 15.

FBI in Search of Vendors for Facial Recognition Capabilities

The Potomac Officers Club’s 2024 Intel Summit will bring together top intelligence community officials, government decision-makers and industry executives on Sept. 19 to discuss the challenges, opportunities, innovation initiatives and technologies shaping the future of U.S. intelligence.

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How Intel Agencies Are Building Closer Industry Partnerships
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How Intel Agencies Are Building Closer Industry Partnerships

U.S. intelligence agencies are working toward closer collaboration with government and industry partners. As a result, intelligence community leaders are increasingly vying for industry talent to fill capability gaps. 

Join us at the Potomac Officers Club’s 2024 Intel Summit on Sept. 19 to connect with intelligence officials who spearhead efforts to transform the modern intelligence domain. Click here for additional information and register to attend the summit before it’s too late!

How Intel Agencies Are Building Closer Industry Partnerships

Avril Haines, the director of national intelligence and a 2024 Wash100 awardee, said, “We know that the private sector increasingly possesses certain unique and specialized talent, knowledge and capabilities in key fields of critical importance to national security that we don’t have access to in the government.”

Key Intelligence Community Collaboration Efforts

The Office of the Director of National Intelligence has established an Office of Partnership Engagement designed to foster closer industry collaboration and provide ODNI with access to commercial insights about AI, cybersecurity and space, among other areas. The office will train professionals in declassifying information for companies, develop guidance for better acquisition processes and communicate with external industry partners.

“There is no question that certain industries now wield substantial geopolitical influence, and as the threat landscape has diversified and power has become more diffuse, so has the potential impact of the private sector’s work,” Haines said. “This makes it crucial that we better understand developments in the private sector, as well as the overall balance of competitive strength and security within key sectors.”

Other IC agencies like the National Security Agency have established information exchange programs that help the government and industry get on the same page about cyber threats. NSA’s Cybersecurity Collaboration Center authorizes the government and the private sector to share information about cyber criminals and nation-state hackers. 

“The first phase of this is an expansion of the current and unclassified analytic exchange program in scale and scope, while simultaneously evaluating opportunities to conduct analytic exchanges that include classified information, which we know will take some time, but is absolutely worth it,” Haines emphasized.

ODNI has also recently issued new protocols for using the other transaction authority, which Haines said, “offers greater flexibility for IC elements to develop programs that leverage technological innovation.”

Joint Cyber Defense Collaborative 

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency stood up the Joint Cyber Defense Collaborative in 2001. The group comprises industry and government officials who encourage cyber firms to team up with the government to detect and deter hacking threats.

In August 2023, the Joint Cyber Defense Collaborative created the RMM Cyber Defense Plan. The strategy includes two key pillars — operational collaboration and cyber defense guidance — with the first pillar featuring two corresponding lines of effort that involve broadening data-sharing concerning threats and vulnerabilities. 

Learn more about the recent and future intelligence community efforts at the 2024 Intel Summit!

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SDA Eyes Linking Contractors’ Satellites to Form Mesh Network
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SDA Eyes Linking Contractors’ Satellites to Form Mesh Network

Derek Tournear, director of the Space Development Agency, said York Space Systems has made its laser communications system operational on its military satellites and that SDA’s next step is to link the company’s spacecraft with SpaceX’s satellites by laser, Breaking Defense reported Monday.

“I’m excited to report that, over the weekend, York was able to get optical communication networking working on their satellites,” he told reporters. “Now we have both a set of transport satellites and a set of tracking satellites with the optical connectivity.”

“The next step on that, obviously, is to have the York and SpaceX satellites talk to one another and form a complete mesh network,” said Tournear. “It’s critical that it works.”

The creation of the mesh network is key to operationalizing the Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture, also known as PWSA.

According to the previous Wash100 awardee, the concept behind PWSA is to transition away from the Department of Defense’s traditional “stovepipes” into one that adopts open architecture.

With open architecture, vendors can plug-and-play their capabilities to facilitate communications and machine-to-machine data-sharing, a capability that is key to advancing DOD’s Combined Joint All-Domain Command and Control, or CJADC2.

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UN Guidelines for Long-Term Sustainability of Outer Space Activities Do Not Address Cyber Threats, MITRE Says
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UN Guidelines for Long-Term Sustainability of Outer Space Activities Do Not Address Cyber Threats, MITRE Says

MITRE said the United Nations guidelines for the long-term sustainability of outer space activities do not address cybersecurity challenges and other threats to space systems.

Good cyber hygiene is essential to the sustainability of the space environment amid the efforts of competitors and adversaries to build capabilities that could impact space system operations, MITRE said in a white paper published on Friday.

The document is MITRE’s response to a Department of State notice seeking public sector input on the implementation of the 21 long-term sustainability guidelines for outer space activities.

According to the organization, implementing robust cyber hygiene practices should be prioritized on the same level as debris mitigation efforts.

The paper also highlighted the company’s efforts that directly align with the long-term sustainability guidelines, including the development of the Sensor Network Autonomous Resilient Extensible system, which uses permissioned blockchain to record orbital element sets from space sensors, and the decentralized Space Information Sharing Ecosystems; its collaboration with the Space Information Sharing and Analysis Center; and the implementation of Mitre’s International Space Strategy aimed at balancing efforts across defense, preservation and sustainability and organizational and policy components of space use.

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CISA Releases Analysis of Security Assessments Done on Critical Infrastructure Networks
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CISA Releases Analysis of Security Assessments Done on Critical Infrastructure Networks

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency is calling on network defenders to review the analysis of the risk and vulnerability assessments it and the U.S. Coast Guard conducted through fiscal year 2023.

CISA said Friday that the recently-released analysis and an accompanying infographic discuss the details of and findings from the 143 RVAs performed across multiple critical infrastructure—or CI—sectors.

The RVA were carried out to assess the network capabilities and defenses of an organization against known threats with the ultimate aim of formulating strategies to bolster cybersecurity.

CISA performed RVAs on select state, local, tribal, and territorial, or SLTT, organizations; the federal civilian executive branch; and private and public sector CI operators. For its part, the Coast Guard performed RVAs on maritime CI operated by private sector organizations as well as SLTTs.

Based on the analysis, the most successful attacks conducted by the RVA assessors involved the use of common methods, tools and techniques. The assessors also exploited common system vulnerabilities seen among many CI sector organizations.

To counter such threats, the analysis offered several recommendations, including the implementation of enhanced protection mechanisms in addition to strong credential policies.

“CISA encourages system owners and administrators to share this guidance with leadership and apply relevant changes tailored to their specific environments,” the document said, adding, “Analysis of this nature can effectively prioritize the identification and mitigation of high-level vulnerabilities across multiple sectors and entities.”

CISA Releases Analysis of Security Assessments Done on Critical Infrastructure Networks

Hear from various speakers to learn more about the security concerns facing the U.S. and what’s being done to address them at the Potomac Officers Club’s 2024 Homeland Security Summit, which will take place on Nov. 13. Register now to attend this important event!

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DAF Space Program Issues RFI for Domain Awareness Capabilities
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DAF Space Program Issues RFI for Domain Awareness Capabilities

The Space Security and Defense Program, which operates under the Department of the Air Force, is seeking input for space domain awareness capabilities and services to address threats in a dynamic and increasingly crowded space environment.

Interested contractors should submit concepts that address key focus areas—particularly, support to fires, surveillance of man-made objects, intelligence and reconnaissance, and environmental monitoring, according to a request for information notice posted on Sam.gov Wednesday.

In addition, the SSDP is looking for concepts that would enable military forces to plan, integrate, execute and assess space operations. They should have one or more of these features: high sensibility to detect small objects across a wide area of space, the ability to reduce solar, earth and lunar exclusion zones and the capability to process collected data quickly.

The concepts should also be capable of detecting, tracking and identifying resident space objects, characterizing or determining strategies, intent and activities of threats, predicting and assessing potential and actual threats and integrating and utilizing multi-source data for dynamic decision-making.

Interested parties may send their responses to the RFI no later than Nov. 14.

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US Cyber Command Publishes AI Roadmap
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US Cyber Command Publishes AI Roadmap

U.S. Cyber Command has introduced a roadmap for integrating artificial intelligence into military cyber operations as part of efforts to scale operations and improve its analytic capabilities and ability to disrupt adversaries.

USCYBERCOM said Friday the roadmap focuses on working with the National Security Agency to advance AI and computing capabilities and outlines over 100 activities across national defense, contested logistics, security and other mission areas.

“The integration of AI is a strategic necessity,” said Michael Clark, the command’s deputy director of plans and policy. 

“Our roadmap will incorporate AI into all aspects of our operations to better address cyber threats,” Clark added.

A new task force within the Cyber National Mission Force will oversee the plan’s implementation and address challenges associated with infrastructure development, policy constraints and talent acquisition.

According to USCYBERCOM, the roadmap will include the execution of over 60 pilot projects and 26 new AI integration initiatives, improve industry partnerships and advance sustainable tech development efforts.

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DOD Prepares for 6G Transition
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DOD Prepares for 6G Transition

The Department of Defense’s Future Generation Wireless Technology Office is preparing DOD for its transition to the next generation of wireless telecommunications, called 6G, and one of its top priorities is advancing centralized unit, distributed unit, or CUDU, Defense News reported Friday.

The CUDU project seeks to implement an open software model for 6G that meets the requirements of DOD, industry and the research community. 

The FutureG office is looking at how the military could advance 6G for sensing and monitoring initiatives like the Integrated Sensing and Communications project, or ISAC.

According to the report, ISAC gathers information on different environments using wireless signals, a capability that could help the military gather intelligence and track drone networks.

Though ISAC technology could strengthen the Pentagon’s intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance systems, potential commercialization could lead to adversary countries using the technology against the U.S.

“We’re looking at this as a real opportunity for dramatic growth and interest in new, novel technologies for both commercial industry and defense needs,” Thomas Rondeau, principal director for DOD’s FutureG office, told the publication in an interview.

“But also, the threat space that it opens up for us is potentially pretty dramatic, so we need to be on top of this,” he added.

Rondeau noted that initiatives that resulted from the department’s 5G Challenges have informed DOD’s 6G vision and strategy.

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Raj Parekh Appointed as First Corporate Enforcement Chief at BIS
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Raj Parekh Appointed as First Corporate Enforcement Chief at BIS

The Bureau of Industry and Security has selected Raj Parekh to serve as its inaugural chief of corporate enforcement.

In his new role, Parekh will work closely with the Department of Commerce’s Office of Chief Counsel for Industry and Security and the Department of Justice to progress major corporate investigations, the BIS said Thursday.

Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Export Enforcement Matthew Axelrod said in a statement that Parekh’s appointment is an important step forward in efforts to bolster the U.S. administrative enforcement program.

A seasoned lawyer, the new appointee most recently served as a U.S. attorney in Virginia, where he supervised over 300 federal prosecutors, civil litigators and support personnel.

Recognized as the highest-ranking non-political official in the Eastern District of Virginia, Parekh’s career boasts more than 40 cases brought to verdict.

His previous work experience includes stints at the Justice Department, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and the CIA as well as IBM and an international law firm.

Parekh joins the BIS following its implementation of revised rules concerning voluntary self-disclosures and penalty guidelines, which encourage companies to report violations in exchange for incentives or reduced fines.

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GovCon Index Declined Last Week
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GovCon Index Declined Last Week

Executive Mosaic’s GovCon Index ended last week with an average of $5,256.32, a 1.07% drop from the previous week.

GovCon Index is an aggregate index that displays real-time data on the stock market performance of 30 notable government contracting companies. Users can leverage this information to evaluate the financial status of each organization and deepen their understanding of key trends in today’s GovCon market.

Multiple companies were able to break through last week’s decline with significant gains, most notably Palantir, which soared to the top of the ranks with an increase of 14.78%. In second place was The Carlyle Group (+7.04%), and Aerovironment followed with gains of 6.58%. Parsons (+6.44%) and V2X (+6.33%) secured fourth and fifth place, respectively.

GovCon Index’s daily performance was mixed last week, with frequent shifts between positive and negative territory. Its highest growth day was Monday, in which the average rose by 1.35%.

For a closer look at daily GovCon Index performance, check out last week’s market reports. To access the full list of tracked companies, click here.

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