Defense Department Comptroller David Norquist recently said that the DoD will need the help of contractors to address the issues that the agency’s first-ever audit will reveal, Federal News Network reported Wednesday.

Speaking at the Professional Services Council’s 2018 Vision Federal Market Forecast conference, Norquist described the agency-wide audit as “a laundry list of problems” but also an opportunity for the industry to offer solutions.

For this reason, Norquist said that businesses should take note of the audit’s reports, which will be released to the Office of Management and Budget on Nov. 15.

At the same PSC event, Norquist defended the $1B audit by calling it a service to taxpayers.

The official also said refraining from conducting the audit would have been “a dangerous way to look at the world.”

The U.S. Navy has started consolidating plans to adopt and employ an arsenal of modern mine countermeasure systems as its aging systems are set to retire soon, USNI News reported Wednesday.

Maj. Gen. David Coffman, director of expeditionary warfare for the office of the chief of naval operations, said that he is coordinating with various Navy organizations and stakeholders to plan for the service’s transition to advanced MCM technologies, as well as discuss any concerns with risks and costs.

He added that there is a need for the service to arrange its strategy for future operations on new fleets equipped with advanced sensors and capabilities.

However, Coffman noted that the Navy needs to wait for certain system components to be developed or replicated as some old and new mine warfare systems do not possess the same capabilities.

​​​​​​The initial MCM planning team will meet with the Naval Board and Adm. Chris Grady, commander of the Fleet Forces Command, in the upcoming months to encourage the participation of Navy and Marine Corps leaders and other operators in the effort.

A final strategy is expected to be presented to Adm. John Richardson, chief of naval operations, and Gen. Robert Neller, commandant of the Marine Corps, before 2018 ends.

John Sherman, chief information officer of the Intelligence Community, has said he plans to hold in two weeks a meeting of CIOs from Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the U.K. to address issues with regard to intelligence data sharing and collaboration, FedScoop reported Wednesday.

“We’ve been able at some level to collaborate with our Five Eyes allied partners for a number of years, and there’s been some notable strides in terms of more seamless email, connectivity, video teleconferencing, phone,” he said at an event hosted by George Washington University and Fed Insider.

Sherman said he wants to expand the use of chat and other communication platforms with member countries of the Five Eyes alliance to facilitate sharing of intelligence information.

He noted that he has invited other stakeholders to take part in the meeting to help the alliance identify existing capabilities that could be leveraged for enterprise requirements.
 

Defense Secretary James Mattis has said the Pentagon developed the National Defense Strategy by assessing threats from the angles of power, will and urgency, Defense.gov reported Wednesday.

“In terms of raw power right now, I look at Russia and the nuclear arsenal they have,” Mattis said Tuesday during a discussion at the United States Institute of Peace in Washington.

He said the Defense Department considers North Korea’s nuclear missile program and violent extremism as the two most “urgent” threats.

“In terms of will, clearly it is China,” he noted.

Mattis cited the country’s efforts to cooperate with China and further build up its partnership with allies in support of the strategy.

He offered updates on the South Asia Strategy launched in 2017 and its implications for Afghan forces.
 

The Department of Homeland Security has established a task force in charge of addressing issues in the global information and communications technology supply chain.

DHS said Tuesday the ICT Supply Chain Risk Management Task Force consists of information technology and communications representatives from the public and private sector who will develop practices for resolving supply chain concerns in the long run.

John Miller, vice president for policy and law at Information Technology Industry Council and co-chair of the task force, noted that the new group will help industry and the government to jointly tackle global supply chain risks that companies and their customers face.

The ICT Supply Chain Risk Management Task Force will operate under the National Protection and Programs Directorate’s Cyber Supply Chain Risk Management Program, which supports federal executive branch agencies, private critical infrastructure firms and governments in all levels in mitigating supply chain threats.

The task force will hold its initial meeting in the upcoming weeks and finalize its objectives and members afterwards.

The Office of Personnel Management seeks comments on a proposal to modify rules in direct hire authorities (DHA) to address shortages in IT government employees.

A Federal Register notice posted Monday says the effort complies with an executive order President Trump issued in May that directs OPM to assign authorities who will determine if there is a need to urgently hire IT management personnel.

The individuals recruited through DHA will hold their positions from one to four years, and it will be up to the agency’s discretion to extend the IT employee’s tenure, but that tenure is not to exceed eight years.

The government currently lacks rules providing authorities in direct hiring apart from OPM.

OPM will accept comments on its proposal until Dec. 28.

A facility that aims to strengthen cybersecurity at the Department of Health and Human Services has recently opened as part of October’s National Cybersecurity Awareness month and the Trump administration’s National Cybersecurity Strategy.

HHS Deputy Secretary Eric Hargan said the department dedicated the Health Sector Cybersecurity Coordination Center in a formal ceremony on Monday, HHS said Tuesday.

Hargan said HC3 was established to help Americans secure their healthcare data and provide cybersecurity support within the healthcare and public health sector.

“We believe that when a risk is shared across sectors, the only way to manage that risk successfully is to manage it collectively,” noted Jeanette Manfra, assistant secretary for cybersecurity and communications at Department of Homeland Security.
 

The Defense Information Systems Agency has hosted an outreach event to help small businesses navigate through the federal government’s personnel and facility clearance procedures.

DISA said Tuesday it and the Defense Security Service unveiled their processes for clearing industry employees.

Ivory Lawrence, a personnel security specialist from the DSS’ Vetting Risk Operations Center, explained before nearly 50 small business representatives that VROC follows interim eligibility standards when authorizing access to classified information.

He added that VROC takes 18 months to complete initial secret clearances and 15 months for top-secret investigations.

Representatives from the DSS also informed the event’s participants about how it sets requirements, roles and systems for distributing facility clearances cited in the National Industry Security Program Operating Manual, which guides contractors in obtaining access to classified data.

Carlen Capenos, director of DISA’s Office of Small Business Programs, said most agencies will require firms to accomplish a FCL to propose on task orders, even if they have already won a contract without one.

“Every contracting officer makes the determination of what will be required for a particular contract,” Capenos noted.

DISA administered the informational event at its headquarters in Fort George G. Meade. Md.