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Mike Sears Joins TCOM as Director of Business Development
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Mike Sears Joins TCOM as Director of Business Development

Mike Sears has joined TCOM as the company’s director of business development.

In this new role, Sears will leverage his 40 years of aviation experience, including 25 years of service in the U.S. Marine Corps, to support the growth of TCOM’s international aerospace and defense business, the Washington, D.C.-based company announced Wednesday. 

Ron Bendlin, president and CEO of TCOM, said, “The experience Mike will bring to our dynamic technology roadmap is invaluable as we look to the future of our expanding capabilities. His knowledge, gained from supporting military and civilian missions, will guide us in defining our strategies to bring our innovations to market.”

Mike Sears’ Aviation Career

During Sears’ 25-year Marine Corps career, he served as an aviation supply operations officer and historian for the service branch. Following his Marine Corps tenure, he was the director of international programs at the Naval Air Systems Command, or NAVAIR. Sears also served as NAVAIR’s assistant program executive officer of unmanned aviation and strike weapons for global programs.

Prior to joining the TCOM leadership team, he served as the director of international business development at Honeywell Corporation.

Sears’ previous roles have given him knowledge of budget management, defense business development, global sales and international relations efforts.

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David Cattler on DCSA’s Adoption of Agile Methodologies
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David Cattler on DCSA’s Adoption of Agile Methodologies

David Cattler, director of the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency, said DCSA is advancing the adoption of Scaled Agile Framework, or SAFe, methodologies for software development to help ensure quality and timely delivery of platforms, DCSA reported Monday 

“While this method applies most directly to software development, we’re also embracing it across the agency as a whole,” Cattler said during DCSA’s second annual Acquisition Workforce Symposium held in November. 

“The traditional, hierarchical, waterfall methods we’ve used in the past no longer meet the demand for swift value delivery and adaptation to change,” he added.

He noted that the agency’s personnel security, industrial security and training functions could benefit from an Agile approach and stressed the organization’s commitment to developing an Agile mindset at every level.

According to Cattler, 264 agency employees had undergone agile training and 178 had passed the certification exam as of November.

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Army Working on Precision Strike Missile Increment 5
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Army Working on Precision Strike Missile Increment 5

Brig. Gen. Rory Crooks, director of the Long-Range Precision Fires Cross Functional Team at U.S. Army Futures Command, said the military branch is working on a fifth increment of the Precision Strike Missile system, dubbed PrSM, that could strike targets beyond 1,000 kilometers, Breaking Defense reported Tuesday.

Crooks said the service intends to design a weapon system that could be launched from an autonomous vehicle.

“We’re in the science and technology phase of something that we’ll maybe, eventually call Increment 5,” the brigadier general said at an event Tuesday. “You might be able to employ something that’s actually longer … and you might be able to achieve ranges that, right now, don’t seem realistic.”

According to the report, the service is deploying the initial batch of PrSM Increment 1 rounds it received from Lockheed Martin in 2023.

The PrSM Increment 1 Early Operational Capability missiles could hit targets at least 500 km away.

What Is PrSM?

PrSM is the Army’s next-generation missile designed to provide the warfighter with a long-range precision fire capability to neutralize targets at ranges greater than 400 kilometers. The weapon system comes with an open systems architecture and can be launched from M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems and M270A2 Multiple Launch Rocket Systems.

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VA Submits Plan to Automate Risk Management Measures by 2026
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VA Submits Plan to Automate Risk Management Measures by 2026

The Department of Veterans Affairs has submitted to the General Services Administration a plan to translate its text-based documentation into Open Security Assessment Language format.

The Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program-compliant OSCAL format system security plan is designed to meet the White House directive for all federal agencies to automate their risk management measures by July 2026, the VA said Wednesday. With the early submission, the VA gained a headstart in the preparation to adopt OSCAL.

‘Great Milestone’ for Security Automation

Michaela Iorga, the OSCAL program director at the National Institute of Standards and Technology, described the VA’s action as a “great milestone” for the federal government’s security automation program, noting that the agency should be lauded for streamlining its risk management process.

“The outcome of the hard work and dedication of the VA team is marking the beginning of a new era in cybersecurity for the federal government,” Iorga said.

OSCAL Benefits and VA’s System Expansion Plans

OSCAL is a standardization framework that supports full automation, enabling agencies to complete the risk management process in just one day. The system allows enterprises to simplify the management of security controls, assessments and authorization for information systems. It also supports integration with security tools for continuous monitoring of a system’s risk posture.

To further take advantage of OSCAL, VA plans to implement the system across the enterprise. The agency will collaborate with internal developers to mature its existing risk and compliance tools, conduct pilots to better understand other federal agencies’ OSCAL deployments and work with FedRAMP to recommend improvements.

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DOD-NTIA Calls for Shared-Use Framework for Lower 37 GHz Band
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DOD-NTIA Calls for Shared-Use Framework for Lower 37 GHz Band

A government report has recommended the establishment of a framework to manage and guide the equal sharing of the lower 37 GHz band for both commercial and defense use. The National Telecommunications and Information Administration and the Department of Defense said Tuesday in a joint press release that the recommendation was a result of its study conducted to comply with the requirements under the National Spectrum Strategy. 

Significance of the 37 GHz Band

The spectrum has for years been a cause of contention across industry and government. The 37.0 to 37.6 GHz presents an opportunity for commercial companies to enable the delivery of high-speed, low-latency 5G services for data-intensive applications. However, the DOD also wants to use the frequency to meet mission requirements. 

There are additional concerns over maintaining the security of the government and military sites using the spectrum. NASA’s receiving Earth station is in the 37 to 38.6 GHz band. The NTIA also revealed that are 15 military and two National Science Foundation sites in the 37 GHz band. 

Spectrum Sharing Possible

The study, conducted over 10 months, provides a two-phase path toward coordination in the spectrum. 

The first phase will determine whether there is an overlap between a proposed and existing site. If there is no overlap, operations may proceed. 

The second phase addresses overlap and would require operators to negotiate and coordinate operations. In case of dispute, the NTIA and the Federal Communications Commission will step in to resolve the issue. 

In addition, the agencies want to set up protections for operations in the 36 to 37 GHz band. 

The study includes public comments collected from a request for information the FCC issued in August.

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HHS OIG: Organ Transplant IT System Needs Tighter Cybersecurity
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HHS OIG: Organ Transplant IT System Needs Tighter Cybersecurity

The Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of the Inspector General has recommended cybersecurity improvements on the IT system of the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network, or OPTN, under the department’s Health Resources and Services Administration. 

Simulated cyberattacks on the system revealed 22 vulnerabilities on 16 OPTN cybersecurity controls mostly involving network monitoring, according to an OIG report issued on Monday.

The report noted that OPTN’s IT system — which houses its confidential data on organ donors, transplant candidates and recipients, as well as operation outcomes — could be compromised in a cyberattack with moderate sophistication. It added that the system’s cybersecurity was only able to withstand certain cyberattack simulations, such as phishing.

System Contractor Remedies

To address the identified vulnerabilities, the OIG recommended four remedies, with which HRSA has concurred. The recommendations include requiring the OPTN IT system contractor to provide and certify remedies for the system’s vulnerabilities that the OIG audit discovered. Some of the weaknesses uncovered were in the identity access management, source code and administrator credentials. 

In September, HHS announced an initial batch of four OPTN contractors composed of Arbor Research Collaborative for Health, General Dynamic Information Technology, Maximus Federal, Deloitte and Guidehouse Digital. Leidos secured in November a spot on the multiple-award OPTN contract, which has a one-year base period and four one-year options for a potential total value of $235 million.

HHS OIG: Organ Transplant IT System Needs Tighter Cybersecurity

Join the Potomac Officers Club’s 2024 Healthcare Summit on Dec. 11. This key event will explore the transformative trends and innovations shaping the future of the U.S. healthcare sector. Register here.

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Senate Bill to Authorize $2.7B for Federal Quantum R&D
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Senate Bill to Authorize $2.7B for Federal Quantum R&D

Four senators have introduced a bill that would authorize $2.7 billion in federal funding through fiscal year 2029 to advance quantum research and development efforts at federal science agencies, including the National Institute of Standards and Technology, National Science Foundation and NASA.

“The National Quantum Initiative Reauthorization Act strengthens America’s competitive edge through critical R&D investments,” Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., said in a statement published Tuesday.

“By fostering public-private collaboration, we will accelerate quantum innovation, create high-skilled jobs, and pioneer discoveries that benefit generations to come,” added Cantwell, chair of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee.

Cantwell introduced the measure with Sens. Todd Young, R-Ind., Dick Durbin, D-Ill., and Steve Daines, R-Mont.

What Would the Bill Do?

The proposed measure would shift the National Quantum Initiative’s focus from basic research to the development of practical quantum applications and establish up to three NIST quantum centers to pursue research in quantum sensing, engineering and measurement.

The legislation would authorize NASA quantum R&D activities, including quantum satellite communications and quantum sensing research efforts, and establish prize challenges to speed up the development of quantum algorithms and applications through public-private collaboration.

Under the National Quantum Initiative Reauthorization Act, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy would be required to create an international quantum cooperation strategy to coordinate R&D activities with U.S. allies.

The bill would add the State Department, Small Business Administration and the National Institutes of Health to the National Quantum Initiative to broaden interagency collaboration and expertise, direct the secretary of Commerce to submit a plan to strengthen quantum supply chain resilience and require the Government Accountability Office to conduct a study on reducing red tape and paperwork burden related to academic and industry participation in National Quantum Initiative activities and centers. 

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TMF Funds Modernization of 2 Critical Federal Agencies
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TMF Funds Modernization of 2 Critical Federal Agencies

The Technology Modernization Fund has invested a total of $19.7 million in the modernization of two federal agencies to enhance their services.

The U.S. General Services Administration said Tuesday the TMF will award $18.3 million to the Office of Personnel Management, or OPM, while the Department of Justice’s Executive Office for Immigration Review, or EOIR, will receive $1.34 million.

Office of Personnel Management Modernization

OPM is a government agency in charge of human resources for the federal government. It handles the retirement benefits of millions of federal employees, retirees and their families. The investment intends to modernize the agency’s outdated retirement system.

The current system utilizes old software that incurs high maintenance costs and is vulnerable to cyberattacks and other threats. Through the investment, OPM will migrate from its legacy systems to a modern infrastructure. This development is intended to reduce maintenance costs and boost the agency’s customer experience.

Enhancing the Executive Office for Immigration Review

EOIR is an agency under the DOJ that oversees the nation’s immigration court system. The TMF investment aims to boost immigration case processing by modernizing the agency’s legacy case management system, which still utilizes manual processes for document intake, address changes and other critical tasks.

The agency will enhance parts of its current case management system and backend databases to enable document intake automation and an address change system integration to allow information-sharing between Department of Homeland Security agencies. 

Federal Chief Information Officer Clare Martorana, TMF Board chair and 2022 Wash100 Award winner, said, “These investments will be transformative for the public, as well as the federal workforce, enabling them to work smarter and deliver greater impact with taxpayer dollars.”

Robin Carnahan, General Services Administration administrator, stated, “TMF investments are helping agencies adopt modern, secure systems that reduce costs while delivering the essential services people need.”

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Navy Designates Service Desk & Cloud Offerings as Enterprise IT
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Navy Designates Service Desk & Cloud Offerings as Enterprise IT

The assistant secretary of the Navy for research, development and acquisition and the Department of the Navy chief information officer have designated Naval Enterprise Service Desk, or NESD, as the naval enterprise IT service for service desk capabilities and support, and designated COSMOS as the naval enterprise IT service for Amazon Web Services GovCloud for DON research, development, test and evaluation missions that require acquisition and consumption of cloud services.

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NESD & COSMOS

Managed by the Program Executive Office for Digital and Enterprise Services, NESD is a centralized support center powered by artificial intelligence and machine learning. For its part, COSMOS is an AWS Impact Level 4/5 unclassified GovCloud environment that enables users to self-onboard, build and secure non-production workloads. Managed by the Naval Information Warfare Center Pacific Service Center, COSMOS adheres to a zero trust security model.

Enterprise IT Services

NESD and COSMOS are two of four enterprise IT services designated by DON CIO Jane Rathbun. Such services or service offerings are mature technologies that can be paired with appropriate use cases.

“Enterprise information technology services are a huge force multiplier: these services allow our entire enterprise the ability to do more for less with greater security, quality and speed,” Rathbun, a 2024 Wash100 awardee, said.

The designations of NESD and COSMOS are part of the DON’s overall efforts to transition from isolated, duplicative IT functions toward enterprise IT capabilities.

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Cyber Guide Outlines Telecom Deterrence Against China-Linked Hackers
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Cyber Guide Outlines Telecom Deterrence Against China-Linked Hackers

The National Security Agency, the FBI and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency have collaborated with their counterparts in Australia, Canada and New Zealand in developing a telecommunication industry cybersecurity guidance to deter China-linked malicious actors. 

The defensive measures in the nine-page cybersecurity information sheet call for stronger system visibility through a detailed understanding of network traffic, data flow and user activity, NSA said Tuesday. 

The guidance, titled “Enhanced Visibility and Hardening Guidance for Communications Infrastructure,” may also be useful to organizations using enterprise equipment on-premise, the agency added.

Proactive Cyber Defense Approaches 

Dave Luber, NSA cybersecurity director, pointed out that vigilance is crucial in network defense.  “Always have eyes on your systems and patch and address known vulnerabilities before they become targets,” he stressed.

To enhance visibility for systems at network perimeters, the guidance suggests a log for all configuration and connection changes, along with alerts on any unexpected activity. The guide also recommends several best practices to tighten telecom companies’ cybersecurity, through such measures as securing password use and storage, timely patching and upgrading of devices and closing all unused, unverified or unencrypted protocols.  

Specific hardening approaches were recommended to disable Cisco operating systems that were previously targets of China-affiliated hackers.

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