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Report: OPM Vet David Vargas Named GSA Service Management Office Director
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Report: OPM Vet David Vargas Named GSA Service Management Office Director


Report: OPM Vet David Vargas Named GSA Service Management Office Director
David Vargas

David Vargas, formerly director of the human resources line of business at the Office of Personnel Management, has joined the General Services Administration as head of the new service management office, Federal News Radio reported Monday.

Vargas “will oversee the launch of our new service management office, which is being established to support our vision of expanding our mission support service offerings to other federal agencies,” GSA Administrator Emily Murphy, a 2018 Wash100 awardee, said in an email obtained by the station.

His appointment comes as OPM works to move into GSA its fee-for-service unit – HR Solutions — that works to help agencies address their HR requirements through the delivery of products and services.

His tenure at OPM included such roles as acting chief information officer and interim deputy CIO.

Prior to OPM, Vargas spent more than two decades at the Department of Housing and Urban Development, where he served as deputy assistant secretary for real estate assessment center, director of financial assessments for REAC and senior adviser to the agency’s assistant secretary.

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DoD Prohibits Department Personnel From Using Geolocation Tools in Operational Areas
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DoD Prohibits Department Personnel From Using Geolocation Tools in Operational Areas


DoD Prohibits Department Personnel From Using Geolocation Tools in Operational AreasDeputy Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan recently issued a memo prohibiting Defense Department personnel in operational areas from using the geolocation features of their electronic devices.

Activating geolocation functions of devices such as smartphones and fitness trackers could result in “unintended security consequences” by divulging “personal information, locations, routines and numbers of DoD personnel,” Shanahan said in the memo dated Aug. 3.

The prohibition covers personal devices as well as those provided by the government.

The memo does, however, authorize field commanders to permit the use of geolocation capabilities provided that an operational security risk assessment is first carried out and, in the case of government-issued equipment, geolocation features are called for by the ongoing mission.

Meanwhile, the memo instructs DoD component heads, such as defense agency directors, to evaluate the risk posed by geolocation technology to their facilities or locations.

Component heads must subsequently provide staff with the appropriate operational security training and enforce restrictions in a consistent and rational manner.

Report: DHS Appoints Bob Kolasky to Head National Risk Management Center
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Report: DHS Appoints Bob Kolasky to Head National Risk Management Center

 

Report: DHS Appoints Bob Kolasky to Head National Risk Management Center
Bob Kolasky

Bob Kolasky, acting assistant secretary for infrastructure protection at the Department of Homeland Security’s National Protection and Programs Directorate, has been named director of the National Risk Management Center, MeriTalk reported Monday.

NPPD Undersecretary Chris Krebs said Kolasky will form a planning team and start his transition to new responsibilities as NMRC head.

Kolasky previously served as DHS’ deputy assistant secretary and director of strategy and policy at DHS’ Office of Infrastructure Protection.

His private-sector career includes positions at Booz Allen Hamilton, Intel and A2s2 Digital Projects.

Krebs announced Kolasky’s appointment in a memo that also touched on the center’s workforce and joint operations with other DHS cyber and critical infrastructure offices.

NRMC will house collaborative, sector-specific and cross-sector risk management efforts to further protect the American infrastructure.

The center also looks to adopt the monitoring functions of the National Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Center and National Infrastructure Coordinating Center for cyber and physical threats.

 

STRATCOM Software Testing System Seen to Meet Initial Operational Capability in October
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STRATCOM Software Testing System Seen to Meet Initial Operational Capability in October


STRATCOM Software Testing System Seen to Meet Initial Operational Capability in October

A system developed to assess the U.S. Strategic Command’s new software using real-world, classified data will possibly meet initial operational capability in October 2018.

The Wright-Patterson Air Force Base said Sunday the Integrated Strategic Planning and Analysis Network is in its fourth increment with a budget baseline of $150 million.

ISPAN was developed under the modernization effort of the U.S. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center Battle Management Directorate’s command and control division for STRATCOM in 2012.

Bruce Van Zuiden, ISPAN’s chief of infrastructure management and STRATCOM’s program manager, stated that defects from discovering bugs late in the software development process could reach $10,000 to fix.

“Finding [the bugs] early saves us that money, but it also helps the contractors build us better code from the get-go,” he added.

When the ISPAN program office used the testing system, it only discovered one issue with a non-compliant interface in three years.

Ray Clark, program management support contractor, also noted that the assessment program has helped contractors develop better products.

Jason Klitenic Joins ODNI as General Counsel
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Jason Klitenic Joins ODNI as General Counsel


Jason Klitenic Joins ODNI as General CounselJason Klitenic, former deputy general counsel at the Department of Homeland Security, has been named general counsel at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.

The office said Monday DNI Dan Coats swore in Klitenic following the latter’s Senate confirmation last week.

Klitenic previously served as a deputy associate attorney general at the Justice Department and collaborated with national security stakeholders during his legal career, which includes work at law firms McKenna Long & Aldridge and Holland & Knight.

He handled counterterrorism, government procurement, information sharing, government compliance and ethics cases while in private practice.

He also served as vice chair of the American Bar Association’s homeland security committee.

SEC Seeks Cloud-Based System to Support Electronic Discovery Program
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SEC Seeks Cloud-Based System to Support Electronic Discovery Program


SEC Seeks Cloud-Based System to Support Electronic Discovery ProgramThe Securities and Exchange Commission is currently seeking a cloud-based data analysis and visualization system to support its pilot electronic-discovery program, according to a notice posted Thursday on the Federal Business Opportunities website.

Services outlined in the small business set-aside solicitation include “design, configuration, testing, electronic document discovery processing, data and document loading, system administration, creation of electronic productions, pilot system deployment, training, and operational support of the SEC electronic Discovery 3 application.”

The contractor is additionally required to integrate the analytical and review functions of the eD3 application, which must be based on a current, commercially released software and hosted on Amazon Web Services “to facilitate more rapid and secure data transfer.”

SEC noted that the project was launched to evaluate the feasibility of electronic discovery software in a cloud-based environment compared to an on-premises platform.

Vendors have until Aug. 13 to submit their proposals.

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GAO’s Dave Powner: Federal Govt Should Strengthen CIO Authorities
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GAO’s Dave Powner: Federal Govt Should Strengthen CIO Authorities


GAO’s Dave Powner: Federal Govt Should Strengthen CIO Authorities
Dave Powner

Dave Powner, the departing information technology director at the Government Accountability Office, told Nextgov in an interview published Friday that he thinks the government should continue to establish “strong governance” over IT acquisitions and strengthen the authorities of agency chief information officers.

“I think the big thing that you need to focus on is start with the people part of it: the CIO authorities,” he said.

“Let’s elevate everyone appropriately. We’ve got nine agencies that still need to do that.”

Powner said agencies should update legacy applications and help CIOs further build up relationships with chief financial officers and chief acquisition officers in order for them to “function more as a unified team.”

He discussed the potential role of the Technology Business Management initiative in strengthening relationships between CIOs and CFOs and the need to address gaps in the IT workforce.

He shared his views on the Technology Modernization Fund and mentioned his role in some initiatives that aim to comply with the Federal Information Technology Acquisition Reform Act and those include the elevation of the CIO role, data center consolidation and implementation of the IT dashboard to increase transparency.

Powner, who is set to join Mitre, noted that Carol Harris and Nick Marinos will respectively take over his responsibilities over FITARA and census efforts at GAO.

Navy Authorizes STRATCOM to Operate Narrowband Satcom Network; Carl Chebi Comments
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Navy Authorizes STRATCOM to Operate Narrowband Satcom Network; Carl Chebi Comments


Navy Authorizes STRATCOM to Operate Narrowband Satcom Network; Carl Chebi CommentsThe U.S. Navy has authorized the U.S. Strategic Command to deploy and leverage the service’s narrowband satellite communication system for expanded operational use starting late 2018.

Rear Adm. Carl Chebi, program executive officer for command, control, communications, computers and intelligence, said in a statement published Thursday that the authorization for the Mobile User Objective System will help further provide U.S. forces with upgraded communications capabilities.

The Navy’s MUOS network consists of five satellites, the first of which was launched to space in 2012.

The satcom constellation carries the Wideband Code Division Multiple Access waveform payload, which is designed to help soldiers communicate beyond-line-of-sight with more capability compared to legacy systems.

Early-adopter commands started using MUOS WCDMA during its combatant command restricted operations phase in July 2016.

The U.S. Marine Corps will also deploy MUOS in the fourth quarter of 2018, with initial operational capability scheduled in early 2019.

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Report: Federal Agencies Aim to Transform Operations With Blockchain Tech
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Report: Federal Agencies Aim to Transform Operations With Blockchain Tech


Report: Federal Agencies Aim to Transform Operations With Blockchain TechThe U.S. government has begun to adopt the blockchain technology in an effort to transform its operations and service delivery processes as well as secure public data, Bloomberg Government reported Friday.

Some of the federal agencies that have started to explore the use of the distributed ledger technology include the Defense Department, General Services Administration, Office of Personnel Management and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

DoD has initiated blockchain experiments to facilitate oversight of its supply chain of 3D-printed platforms, while GSA held in July 2017 a forum in which attendees from at least 60 agencies and departments proposed approximately 80 use cases for blockchain.

The report noted that OPM issued a solicitation in June for its Employee Digital Record program that seeks to leverage blockchain tech to automate human resources operations.

“What this shows is not just that agencies are thinking about how to do what they’re already doing cheaper and more securely, it shows they’re thinking about how to use blockchain in ways that fundamentally transform the institution of government,” BGOV’s Kevin Brancato said Wednesday at a U.S. Chamber of Commerce-hosted blockchain summit.

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Sen. Ron Wyden Asks DHS for Update on Anti-Email Spoofing Measure Implementation
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Sen. Ron Wyden Asks DHS for Update on Anti-Email Spoofing Measure Implementation


Sen. Ron Wyden Asks DHS for Update on Anti-Email Spoofing Measure Implementation
Ron Wyden

Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., has asked the Department of Homeland Security to provide an update on the implementation of a cybersecurity measure that would prevent attackers from impersonating federal agencies through email.

Wyden, in an Aug. 2 letter addressed to DHS National Protection and Program Directorate Undersecretary Christopher Krebs, inquired about agencies that have not yet enabled the automatic sending of Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting and Conformance reports to Homeland Security.

DMARC is a cybersecurity technology that helps verify the authenticity of an email, and features reporting and blocking mechanisms for messages that fail the authentication process.

Binding Operational Directive 18-01, which the DHS issued in October last year following Wyden’s recommendation, gave federal agencies up to January 14 this year to implement the automatic reporting system.

Wyden pointed out, however, that reporting “is only the first step” and wanted to know what measures the DHS has taken to collect and analyze the data.

The senator also asked whether the DHS has already produced actionable cyber intelligence based on the reports.

The DHS has until the end of the month to reply.

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