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Report: Sen. Heidi Heitkamp Seeks Independent Agency for Federal Inspectors General
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Report: Sen. Heidi Heitkamp Seeks Independent Agency for Federal Inspectors General


Report: Sen. Heidi Heitkamp Seeks Independent Agency for Federal Inspectors General
Heidi Heitkamp

Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, D-N.D., has proposed the establishment of a single agency for the federal government’s inspectors general, Federal News Radio reported.

Heitkamp said an independent IG agency would give investigative officials more freedom to perform agency audits and should function as an extension of the Government Accountability Office and Congress.

Her proposal comes as U.S. lawmakers review the White House’s government overhaul plans and reflects their frustration over a lack of permanent IGs at agencies.

The Project on Government Oversight has found that 13 of the 73 federal agencies do not have a confirmed IG, with more than 10 of said agencies lacking a permanent watchdog for over a year.

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NGA Seeks Geospatial Image Colorization Algorithm
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NGA Seeks Geospatial Image Colorization Algorithm


NGA Seeks Geospatial Image Colorization AlgorithmThe National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency has announced a $15,000 prize competition meant to produce an algorithm for automatic image colorization.

The agency said Wednesday the contest posted on challenge.gov is intended to generate an algorithm that facilitates a 10-hour autonomous implementation of color in 10-gigapixel panchromatic images.

Christy Monaco, NGA director for the office of ventures and innovation, said the agency continuously seeks new technologies to augment GEOINT delivery and processes for the identification and acquisition of the required systems.

Linn Wisner, owner of the Rapid Image Colorization challenge, said panchromatic grayscale sensors provide black and white and high-quality Earth images compared with colored pictures from technologies such as multispectral sensors.

Color will aid in the assessment of image data, Wisner added.

Submissions for the challenge will be accepted until Sept. 9 and the transfer of participants’ intellectual property or license of algorithms is not required.

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GSA Debuts GIS-Powered Map of Federal Real Property Holdings; Emily Murphy Comments
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GSA Debuts GIS-Powered Map of Federal Real Property Holdings; Emily Murphy Comments


GSA Debuts GIS-Powered Map of Federal Real Property Holdings; Emily Murphy Comments
Emily Murphy

The General Services Administration has introduced an interactive tool for the general public to access geographical information about buildings the federal government has owned or managed since the beginning of fiscal year 2017.

GSA said Wednesday the tool is powered by a geographic information system and contains  data from the Federal Real Property Profile Management System.

The map includes search and filter functions intended to help users find government facilities by agency and determine if the property is utilized, underutilized or not utilized.

GSA Debuts GIS-Powered Map of Federal Real Property Holdings; Emily Murphy CommentsGSA Administrator Emily Murphy, a 2018 Wash100 recipient, said the agency released the tool in an effort to simplify the federal property search process for industry stakeholders and the general public.

“Enhancing the quality and usability of the federal government’s real property data will boost transparency, help better utilize government assets and make it easier to identify properties for disposal,” Murphy added.

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Report: GSA Expands Bug Bounty Program to Government Website Log-In Platform
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Report: GSA Expands Bug Bounty Program to Government Website Log-In Platform


Report: GSA Expands Bug Bounty Program to Government Website Log-In PlatformThe General Services Administration has widened the coverage of its $150 to $5,000 bug bounty program to include the login.gov platform, FedScoop reported Wednesday.

GSA’s Technology Transformation Service tapped HackerOne in May 2017 for a security risk reporting platform and to help organize an incentives program for independent vulnerabilities research patterned after the Defense Department‘s Hack the Pentagon and Hack the Army initiatives.

The U.S. Digital Service and GSA’s 18F organization co-developed the account management and authentication platform that currently supports a USDS internal system, the Customs and Border Protection‘s careers website, Outlying Area Reporting Stations and Trusted Traveler Program apps and the USAJobs portal for government employment, the publication said.

TTS also plans to add the 18F website, analytics.usa.gov and vote.gov to the bug bounty program, FedScoop noted.

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House, Senate Conferees to Discuss F-35, JSTARS in Fiscal 2019 NDAA Reconciliation
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House, Senate Conferees to Discuss F-35, JSTARS in Fiscal 2019 NDAA Reconciliation


House, Senate Conferees to Discuss F-35, JSTARS in Fiscal 2019 NDAA ReconciliationHouse and Senate conference members are expected to address F-35 fighter jet procurements, troop levels and proposed budget cuts to “fourth estate” or support agencies within the Defense Department as they begin to reconcile the two versions of the fiscal 2019 National Defense Authorization Act, Defense News reported Wednesday.

Conferees on Wednesday started closed-door negotiations on the fiscal 2019 NDAA a day after the Senate passed a measure that reaffirms support for NATO and expands the authority of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. to investigate foreign deals.

The Washington Examiner reported that conference members will need to reach a compromise on the U.S. Air Force’s plan to drop the E-8C Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System recapitalization program, establishment of a “space force” as a new service branch and penalties imposed on Chinese telecommunications firm ZTE.

Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-Texas) told the publication he expects conferees to come up with a reconciled $716 billion defense policy bill for fiscal 2019 by the end of July.

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Dana Deasy: 4 Strategic Areas in DoD’s Digital Modernization Back National Defense Strategy
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Dana Deasy: 4 Strategic Areas in DoD’s Digital Modernization Back National Defense Strategy


Dana Deasy: 4 Strategic Areas in DoD's Digital Modernization Back National Defense Strategy
Dana Deasy

Dana Deasy, chief information officer at the Defense Department, has said cyber; cloud; artificial intelligence; and command, control and communications are the four digital modernization areas that support the National Defense Strategy.

Deasy said Wednesday at a Defense Systems-hosted conference that DoD works with the U.S. Cyber Command, federal agencies and industry to counter cyber threats through cyber tools and policy implementation, the department reported Wednesday.

He also cited the need for an enterprise cloud platform to support warfighters and the formation of the joint artificial intelligence center, which he said will help DoD deliver AI capabilities to service personnel.

“When I think about cloud, and AI, and all of the advanced capabilities we want to bring to the warfighter, I think about making sure the warfighter has the right comms and the right information at the right time,” Deasy said.

“And the same goes for our mission partners,” he added.

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Dan Coats, Susan Gordon Recommend IC Officers to Implement 2025 Modernization Initiatives
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Dan Coats, Susan Gordon Recommend IC Officers to Implement 2025 Modernization Initiatives


Dan Coats, Susan Gordon Recommend IC Officers to Implement 2025 Modernization Initiatives
Dan Coats

Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats and his principal deputy director, Susan Gordon, have recommended organization heads to commence the adoption of initiatives that support the Consolidated Intelligence Guidance for the fiscal year 2020 to 2024 budget.

Coats, a two-time Wash100 recipient, and Gordon advised Intelligence Community officers in a release published Monday to define, develop and apply processes and faculties; consolidate and exchange insights, data and information; identify risk reduction and acceptance methods; and expand federal, industry and foreign partnerships.

Dan Coats, Susan Gordon Recommend IC Officers to Implement 2025 Modernization Initiatives
Susan Gordon

The creation of the IC2025 Vision and Foundational Priorities for the community’s future operations model and requirements determined the new strategic principles and organizational design, Coats and Gordon stated.

The Office of the Director of National Intelligence has embarked on a realignment effort in a bid to serve as a model for the new IC structure, the press release said.

The strategic principles for the IC2025 initiative include the delivery of distinct and relevant insights on national, economic and technological security; analysis, prediction and awareness of global and adversarial activities; and unified, agile and risk tolerant planning and operations, Coats and Gordon said.

Priorities for the IC2025 effort covers updates to data infrastructure and management, the use of machine intelligence, a comprehensive cyber approach, relations with the private sector and an expedited acquisition process, the release noted.

Coats and Gordon mentioned that they target the IC to sustain President Donald Trump‘s National Security Strategy.

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NASA Completes Ground-Based Laser Tests of ICESat-2’s Altimeter System
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NASA Completes Ground-Based Laser Tests of ICESat-2’s Altimeter System


NASA Completes Ground-Based Laser Tests of ICESat-2's Altimeter SystemNASA has completed the ground-based laser testing of the ICESat-2 satellite’s altimeter instrument at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif.

The completion of the Advanced Topographic Laser Altimeter System‘s testing sets ICESat-2 for launch on Sept. 12., the space agency said Tuesday.

Previously, Northrop Grumman integrated the ATLAS with a spacecraft bus built to serve as the instrument’s source of power, navigation and communications.

The fully constructed satellite then arrived at Vandenberg on June 12 for testing of both the spacecraft and the instrument.

United Launch Alliance is putting together the Delta II rocket that will launch the satellite out of Earth, marking the rocket’s final mission.

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NASA Eyes Additional Upper Stage Procurements to Back 2 More SLS Block 1 Launches
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NASA Eyes Additional Upper Stage Procurements to Back 2 More SLS Block 1 Launches

NASA Eyes Additional Upper Stage Procurements to Back 2 More SLS Block 1 LaunchesNASA intends to buy additional upper stages from Boeing as the agency plans to perform two more launches of the Space Launch System’s Block 1 version designed for use in Exploration Mission 1, SpaceNews reported Tuesday.

The plan to purchase additional Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stages comes as NASA seeks to launch through SLS Block 1 the crewed Orion spacecraft on EM-2 in 2021 and the Europa Clipper spacecraft on the “cargo” mission in 2022 while the mobile launch platform for the rocket’s Block 1B version is being developed.

“The first three missions will be of the Block 1 configuration, which includes the ICPS,” Chris Cianciola, deputy program manager of the SLS program at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, said Monday during a panel discussion.

Cianciola noted that the sequence of the cargo and EM-2 missions could be reversed.

“We’ll go through acquisition strategies and those kinds of discussions,” he said of the additional upper stages.

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GAO: DoD Should Assess National Security Risks Linked to Foreign Investments in U.S. Emerging Tech
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GAO: DoD Should Assess National Security Risks Linked to Foreign Investments in U.S. Emerging Tech


GAO: DoD Should Assess National Security Risks Linked to Foreign Investments in U.S. Emerging TechThe Government Accountability Office has called on the Defense Department to evaluate national security risks associated with foreign investors that have access to emerging technology platforms or in proximity to critical military sites.

GAO said in a report published Tuesday it made the recommendation after it found that the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. may not address such risks because some foreign investments would not lead to foreign control of a U.S.-based company.

DoD should also review its resources to address its increasing workload with regard to its involvement in co-leading investigations of foreign investment transactions as part of CFUIS, according to the report.

GAO said DoD co-led 99 deals between U.S. businesses and foreign acquirers in 2017, a figure that reflects a 57 percent increase in transactions co-led by the department in 2012.

The congressional watchdog recommended that DoD should update its processes and policies to help shed light on some of the national security risks facing the department.

The report showed that the Pentagon’s CFIUS Instruction does not state clearly some of the department’s processes and assessment responsibilities when it comes to determining deals that foreign investors do not voluntarily submit to CFIUS.

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