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Report: Russia Eyes Cloud-Based Military Data Storage
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Report: Russia Eyes Cloud-Based Military Data Storage


Report: Russia Eyes Cloud-Based Military Data StorageRussia’s military is developing a cloud-based infrastructure designed to operate with data centers and store confidential information, Defense One reported Friday.

The report said the project is part of the country’s ongoing efforts to increase its armed forces’ capacity to perform missions even when internet connection is lost, damaged or hacked.

Sam Bendett, an associate research analyst at the Center for Naval Analyses’ international affairs group, told Defense One in an interview that Moscow invests in domestically produced information technology components to guard data from “potential Western interference.”

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Report: China Compromised Submarine Warfare Data Stored in Navy Contractor’s Computers
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Report: China Compromised Submarine Warfare Data Stored in Navy Contractor’s Computers


Report: China Compromised Submarine Warfare Data Stored in Navy Contractor’s ComputersGovernment hackers in China have breached a U.S. Navy contractor’s computers to steal a collection of sensitive data related to the service branch’s submarines and other undersea weaponry, The Washington Post reported Friday.

U.S. officials said China’s ministry of state security that oversees the Asian country’s foreign intelligence and counterintelligence operations performed the breaches between January and February and targeted 614 gigabytes of data associated with the Sea Dragon project.

The threat actors also stole development plans for an anti-ship supersonic missile on U.S. submarines, sensor and signals data, electronic warfare library of the service’s submarine development unit and submarine radio room data stored in computers of a contractor that works for the Naval Undersea Warfare Center in Newport, R.I.

Officials noted the FBI helps the Navy as the military branch leads the investigation into the cyber incident.

The report said Defense Secretary James Mattis has asked the office of the Defense Department’s inspector general to evaluate contractor-related cyber issues and that DoD’s damage assessment management office has started to review the data breach’s impact.

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DHS S&T Updates Solicitation Portal for R&D Proposals
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DHS S&T Updates Solicitation Portal for R&D Proposals


DHS S&T Updates Solicitation Portal for R&D ProposalsThe Department of Homeland Security‘s science and technology directorate has updated an online portal used to submit and solicit industry proposals.

DHS said Thursday the modernized Long Range Broad Agency Announcement website offers information on criteria for R&D project evaluation and a list of requirements that align with the S&T Industry Guide and the department’s component priorities. 

“LRBAA is a great way for industry to understand our technology needs and the process improvements will make it easier for us to fund technology that solves pressing homeland security challenges,” said William Bryan, DHS acting undersecretary for science and technology.

The S&T directorate also moved to shorten the period for interested parties to receive a notice of interest from 60 days to 10 days.

DHS added the new process will allow proposers to demonstrate a working prototype through a video and communicate with an S&T program manager.

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House OKs Fiscal 2019 Spending Package for Military & VA, Energy, Legislative Branch
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House OKs Fiscal 2019 Spending Package for Military & VA, Energy, Legislative Branch


House OKs Fiscal 2019 Spending Package for Military & VA, Energy, Legislative BranchThe House on Friday voted 235-179 to pass a package of three appropriations bills for fiscal year 2019, The Hill reported Friday.

The House Appropriations Committee said Friday the “minibus” legislation would authorize $145.4 billion in FY 2019 discretionary funds for military construction and veterans affairs; energy and water; and legislative branch.

“These bills provide funding to rebuild our military infrastructure, support military families, improve nuclear security, support our nation’s energy and water infrastructure and assure the smooth and safe operations of the Legislative Branch,” House Appropriations Committee Chairman Rodney Frelinghuysen (R-N.J.) said in a statement.

The House military construction measure includes $921 million in additional off-budget spending.

The report said the Senate Appropriations Committee has passed the military construction and energy and water appropriations bills and is scheduled this week to mark up the legislative branch measure.

 

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Andrew Katsaros Named FTC Acting Inspector General
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Andrew Katsaros Named FTC Acting Inspector General

Andrew Katsaros Named FTC Acting Inspector GeneralAndrew Katsaros, a government audit veteran and a certified public accountant, has joined the Federal Trade Commission as acting inspector general.

He succeeds Roslyn Mazer, who stepped down as FTC IG after more than three years in the job, the commission said Friday.

Katsaros previously served as assistant IG at the Commerce Department‘s Office of Audit and Evaluation and assistant director for audit and review at the Justice Department‘s Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys.

His federal career also includes service in the Defense Department‘s Office of Inspector General and at the U.S. Agency for International Development.

He is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.

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USAF Shifts Cyber Function to Air Combat Command; Heather Wilson Comments
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USAF Shifts Cyber Function to Air Combat Command; Heather Wilson Comments


USAF Shifts Cyber Function to Air Combat Command; Heather Wilson Comments
Heather Wilson

The U.S. Air Force has transferred cyber responsibilities from the Air Force Space Command to the Air Combat Command as part of a mission realignment initiative.

ACC will now serve as the military branch’s lead command responsible for helping Air Forces manage cyber missions and operations, USAF said Thursday.

AFSPC will concentrate on efforts to help the military branch maintain space superiority and integrate space technology into multidomain operations.

“This move will drive faster decisions as we fight by realigning the cyber operations and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions under the same command,” said Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson, a 2018 Wash100 recipient.

Wilson added the National Defense Strategy calls for the U.S. military to invest in data collection and exploitation programs and the realignment will help the service branch address that objective.

Both ACC and AFSPC have coordinated over the past 21 months to realign the two commands’ functions and present ready forces.

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Report: Commerce Department, ZTE Agree to $1.4B Settlement to Pause Ban
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Report: Commerce Department, ZTE Agree to $1.4B Settlement to Pause Ban


Report: Commerce Department, ZTE Agree to $1.4B Settlement to Pause BanThe Commerce Department plans to allow ZTE to resume business with the U.S., through the payment of an additional $1 billion fine and $400 million in escrow for future infractions under revisions to a 2017 settlement agreement, Reuters reported Wednesday.

The amendment includes the replacement of the company’s whole board of directors and senior executives and a dormant 10-year denial order that can be activated for offenses within the company’s 10-year probationary period, the DOC said Thursday.

In April, the DOC imposed a seven-year ban on ZTE  for failing to comply with the 2017 agreement, which called for the dismissal of four senior employees and penalties to 35 others after the company illegally shipped products with U.S.-made components to Iran and North Korea.

Sources told Reuters that the DOC considered including in the 2017 agreement the $361 million the company has paid, which would allow the U.S. to collect up to $1.7 billion in penalties.

The new agreement also covers compliance monitoring by U.S. representatives, without prior coordination with the Chinese government, in order to verify how the company ships U.S.-built parts.

Among ZTE’s U.S-based suppliers are Acacia Communications, Broadcom, Intel, Oclaro and Qualcomm, a senior official at ZTE told the news agency.

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USMC, USAF to Conduct MQ-9 Qualification Training for Marine Operators
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USMC, USAF to Conduct MQ-9 Qualification Training for Marine Operators


USMC, USAF to Conduct MQ-9 Qualification Training for Marine OperatorsThe Marine Corps and the Air Force will partner to train the Marine Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Squadron to be qualified operators of the General Atomics-built MQ-9 Reaper, USNI News reported Thursday.

The effort intends to establish a UAV operations base in preparation for the 2020s when Marines will begin deploying UAV units from ships.

USMC is beginning to develop MUX, a future Marine Air-Ground Task Force UAV that would be deployed from amphibious ships and expeditionary sites.

The MUX will be sized similarly to the Reaper and used for missions involving command and control, electronic warfare and early warning, as well as intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance.

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Suzette Kent: Automation, Data Analysts Could Help Federal Govt Meet Data Cross-Agency Priority Goal
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Suzette Kent: Automation, Data Analysts Could Help Federal Govt Meet Data Cross-Agency Priority Goal


Suzette Kent: Automation, Data Analysts Could Help Federal Govt Meet Data Cross-Agency Priority Goal
Suzette Kent

Suzette Kent, federal chief information officer, has said federal agencies need automation tools to quickly process large amounts of data and meet the data cross-agency priority goal of the President’s Management Agenda, Federal News Radio reported Thursday.

“But using technology, and with the right discipline around data, we can process that in seconds. But it has to be structured, and we have to understand it,” Kent said Wednesday at a Data Coalition event in Washington, D.C.

Kent noted that the data CAP goal establishes benchmarks to build up cyber standards and will drive agencies to implement a security framework that is focused on data protection while ensuring data transparency and privacy.

The CAP goal also calls for agencies to hire more data analysts in addition to cyber professionals.

“We have to evolve roles for data scientists, data labelers, model builders, deep learning development, inquiry designers,” Kent said.

“As we move down this path that’s wholly data-driven, we need different types of capabilities in our workforce,” she added.

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NATO Plans to Establish Joint Force Commands in Virginia, Germany; Jens Stoltenberg Comments
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NATO Plans to Establish Joint Force Commands in Virginia, Germany; Jens Stoltenberg Comments


NATO Plans to Establish Joint Force Commands in Virginia, Germany; Jens Stoltenberg Comments
Jens Stoltenberg

NATO will move to create two joint force commands after defense ministers from the international alliance’s member states gave their approval, DoD News reported Thursday.

The alliance intends to establish a new command in Norfolk, Va., to support maritime security efforts in the Atlantic region and form another command in Ulm, Germany.

“These headquarters will be essential for Alliance reinforcements across the Atlantic and across Europe,” NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told reporters Thursday.

He said defense ministers have also agreed on a framework to integrate cybersecurity into the alliance’s missions.

NATO allies have worked to increase defense spending over the past four years and the majority of member countries have pledged to spend 2 percent of gross domestic product on military programs through 2024, according to Stoltenberg.

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