/
State Department Issues Recommendations for U.S. Cyber Resilience
Published on
State Department Issues Recommendations for U.S. Cyber Resilience


State Department Issues Recommendations for U.S. Cyber ResilienceThe State Department has introduced objectives and international engagement recommendations for President Donald Trump to launch efforts in protecting the cyber interests of the U.S.

State Secretary Mike Pompeo said Thursday the objectives reflect the federal government’s initiatives in encouraging foreign partners to address virtual threats to modernize cybersecurity approaches in the U.S.

The State Department’s recommendations for U.S. cyber resilience include:

  • Increasing international stability and reduce potential risks in the use of cyberspace.
  • Identifying and countering malicious cyber actors and respond and recover from their actions.
  • Upholding a virtual space where human rights are protected and freely exercised and cross-border data flows are preserved.
  • Maintaining the role of non-governmental stakeholders in how cyberspace is governed.
  • Introducing an international regulatory environment that supports innovation and respects the global nature of cyberspace.

The effort falls under the Executive Order on Strengthening the Cybersecurity of Federal Networks and Critical Infrastructure, which was issued in May 11, 2017.

/
Brig. Gen. Alice Trevino Takes Over as Air Force Installation Contracting Agency Commander
Published on
Brig. Gen. Alice Trevino Takes Over as Air Force Installation Contracting Agency Commander

Brig. Gen. Alice Trevino Takes Over as Air Force Installation Contracting Agency CommanderBrig. Gen. Alice Trevino, the principal military assistant to the deputy secretary of the Defense Department, assumed command of the U.S. Air Force Installation Contracting Agency at the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base on May 23.

Maj. Gen. Bradley Spacy, Air Force Installation and Mission Support Center commander, presided over the change of command ceremony to officially appoint Trevino and replace Brig. Gen Cameron Holt, who was named deputy assistant secretary for acquisition of the U.S. Air Force, the service branch said Friday.

Trevino was also designated as head of the Joint Theater Support Contracting Command at the time of activation.

Her experience in command roles includes the Defense Contract Management Agency-Western Region, contracting squadrons of base and specialized major command levels and group and wing level join units.

She served as contracting deputy director for the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center in her first tour at Wright-Patterson AFB.

Her military career includes service for major defense acquisition programs as a warranted procuring contracting officer and the U.S. Transportation Command as a joint qualified officer.

She supported operations for combat, humanitarian aid and peacekeeping/enforcement on her deployments to Croatia, Turkey, Oman, Kuwait and to Afghanistan, where she also served as a senior contracting official.

In her new role, Trevino will manage the $9.1 billion annual obligations and direct the strategic sourcing efforts for the mission and enterprise-wide installation of the service branch.

/
AIA Offers Recommendations for State Dept’s Action Plan for Conventional Arms Transfer Policy Implementation
Published on
AIA Offers Recommendations for State Dept’s Action Plan for Conventional Arms Transfer Policy Implementation


AIA Offers Recommendations for State Dept’s Action Plan for Conventional Arms Transfer Policy ImplementationThe Aerospace Industries Association has called on the State Department to develop and implement a plan to speed up transactions that aim to help the country meet its security cooperation priorities.

AIA wrote a Tuesday letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo saying it made the recommendation in response to a call for feedback on the proposed action plan for the implementation of a presidential memorandum issued in April.

The presidential memo seeks to create a new policy on conventional arms transfers in support of the country’s national security and economic interests.

AIA recommends the establishment of “senior-level oversight mechanisms” to advance accountability for the assessment and approval of defense exports.

The association also offered specific recommendations such as the development of a financing process for defense exports; introduction of contracting reforms to the foreign military sales process; and creation of a program licensing framework to streamline defense trade with allies and partners.

Eric Fanning, AIA president and CEO, signed the letter with Thomas Kennedy, Raytheon chairman and CEO and AIA chairman; and William Brown, Harris chairman, president and CEO and vice chairman of AIA.

/
Adm. Karl Schultz Assumes Coast Guard Leadership
Published on
Adm. Karl Schultz Assumes Coast Guard Leadership


Adm. Karl Schultz Assumes Coast Guard Leadership
Karl Schultz

Adm. Karl Schultz officially succeeded Adm. Paul Zukunft as commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard during a ceremony that took place Friday at USCG’s headquarters in Washington, DoD News reported Friday.

President Donald Trump attended the change-of-command ceremony and thanked Zukunft for his military service over the past 45 years.

Schultz, former USCG Atlantic area commander, was nominated to the position in March.

He has collaborated with the DoD and the Department of Homeland Security during his more than 35-year career at the Coast Guard.

/
NASA to Launch 5th Solar Terrestrial Probe Mission in 2024; Dennis Andrucyk Comments
Published on
NASA to Launch 5th Solar Terrestrial Probe Mission in 2024; Dennis Andrucyk Comments


NASA to Launch 5th Solar Terrestrial Probe Mission in 2024; Dennis Andrucyk CommentsNASA will launch a spacecraft towards the Sun in 2024 to collect and analyze solar wind particles that pass through the outer boundary of the solar system.

The space agency said Saturday the Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe mission will also guide researchers in understanding further how cosmic rays are generated in the heliosphere.

The IMAP satellite will carry 10 science instruments from international and local research entities.

Dennis Andrucyk, deputy associate administrator for the Science Mission Directorate of NASA, stated that IMAP will provide more knowledge on how the heliosphere or “cosmic filter” works.

“The implications of this research could reach well beyond the consideration of Earthly impacts as we look to send humans into deep space,” he said.

IMAP will be the fifth mission under NASA’s Solar Terrestrial Probes program.

/
Report: US Military Eyes THAAD Missile Defense System Deployment in Germany
Published on
Report: US Military Eyes THAAD Missile Defense System Deployment in Germany


Report: US Military Eyes THAAD Missile Defense System Deployment in GermanyThe U.S. military has conducted preliminary talks about the potential deployment of a missile defense system in Germany to strengthen defenses in Europe amid threats posed by Iran’s ballistic missile development efforts, Reuters reported Friday.

Riki Ellison, head of the Missile Defense Advocacy Alliance, said the U.S. European Command has been proposing for years the plan to field the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system in Europe but the U.S. government’s decision to exit the 2015 nuclear agreement with Iran has given weight to the matter.

“There are currently no plans to station THAAD systems in Germany,” said Eric Pahon, a spokesman for the Defense Department.

“We do not discuss potential future military planning, as we would not want to signal our intent to potential adversaries,” Pahon added.

The report said the potential deployment of THAAD in Germany may be included in DoD’s missile defense review that is expected to be issued early this month.

Lockheed Martin-built THAAD has a Raytheon-made radar, AN/TPY-2, and works to counter short- and intermediate-range ballistic missiles.

/
DISA Launches Electronic App for Federal Background Checks; Raju Shah Comments
Published on
DISA Launches Electronic App for Federal Background Checks; Raju Shah Comments


DISA Launches Electronic App for Federal Background Checks; Raju Shah CommentsThe Defense Information Systems Agency has introduced an electronic application designed to help federal security clearance applicants submit applications for background investigations.

DISA said Friday the National Background Investigation Services’ program office implemented eApp, which is meant to replace the current Electronic Questionnaires for Investigations Processing system.

Raju Shah, program manager of NBIS, said the organization aims to gather feedback from an upcoming usability study of  1,000 eApp users at the U.S. Army in an effort to refine the tool.

Shah added that NBIS plans to commence the app’s public rollout by the fourth quarter of the current fiscal year.

The tool is designed to help operators collect and assess investigation data from users, as well as help re-applicants access information from their previous applications.

Congress directed DISA in 2016 to lead the Defense Contract Management Agency, Office of Personnel Management and other Defense Department components in the development, test, operation, maintenance and security of federal background checks.

/
Rear Adm. Douglas Fears Named Trump’s Homeland Security Adviser
Published on
Rear Adm. Douglas Fears Named Trump’s Homeland Security Adviser


Rear Adm. Douglas Fears Named Trump’s Homeland Security Adviser
Douglas Fears

Coast Guard Rear Adm. Douglas Fears, formerly senior director for resilience policy at the National Security Council, has been named homeland security and counterterrorism adviser and deputy assistant to President Donald Trump.

“Fears brings more than three decades of experience across a range of vital homeland security areas including counterterrorism, cybersecurity and disaster response to the NSC,” National Security Adviser John Bolton said in a statement published Friday.

Bolton added that Fears will also serve as his point person on matters related to the NSC’s cybersecurity directorate and help coordinate disaster response interagency efforts.

Fears previously served as special assistant to the president and chief of staff to the head of the Coast Guard Atlantic Area Command.

He will succeed Tom Bossert, who resigned as homeland security adviser in April.

/
James Mattis: North Korea Must Adopt Denuclearization Measures for Sanction Relief
Published on
James Mattis: North Korea Must Adopt Denuclearization Measures for Sanction Relief


James Mattis: North Korea Must Adopt Denuclearization Measures for Sanction Relief
James Mattis

Defense Secretary James Mattis has said at the 2018 Shangri-La Dialogue summit that North Korea needs to implement and demonstrate denuclearization efforts for the country to be relieved from UN sanctions, CNN reported Sunday.

Mattis, a 2018 Wash100 awardee, noted that cooperation between South Korea, Japan and the U.S. is essential in convincing Pyongyang to halt its nuclear plans.

“When we consider the unity of purpose among our three democracies… we see that our security cooperation is needed more than ever, providing a stabilizing effect in support of our interests for peace, deterrence and stability,” he added.

President Donald Trump recently confirmed that he would with North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un on June 12 and both leaders are expected to tackle the matter at their meeting.

Regional allies of the U.S. expressed their concerns over Trump potentially arranging a deal with Kim that would see North Korea surrender its long-range missiles for sanctions relief but keep its short-range weapons, according to the report.

/
DHS S&T Prioritizes 5 Research Areas Supporting New Cybersecurity Strategy
Published on
DHS S&T Prioritizes 5 Research Areas Supporting New Cybersecurity Strategy


DHS S&T Prioritizes 5 Research Areas Supporting New Cybersecurity StrategyThe Department of Homeland Security‘s Science and Technology Directorate is initiating research efforts to support a new cybersecurity strategy.

These efforts aim to bolster the department’s cyber detection and defense capacities, and encompass the areas of risk identification, vulnerability reduction, threat reduction, consequence mitigation and enabling of cybersecurity outcomes, DHS said Thursday.

In support of the risk identification research area, S&T’s Application of Network Measurement Science seeks to construct technologies that would help identify, classify, report, predict, attribute and address events disruptive to the internet.

Under the vulnerability reduction area, the directorate is pursuing the Critical Infrastructure Design and Adaptive Resilient Systems project that aims to develop analytical tools and framework for facilitating cross-sector cybersecurity risk assessments.

For the area focusing on threat reduction, S&T has initiated the Anonymous Networks and Currencies and Cyber Forensics projects that aim to build platforms to support law enforcement entities in performing cyber and network investigations.

Supporting consequence mitigation, S&T’s Cyber Physical System Security effort works to include security considerations into the structure of cyber physical systems, for instance IoT.

Lastly, the Transition to Practice Program seeks to disseminate government-funded cybersecurity applications across the market, supporting the goal to enable cybersecurity outcomes.

These projects are only a few among the department’s many cybersecurity efforts.

The full list of projects can be found here.

1 … 2,011 2,012 2,013 2,014 2,015 … 2,593