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DARPA Program Seeks Gene Modulators to Boost Human Body’s Defenses Against Biological, Chemical Threats
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DARPA Program Seeks Gene Modulators to Boost Human Body’s Defenses Against Biological, Chemical Threats


DARPA Program Seeks Gene Modulators to Boost Human Body’s Defenses Against Biological, Chemical ThreatsThe Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency has launched a four-year program that aims to develop transient and programmable gene modulators designed to temporarily boost the body’s defenses against chemical, biological and radiological threats.

The PReemptive Expression of Protective Alleles and Response Elements program “will study how to support [the human body’s] innate resistance by giving it a temporary boost, either before or after exposure, without any permanent edits to the genome,” Renee Wegrzyn, PREPARE program manager, said in a statement published Friday.

The PREPARE program will focus on influenza viral infection, gamma radiation exposure, organophosphate poisoning and opioid overdose that will serve as proofs of concept for a proposed platform designed to address national security and public health threats.

“Focusing only on programmable modulation of gene expression enables us to provide specific, robust protection against many threats at once, with an effect that carries less risk, is limited but tunable in duration, and is entirely reversible,” Wegrzyn added.

DARPA said it expects potential research teams to submit a regulatory review application with the Food and Drug Administration for their proposed medical countermeasure platforms by the end of the program.

The agency intends to discuss the program with stakeholders at a proposer’s day that will take place on June 13 in Arlington, Va.

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Jeanette Manfra: DHS Issues Federal ‘High Value’ Asset Security Directive
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Jeanette Manfra: DHS Issues Federal ‘High Value’ Asset Security Directive


Jeanette Manfra: DHS Issues Federal 'High Value' Asset Security Directive
Jeanette Manfra

The Department of Homeland Security has released a binding operational directive to increase coordinated efforts to protect federal information systems against cyber threats.

Jeanette Manfra, assistant secretary for cybersecurity and communications at DHS, wrote in a blog entry posted Friday the department will implement an integrated approach meant to address weaknesses across the government’s high-value assets as part of BOD 18-02.

The directive also calls for federal cybersecurity teams to collaborate on remediation activities and for agency senior executives to participate in enterprise risk management programs.

The department first released a directive on critical system security in 2016 and has since helped address nearly 200 high-priority vulnerabilities through HVA evaluations.

DHS also partnered with the National Institute of Standards and Technology to produce the “HVA Control Overlay” document in a move to help civilian agencies secure high impact systems.

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Senate Version of 2019 NDAA May Require U.S. Tech Companies to Reveal Foreign Software Audits
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Senate Version of 2019 NDAA May Require U.S. Tech Companies to Reveal Foreign Software Audits


Senate Version of 2019 NDAA May Require U.S. Tech Companies to Reveal Foreign Software AuditsSources say a set of rules included in the Senate version of the 2019 National Defense Authorization Act would require U.S. tech firms working with the military to divulge if their products’ source codes have been subjected to audits by adversarial governments such as Russia or China, Reuters reported.

Under the proposed rules, measures would have to be taken by the military and affected software vendors to mitigate the threat posed by foreign source code audits flagged by the Pentagon as unsafe. Information about these mitigating measures, as well as details of the foreign code review, would be stored in a database that officials in the military could access.

The Senate version of the 2019 NDAA was approved at the committee level on May 24, with 25 voting in favor and 2 voting against.

In order for the bill to become law, it would have to be voted on by the full Senate, then reconciled with the House of Representative’s version, which was passed on May 25.

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GAO: DoD Needs to Update Policy for Automated Data System Business Program Management
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GAO: DoD Needs to Update Policy for Automated Data System Business Program Management


GAO: DoD Needs to Update Policy for Automated Data System Business Program ManagementThe Government Accountability Office has called on the Defense Department to update its policy for overseeing major automated information system business programs in an effort to address issues when it comes to providing performance data.

GAO said in a report published Thursday performance information includes baseline estimates on schedule and cost goals; quarter and annual reports on investment programs; and thresholds that seek to determine high risk on schedule and cost.

GAO made the recommendation after it assessed whether DoD’s policies for managing its 24 non-business MAIS programs and 10 MAIS programs adhere to information technology management practices.

The congressional watchdog also analyzed 15 MAIS programs’ schedule, cost and performance goals and found that majority of the nine programs with performance objectives met their performance targets.

Schedule delays observed in the 15 MAIS non-business and business programs ranged from five months to five years due to unplanned changes or unfeasible expectations, according to the report.

GAO said the selected 15 MAIS programs had seen increases or decreases in their planned cost estimates. Cost increases ranged from $2.9 million to $1.5 billion, while reductions in planned cost estimates ranged from $1.2 million to $1.6 billion.

“The decreases in planned cost were largely due to scope reduction, while cost increases were due to underestimating levels of effort and contracting issues,” GAO wrote.

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Navy Commissions USS Manchester in Portsmouth, N.H.
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Navy Commissions USS Manchester in Portsmouth, N.H.


Navy Commissions USS Manchester in Portsmouth, N.H.

The U.S. Navy has commissioned the USS Manchester, or LCS 14, at a ceremony Saturday in Portsmouth, N.H., USNI News reported Monday.

The addition of the newest Independence-class littoral combat ship raises the Navy’s LCS count to 12.

The Austal USA-built ship departed from its maker’s Alabama shipyard on May 5 for the ceremony.

Adm. Bill Moran, vice chief of naval operations, delivered the commissioning’s principal address; while Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., ordered USS Manchester’s activation as the ship’s sponsor.

The ship entered construction in 2015 and was christened the following year.

LCS 14 is the second Navy ship named after Manchester, N.H., following a light cruiser used during the Korean conflict.

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Senate Armed Services Panel OKs $716B Defense Budget for Fiscal 2019
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Senate Armed Services Panel OKs $716B Defense Budget for Fiscal 2019


Senate Armed Services Panel OKs $716B Defense Budget for Fiscal 2019The Senate Armed Services Committee passed on Thursday a bill that would authorize $617.6 billion in base budget for the Defense Department and $68.5 billion in overseas contingency operations funds for fiscal 2019, The Hill reported Thursday.

The panel’s version of fiscal 2019 National Defense Authorization Act would allocate $21.6 billion for the Energy Department’s defense-related initiatives, $7.6 billion for 75 F-35 fighter aircraft and $65 million for the development of a low-yield nuclear warhead.

The measure, which was named after SASC Chairman John McCain (R-Ariz.), would also earmark $23.1 billion for the procurement of 10 new ships, including a littoral combat ship, two Virginia-class submarines and three Arleigh Burke-class destroyers.

The FY 2019 NDAA seeks to advance “readiness restoration, capabilities modernization and concept development” in an effort to keep the U.S. military edge over potential adversaries, according to the bill’s summary.

The House on Thursday voted 351-66 to clear its proposed FY 2019 NDAA that would allocate $717 billion in defense budget.

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Ellen Lord: Defense Acquisition Policy Needs Reform
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Ellen Lord: Defense Acquisition Policy Needs Reform


Ellen Lord: Defense Acquisition Policy Needs Reform
Ellen Lord

Ellen Lord, undersecretary for acquisition and sustainment at the Defense Department, said at the Special Operations Forces Industry Conference held Thursday that DoD should reform its acquisition process for information technology modernization programs, Federal News Radio reported Friday.

In line with this, Lord said that she and her staff develop acquisition policy “a little bit differently,” adding that they are “allowing the services and research and engineering to pilot authorities, assessing what happened and then writing the policy.”

She also spoke about the establishment of what she called an “agile acquisition framework,” where acquisition authorities are set alongside possible contract vehicles, and successful as well as unsuccessful combinations are documented.

Lord, a 2018 Wash100 recipient, envisioned having the framework replace DoD Directive 5000.01 — the prevailing set of policies governing defense acquisitions.

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OPM Mulls Direct Hire Authority for STEM, Cyber Posts
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OPM Mulls Direct Hire Authority for STEM, Cyber Posts


OPM Mulls Direct Hire Authority for STEM, Cyber PostsThe Office of Personnel Management is considering the issuance of direct hire authority in efforts to fill government positions related to science, technology, engineering, math and cybersecurity.

OPM said in a memo published Wednesday it will distribute a survey to chief human capital officers in the coming weeks as part of efforts to gather additional data on agencies’ recruitment process for STEM and cyber roles.

The office aims to determine if available information conform to statutory and regulatory criteria for issuing DHA.

OPM added it needs both quantitative and qualitative statistics in order to understand challenges that agencies face when hiring professionals that specialize in those fields.

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David Vargas: OPM Develops Blockchain-Based Prototype for Federal Employee Transfer
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David Vargas: OPM Develops Blockchain-Based Prototype for Federal Employee Transfer


David Vargas: OPM Develops Blockchain-Based Prototype for Federal Employee TransferThe Office of Personnel Management has developed a blockchain technology-based prototype as part of a new employee digital record platform, Federal News Radio reported Friday.

“We’ve actually prototyped a blockchain for an employee transfer,” David Vargas, director of the human resources line of business at OPM, said Thursday during a panel discussion at the IBM-sponsored Think Gov conference.

Vargas said OPM used agile processes to build the prototype in approximately two months and expects the new technology to help simplify the process of transferring, terminating and onboarding federal employees.

Justin Herman, lead for emerging citizen technology at General Services Administration, noted at the same forum that GSA seeks to help other agencies and companies to tap into the Technology Modernization Fund to develop blockchain, robotics and artificial intelligence platforms.

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Commerce Dept Proposes New Office to Oversee Commercial Space Activities
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Commerce Dept Proposes New Office to Oversee Commercial Space Activities


Commerce Dept Proposes New Office to Oversee Commercial Space ActivitiesThe Commerce Department has proposed to Congress its plan to create a new office to manage commercial space operations.

Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross announced on Thursday the proposal to establish the Space Policy Advancing Commercial Enterprise Administration office in line with President Donald Trump’s signing of the Space Policy Directive-2 that aims to introduce reforms to commercial space regulations, the department said Thursday.

“A burgeoning commercial space market is imperative to creating jobs, promoting economic growth and ensuring national security,” Ross said.

Ross has ordered the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Institute of Standards and Technology and other bureaus and agencies with space responsibilities within the department to designate a liaison to the new office to facilitate coordination on commercial spaceflight activities.

The new proposal would also direct the SPACE Administration office to house NOAA’s commercial remote sensing regulatory affairs office and the department’s office of space commerce.

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