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IARPA Seeks Automated Event Forecasting Tech via ‘Mercury Challenge’
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IARPA Seeks Automated Event Forecasting Tech via ‘Mercury Challenge’


IARPA Seeks Automated Event Forecasting Tech via ‘Mercury Challenge’The Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity has launched a new competition that seeks to develop systems designed to predict events in North Africa and the Middle East by processing data from publicly available sources.

IARPA said the Mercury Challenge aims to encourage machine learning engineers, data scientists and technologists from industry and academia to develop new automated platforms that will forecast military activity, infectious diseases and non-violent civil unrest in the two regions.

IARPA will evaluate participants through three scoring periods based on event-type matching; data accuracy; location accuracy; and forecast lead time and will award cash prizes of up to $100,000 to developers of winning forecasting systems.

The agency will officially launch the contest on Aug. 1 and close the first scoring period on Oct. 31.

The second and third scoring terms will respectively end on Jan. 31, 2019 and April 30, 2019.

IARPA will announce the winners by spring 2019.

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SEC to Require Machine-Readable Financial Reports for Companies
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SEC to Require Machine-Readable Financial Reports for Companies


SEC to Require Machine-Readable Financial Reports for CompaniesThe Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday voted to adopt amendments to its reporting standards for operating companies and funds.

Operating companies submitting financial statement information and funds filing risk/return summaries will soon have to use the Inline eXtensible Business Reporting Language format in their disclosure reports, the SEC announced in a statement.

The use of iXBRL involves embedding XBRL metadata in HTML documents, making the resulting file readable for both humans and machines.

A fact sheet accompanying the SEC statement says that the adoption of iXBRL could bring about several benefits including the faster preparation of XBRL reports and the lower likelihood of inconsistency between XBRL and HTML filings.

The rollout of the new standard will happen in phases, beginning with large accelerated filers in 2019.

SEC Chairman Jay Clayton called the amendments “part of the Commission’s continued efforts to modernize reporting and to improve the accessibility and usefulness of disclosures to investors.”

Clayton added that the amendments are reflective of the SEC’s effort “to use developments in structured disclosure technology to lower costs borne by filers and investors.”

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Commerce Dept’s IG Audits FirstNet’s National Public Safety Broadband Network Contract With AT&T
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Commerce Dept’s IG Audits FirstNet’s National Public Safety Broadband Network Contract With AT&T


Commerce Dept’s IG Audits FirstNet’s National Public Safety Broadband Network Contract With AT&TThe Commerce Department’s inspector general has commenced a year-long audit to assess how the First Responder Network Authority oversees the development of a national public safety broadband network through a contract awarded to AT&T, Reuters reported Friday.

AT&T secured a potential $6.5 billion contract in March 2017 to build and operate the national network designed to free up bandwidth for emergency responders through pre-emptive and priority access to network.

Carol Rice, assistant inspector general for audit and evaluation, said in a May 3 memo the audit seeks to evaluate if FirstNet “properly administered” a task order for the network’s implementation, maintenance and operation.

AT&T officials and the government told Reuters the audit was a routine procedure and that the FirstNet’s core is now operational in all U.S. states.

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House Panel’s Defense Policy Bill to Require DoD Briefing on Intell Support for Cyber Operations
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House Panel’s Defense Policy Bill to Require DoD Briefing on Intell Support for Cyber Operations


House Panel’s Defense Policy Bill to Require DoD Briefing on Intell Support for Cyber OperationsThe House Armed Services Committee’s defense policy bill would direct the Defense Department to conduct a briefing on intelligence support for cyber operations by Dec. 1, Fifth Domain reported Monday.

The provision in the measure seeks to advance efforts to resource intell analysis support at the U.S. Cyber Command and cyber components within service branches and standardize a common doctrine for the battlefield’s intell preparation for cyber-related operations.

The defense undersecretary for intelligence will work with service branches and the Defense Intelligence Agency to deliver the briefing, according to the bill’s provision.

Gus Hunt, cyber strategy lead at Accenture’s federal services business, said he thinks there is no difference between cyber and other domains of warfare from an intelligence support standpoint.

“I think what you’re seeing … is that people are asking the question are we appropriately structured or resourced and focused to be as effective as we possibly can in this new realm of cyber and cyber operations,” Hunt said.

“Because they’re asking the question, I think the obvious answer is … we’re not structured as effectively as we possibly can be … [but] it’s really good that people are sitting there asking,” he added.

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GSA Promotes Angela Colter to 18F Acting Executive Director
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GSA Promotes Angela Colter to 18F Acting Executive Director


GSA Promotes Angela Colter to 18F Acting Executive Director
Angela Colter

Angela Colter, formerly director of strategy at the General Services Administration‘s 18F unit, has been promoted to serve as executive director of the digital services group on an acting basis, Nextgov reported Monday.

She joined 18F in February 2016 as an innovation specialist and helped build a platform that could help GSA manage professional development programs, as well as an open-source component library and style guide intended for government designers and developers.

Her professional career has also included positions at Electronic Ink, UserWorks,  Comcast Interactive Media and University of Baltimore.

FCW reported Monday Colter succeeds Rebecca Piazza, who has led 18F over the past eight months and left the federal government to pursue a new job in the private sector.

Victor Udoewa, 18F’s senior strategist, will replace Colter as the group’s strategy director.

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Report: US Delegation to Promote Arms Exports at Farnborough Airshow
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Report: US Delegation to Promote Arms Exports at Farnborough Airshow


Report: US Delegation to Promote Arms Exports at Farnborough AirshowPeter Navarro, White House trade adviser, will lead the U.S. delegation that will attend the seven-day Farnborough Airshow in the U.K., to help promote the administration’s “Buy American” program that seeks to increase exports of U.S.-made aircraft and weapon systems, Reuters reported Sunday.

Industry sources said officials from the U.S. Air Force, Commerce Department and the Defense Department’s weapons export administration will join the U.S. delegation at the airshow that will kick off on July 16.

Andrea Thompson, undersecretary for arms control and international security at the State Department, will attend the event, according to a department official.

The State Department official said the U.S. recorded over $43.4 billion in sales in the first seven months of this year to foreign governments.

The report noted that Boeing, Raytheon, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman and General Dynamics are among the defense contractors that are expected to benefit from the Conventional Arms Transfer Policy.

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Ronald Vitiello Named Acting ICE Chief; Kirstjen Nielsen Comments
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Ronald Vitiello Named Acting ICE Chief; Kirstjen Nielsen Comments


Ronald Vitiello Named Acting ICE Chief; Kirstjen Nielsen Comments
Ronald Vitiello

Ronald Vitiello, acting deputy commissioner of the Department of Homeland Security’s Customs and Border Protection, has been appointed by DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen to succeed the retiring Tom Homan as acting director of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Vitiello’s appointment took effect Saturday, June 30, and he will also serve as ICE’s deputy director, DHS said in a news release Saturday.

Vitiello is a three-decade law enforcement officer who started his career as a U.S. border patrol agent in 1985 in Laredo, Texas.

He took part in the development of the Laredo Sector Criminal Alien Program and helped manage the regional implementation of Operation Rio Grande in 1997.

Vitiello was instrumental in the establishment of CBP in 2003 and appointed deputy chief of the U.S. Border Patrol in 2010 and then named chief of the agency in 2017.

“I am pleased that ICE will continue to be led by an experienced and well-respected career law enforcement officer who will be a strong advocate for the agency’s workforce,” Nielsen, a 2018 Wash100 recipient, said in a statement.

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DISA Seeks to Accelerate Acquisition Process With ‘Other Transaction Authority’
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DISA Seeks to Accelerate Acquisition Process With ‘Other Transaction Authority’


DISA Seeks to Accelerate Acquisition Process With ‘Other Transaction Authority’The Defense Information Systems Agency has started adopting the “other transaction authority” as a contracting method to facilitate the acquisition process and speed up the delivery of new technology platforms designed to meet warfighters’ requirements.

“Many of the companies we’re dealing with are small start-ups,” Scott Stewart, technical director at DISA’s procurement services directorate, said in a statement published Friday.

Stewart noted that OTA works to provide flexibility to agencies and give small businesses “an added level of comfort” when transacting with the government compared with the Federal Acquisition Regulation process.

Congress has introduced two changes to promote the use of OTA methodology: expanding the description of a prototype and broadening the definition of potential recipients of OTA-based contract awards.

DISA said it is using OTA for several projects and intends to use the method to establish the structure for next-generation applications in the current command-and-control battlespace.

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Charles Rettig Eyes IT, Workforce Modernization as IRS Nominee
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Charles Rettig Eyes IT, Workforce Modernization as IRS Nominee


Charles Rettig Eyes IT, Workforce Modernization as IRS Nominee
Charles Rettig

Charles Rettig, President Trump’s nominee to lead the Internal Revenue Service, has told Senate Finance Committee members that he would prioritize the modernization of the agency’s information technology infrastructure if senators approve his nomination, Federal News Radio reported Thursday.

Rettig, a tax attorney from California, said during the committee hearing Thursday he believes having an up-to-date IT system will help IRS secure taxpayer data and transform how it delivers services to taxpayers.

If confirmed for the commissioner position, he intends to push for critical pay authority to address IT workforce requirements, which is one of the goals stated in the agency’s latest five-year road map.

“I also believe that having a private-sector experience and bringing that inside is critical, so [there is] a deep understanding of the impact of each step that the Internal Revenue Service takes on American taxpayers,” Rettig added.

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Salesforce’s Keith Block: Federal Digital Transformation Efforts Should Aim for Better Citizen Services
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Salesforce’s Keith Block: Federal Digital Transformation Efforts Should Aim for Better Citizen Services


Salesforce’s Keith Block: Federal Digital Transformation Efforts Should Aim for Better Citizen Services
Keith Block

Keith Block, chief operating officer at Salesforce, told Diginomica in an interview posted Friday that digital transformation efforts in federal government should be built on the goal of delivering “higher levels of service to the citizens.”

Block noted about Salesforce’s discussions with the White House over digital transformation and work with the departments of Veterans Affairs and Agriculture to facilitate the delivery of services to veterans and farmers.

“I think the whole modernization of the government, it is ripe,” he noted.

“The value of data, there’s just so much opportunity there to do the right thing for the country, but more importantly the right thing for citizens,” he added.

Block also mentioned the status of the company’s U.S. public sector business and the need for Salesforce to invest in hardware, infrastructure, technology and certifications to support the business.

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