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DoD Appoints IT Vet Michael Conlin as Chief Data Officer
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DoD Appoints IT Vet Michael Conlin as Chief Data Officer


DoD Appoints IT Vet Michael Conlin as Chief Data Officer
Michael Conlin

Michael Conlin, vice president and chief technology officer for defense at Perspecta, has been named the first chief data officer of the Defense Department, FedScoop reported Thursday.

The appointment is part of DoD’s prioritization of data management operations.

Conlin will help the department move out of its legacy information technology systems to gain more access to data.

The Pentagon CDO acknowledged in an interview with ExecutiveBiz in 2017 that aging systems prevent public sector organizations from maximizing their data, which can only be accessed through applications’ user interface.

“The public sector’s reflexive habit of classifying data as the default further complicates this challenge,” he added.

Conlin previously served as the chief technology officer for the U.S. public sector at DXC Technology, which was formed in 2017 through the merger of Computer Sciences Corporation and HP Enterprise Services.

He also held several IT-related leadership roles at Hewlett-Packard and its former subsidiary, EDS.

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AFRL Begins Development on Augmented Reality Systems for Aircraft Inspections
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AFRL Begins Development on Augmented Reality Systems for Aircraft Inspections


AFRL Begins Development on Augmented Reality Systems for Aircraft InspectionsThe U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory’s Materials and Manufacturing Directorate has started leveraging commercial-off-the-shelf augmented reality systems to develop an approach that will help aircraft maintainers inspect internal components of a plane.

Wright-Patterson AF Base said Thursday the AR-based capability is expected to streamline nondestructive inspection, which is a process of safely assessing hard-to-reach equipment and materials in a structure for defects.

Eric Lindgren, principal materials research engineer at the Air Force, explained that NDI officials simultaneously check the monitor, technical documents and surface during the inspection under challenging conditions, which can tire inspectors.

AFRL researchers believe the refined NDI process would take away from the load of inspectors the task of assessing several displays and/or documents so as to focus on the inspection process.

AFRL is working with the AFRL Virtual, Augmented and Mixed Reality for Aircraft Maintenance integrated product team to develop the system, which they hope will be used in a laboratory environment and other operations in the future.

The researchers also expect to modify the feature to point out the critical areas of a material to be inspected, as well as ultimately help complete the inspection.

They also aim to integrate the AR system into smaller wearable systems such as safety glasses, which aircraft maintainers already use during inspections.

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CBO Launches Military Operation & Support Cost Analysis Tool
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CBO Launches Military Operation & Support Cost Analysis Tool

 

CBO Launches Military Operation & Support Cost Analysis Tool
Keith Hall

The Congressional Budget Office has rolled out an interactive tool designed to help government analysts determine the costs and requirements of the U.S. military’s customized plans for the force structure.

CBO Director Keith Hall wrote in a blog entry posted Thursday the system works to generate reports on the potential impacts on military size and the Defense Department‘s overall operation and support costs.

The platform allows users to add or subtract items such as brigades, aircraft squadrons and ships using CBO data on operating costs for every military unit.

According to Hall, CBO has reported on the office’s accomplishments this year including efforts to answer questions, explain analytical methods, release data, assess the accuracy of estimates, project the effects of policy alternatives, visualize data and provide outreach.

The agency seeks to increase the credibility of its studies and approaches through the use of professional research, expert-based feedback and data connection evidence.

 

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Report: Bill Zielinski to Serve as GSA Interim Asst Commissioner for IT Category
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Report: Bill Zielinski to Serve as GSA Interim Asst Commissioner for IT Category


Report: Bill Zielinski to Serve as GSA Interim Asst Commissioner for IT Category
Bill Zielinski

Bill Zielinski, an information technology category executive at the General Services Administration’s Federal Acquisition Service, will serve as acting assistant commissioner for GSA’s IT category starting October, FCW reported Thursday.

He will replace Kay Ely, who is set to leave GSA by the end of September to take a 90-day assignment with a task force in charge of the GSA-Office of Personnel Management merger.

Zielinski currently serves as deputy assistant commissioner for the IT category at FAS.

He joined GSA in 2016 after time as branch chief for agency oversight at the Office of Management and Budget.

He spent two years at the Social Security Administration as chief information officer.

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Report: DoD Supply Chain Risk Mgmt Policy ‘Not Fully Implemented’ for SBIRS
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Report: DoD Supply Chain Risk Mgmt Policy ‘Not Fully Implemented’ for SBIRS


Report: DoD Supply Chain Risk Mgmt Policy 'Not Fully Implemented' for SBIRSThe Defense Department Inspector General recently reported that the U.S. Air Force Space Command did not fully implement the DoD’s supply chain risk management policy for the Space Based Infrared System.

The DoD IG said in an August 14 audit report that the AFSPC had failed to carry out requisite “controls and oversight” activities for the SBIRS supply chain, exposing the “critical hardware, software and firmware” components of the country’s detection system for missile launches and nuclear detonations to possible sabotage by adversarial infiltrators.

The agency watchdog subsequently recommended that the chief of the AFSPC take a number of corrective actions including identifying all critical SBIRS components and the companies that supply them; making sure that the supplier threat assessments that will be conducted by the pertinent investigative body are made more accurate; and determining the risk levels of components that were not purchased from trusted suppliers.

The Space Command vice commander spoke on behalf of the AFSPC chief and concurred with the inspector general’s recommendations.

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Maj. Gen. Garrett Yee: Army Needs Industry to Modernize Workflow Process
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Maj. Gen. Garrett Yee: Army Needs Industry to Modernize Workflow Process


Maj. Gen. Garrett Yee: Army Needs Industry to Modernize Workflow Process
Garrett Yee

Maj. Gen. Garrett Yee, acting deputy chief information officer of the U.S. Army, has said the service branch looks to collaborate with companies and academic institutions to facilitate interoperability in its workflow processes with technology, MeriTalk reported Thursday.

Yee told an Avaya-hosted webinar Thursday that the Army should automate its system to manage workflows and adopt artificial intelligence tools.

The branch seeks to modernize operations in areas such as information technology, contracting, logistics, human resources, test and evaluation and financial management, the report noted.

He added the service should balance innovation programs with cybersecurity and warfighter safety efforts.

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CIA’s Andrew Hallman: Intell Community Should Use New Tools to Counter Cyber Threats
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CIA’s Andrew Hallman: Intell Community Should Use New Tools to Counter Cyber Threats


CIA's Andrew Hallman: Intell Community Should Use New Tools to Counter Cyber ThreatsAndrew Hallman, deputy director for digital innovation at the CIA, has said the U.S. intelligence community must further develop infrastructure for cyber threat analysis efforts through the adoption of machine learning and automated intelligence tools.

He told audience at 2018 Defense Intelligence Agency Department of Defense Intelligence Information System Worldwide Conference held Tuesday that modern technology can help agencies gather, examine and transmit data in real time, DIA said Wednesday.

“The national security threats that we face, which are increasingly represented within the digital domain, are growing in size, range, number, speed and complexity,” Hallman said at the event.

“Data is inherently dual use and like many other benefits of mankind, it is also being weaponized.”

Multiple government, military, industry and academic representatives attended the conference to address various information technology challenges that could impact mission users.

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WSJ: Trump Reverses Obama-Era Directive on Cyberweapons
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WSJ: Trump Reverses Obama-Era Directive on Cyberweapons


WSJ: Trump Reverses Obama-Era Directive on CyberweaponsPresident Trump has revoked an Obama-era policy that required government agencies to seek approval from various federal stakeholders before engaging in offensive cyber operations, The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday.

He issued an executive order Wednesday to reverse the Presidential Policy Directive 20 as part of efforts to prevent foreign influence in U.S. election and address theft of intellectual property through cyberweapons.

Obama signed in 2012 the classified rule that succeeded a framework used during the George W. Bush administration, according to the report.

Michael Daniel, a former White House cybersecurity coordinator, told WSJ the directive was intended to ensure that the government considered “appropriate equities” prior to deployment of offensive measures against adversaries in the cyber domain.

The report added some officials have confirmed Trump’s move but they did not provide details.

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DHS Conducts Cybersecurity Tabletop Exercise to Prepare for Midterm Elections
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DHS Conducts Cybersecurity Tabletop Exercise to Prepare for Midterm Elections


DHS Conducts Cybersecurity Tabletop Exercise to Prepare for Midterm ElectionsThe Department of Homeland Security has conducted a tabletop exercise to help public and private sector entities prepare and respond to cybersecurity issues that may arise during the 2018 midterm elections.

The Tabletop the Vote 2018: DHS’ National Election Cyber Exercise featured pointers on how to address potential risks to the elections such as manipulating information on political candidates and election procedures and performing spear phishing campaigns toward election officials, DHS said Wednesday.

Participants of the three-day activity were able to identify possible plans to disrupt voter confidence, voting operations and the integrity of elections.

DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen stated that the exercise helped test the abilities of the government and the industry to respond to cyber incidents that could affect an election.

Nielsen added that the effort also boosted the communication and incident response capabilities of the election community.

Government agencies such as the departments of Defense and Justice, Office of the Director of National Intelligence, National Institute of Standards and Technology, National Security Agency, FBI and U.S. Cyber Command sponsored the cyber response effort.

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DISA’s Mission Assurance Branch Helps DoD Mitigate Risks to C4I Assets; Fred Ruonavar Quoted
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DISA’s Mission Assurance Branch Helps DoD Mitigate Risks to C4I Assets; Fred Ruonavar Quoted


DISA’s Mission Assurance Branch Helps DoD Mitigate Risks to C4I Assets; Fred Ruonavar Quoted
Fred Ruonavar

Fred Ruonavar, mission assurance and critical infrastructure protection branch chief at the Defense Information Systems Agency, has said DISA’s mission assurance branch works to evaluate the Defense Department’s operational and contingency plans through the adoption of an aggressive approach.

“Mission assurance is critical,” Ruonavar said in a statement published Wednesday.

“We have to determine what the DOD is able to do, determine appropriate support plans, determine where information falls in the three-phase process and determine what assets are required,” he added.

The mission assurance branch teams up with combatant commands and implements a synchronized approach to examine critical asset requirements and help DoD address risks to its command, control, communications, computers and intelligence systems, including the Defense Information Systems Network.

Ruonavar cited the importance of mission assurance planning to service personnel deployment and how the branch provides a view of the Pentagon’s mission assurance strategy through courses on critical information infrastructure protection.

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