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Trump to Nominate Karen Evans as DOE Assistant Secretary for Cybersecurity
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Trump to Nominate Karen Evans as DOE Assistant Secretary for Cybersecurity

 

Trump to Nominate Karen Evans as DOE Assistant Secretary for Cybersecurity
Karen Evans

President Donald Trump intends to nominate Karen Evans, national director of the U.S. Cyber Challenge, as assistant secretary for cybersecurity, energy security and emergency response at the Energy Department.

She currently leads the public-private program designed to help address a skills gap in the cybersecurity field, the White House said Tuesday.

Evans initially joined the federal government as a General Schedule-2 employee before she was assigned to DOE as the department’s chief information officer.

The cybersecurity veteran previously worked as the administrator for e-government and information technology under the George W. Bush administration.

She holds a bachelor’s degree in chemistry and an MBA degree from West Virginia University.

 

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DOE Seeks Information on Regulation Management for Hydrogen Infrastructure
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DOE Seeks Information on Regulation Management for Hydrogen Infrastructure


DOE Seeks Information on Regulation Management for Hydrogen InfrastructureThe Department of Energy has announced a request for information seeking input to lessen regulatory barriers on hydrogen infrastructure development.

The DOE said Wednesday it intends to determine research and development areas vital to decreasing regulatory barriers that hinder the implementation of hydrogen technologies.

The RFI seeks to establish understanding on industry regulations regarding hydrogen infrastructure; identify government laws and related compliance costs; and make recommendations to reduce disadvantages of regulatory requirements.

“DOE will continue to engage with stakeholders on the regulatory reform process, and work to achieve the President’s goals to reduce burdens on American families and businesses,” said Daniel Simmons, principal deputy assistant secretary of energy efficiency and renewable energy.

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Noblis’ Ellen McCarthy Nominated Asst Secretary of State for Intelligence, Research
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Noblis’ Ellen McCarthy Nominated Asst Secretary of State for Intelligence, Research

 

Noblis’ Ellen McCarthy Nominated Asst Secretary of State for Intelligence, Research
Ellen McCarthy

Ellen McCarthy, vice president of intelligence and analytics at Noblis, and a 2017 Wash100 winner, has been nominated by President Donald Trump to serve as assistant secretary for intelligence and research at the State Department, the White House announced Tuesday.

McCarthy previously served as president of Noblis NSP, a wholly owned subsidiary of Noblis that merged into the parent nonprofit science and technology organization in April.

She worked at the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency as chief operating officer and director of plans and programs prior to her move to Noblis in November 2015.

Before NGA, she served as president of the Intelligence and National Security Alliance and led the organization’s cybersecurity, acquisition, counterintelligence and homeland security intelligence initiatives.

Her government career includes time as director of the human capital management office and acting director of security at the office of the defense undersecretary for intelligence; director of intelligence operations, strategy and policy at the U.S. Coast Guard; and intelligence research specialist at the U.S. Atlantic Command.

 

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Report: OMB Updates Federal Cloud Migration Strategy
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Report: OMB Updates Federal Cloud Migration Strategy


Report: OMB Updates Federal Cloud Migration StrategyBill Hunt, digital services expert at the Office of Management and Budget, has said that OMB will introduce an updated cloud computing migration approach for agencies in the coming months, Federal Times reported Wednesday.

Hunt told attendees at an Advanced Technology Academic Research Center event held Wednesday the “Cloud Smart” strategy consolidates best practices for implementing the technology.

He added that OMB will seek public comments on the new framework that covers procurement, security and workforce matters.

The agency released the “Cloud First” strategy in February 2011 as part of efforts to help agencies evaluate the safety and security of cloud technology products prior to purchasing a platform.

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House Panel-Approved FY 2019 Spending Bill to Allot $9.4B for F-35 Procurement
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House Panel-Approved FY 2019 Spending Bill to Allot $9.4B for F-35 Procurement


House Panel-Approved FY 2019 Spending Bill to Allot $9.4B for F-35 ProcurementThe House Appropriations Committee voted 48-4 on Wednesday to pass a $675 billion defense spending bill that would authorize $9.4 billion in fiscal 2019 funds to purchase 93 Lockheed Martin-built F-35 fighter jets, the Washington Examiner reported Wednesday.

“To maintain air superiority we provide increases for key platforms such as the Joint Strike Fighters,” said Rep. Kay Granger (R-Texas), chairwoman of the House Appropriations defense subcommittee.

The proposed legislation would allocate $623 million in fiscal 2019 funds to support the U.S. Air Force’s Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System replacement program.

USNI News reported that the House measure includes a $22.7 billion budget for shipbuilding programs, including three Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers (DDG-51), three Littoral Combat Ships and two Virginia-class attack submarines (SSN-774).

The appropriations bill would also allocate $1.9 billion in funds for 24 F/A-18E/F Super Hornet aircraft, $1.8 billion for 10 P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol planes and $2.9 billion for the Columbia-class nuclear ballistic missile program, the report added.

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Sen. Mark Warner Proposes Cyber, Security Clearance Amendments to FY 2019 Defense Bill
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Sen. Mark Warner Proposes Cyber, Security Clearance Amendments to FY 2019 Defense Bill


Sen. Mark Warner Proposes Cyber, Security Clearance Amendments to FY 2019 Defense Bill
Mark Warner

Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, has suggested provisions to a fiscal 2019 defense policy bill in a move to address cybersecurity and security clearance challenges the federal government faces.

He re-introduced a proposal to update a national doctrine on how the government should respond to a foreign cyber attack on the country’s election systems, Warner’s office said Monday.

“I have offered an amendment that would require a direct response by the U.S. should a foreign adversary attempt to intervene and undermine the integrity of local, state, or federal elections,” the senator noted.

Warner also proposed implementing measures to reduce the current backlog of 700,000 security clearance applications and increase transparency in the background investigation process.

He also introduced a provision to amend tax reform legislation approved by Congress last year that subjects federal employees to additional levies for work-related relocation.

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USAF Demonstrates New Sensor Pod With MQ-9 UAS
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USAF Demonstrates New Sensor Pod With MQ-9 UAS


USAF Demonstrates New Sensor Pod With MQ-9 UAS

The U.S. Air Force demonstrated a new sensor system during three test flights with a General Atomics-built MQ-9 Reaper unmanned aircraft system.

The AgilePod is an Air Force-owned open architecture system designed to provide sensor pods in varying sizes for different missions, Wright Patterson Air Force Base said Tuesday.

The Air Force Life Cycle Management Center’s Sensors Program Office and the Medium Altitude Unmanned Aerial Systems Program Office partnered to conduct the tests.

“The AgilePod program began with a desire to bring agile manufacturing practices to the intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance enterprise, culminating in a wholly government-owned, open architecture ISR capability that was both payload and platform agnostic,” said Andrew Soine, a program manager at AFRL’s Materials and Manufacturing Directorate.

Under the Information Transfer Agreement, the Air Force shares AgilePod technical data with development partners including Leidos, AdamWorks, General Atomics and the University of Dayton Research Institute.

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GSA Unveils Changes to SAM.gov User Info Verification, Login Procedures
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GSA Unveils Changes to SAM.gov User Info Verification, Login Procedures

GSA Unveils Changes to SAM.gov User Info Verification, Login ProceduresThe General Services Administration has established new controls for its online registration platform for government contractors and federal assistance requests in an effort to build on measures implemented earlier this year to address alleged fraudulent activity.

GSA said it will no longer require entities creating or updating their registration in the System for Award Management website to submit before activation a notarized letter naming the authorized entity administrator.

The agency previously mandated a notarized letter before registration is activated in order to validate information such as the entity’s electronic fund transfer details, in light of reported third-party fraudulent activity on SAM.gov.

Entities are still asked to submit the said letter within 30 days of activation, with the change applied to federal assistance requests effective Monday and to all non-federal entities on June 29.

GSA added it will also instate multifactor authentication for SAM.gov users via Login.gov by the end of the month to further bolster security and anti-fraud measures on the registration platform.

The agency noted it will continue to work with the GSA inspector general and law enforcement to investigate the fraudulent activity that impacted SAM.gov.

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Senate Subcommittee OKs $21.3B Fiscal 2019 NASA Budget
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Senate Subcommittee OKs $21.3B Fiscal 2019 NASA Budget


Senate Subcommittee OKs $21.3B Fiscal 2019 NASA BudgetA Senate Appropriations subcommittee on Tuesday passed its fiscal 2019 spending bill that would authorize $21.3 billion in funds for NASA, representing a $1.4 billion increase from the president’s budget request for the agency, SpacePolicyOnline.com reported Tuesday.

Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kansas) led the markup of the Senate Appropriations commerce, justice and science subpanel’s bill that rejects the Trump administration’s proposal to put an end to NASA’s Wide-Field Infrared Survey Telescope, four Earth science programs and initiatives under the agency’s office of education.

Earth science, astrophysics, planetary science and heliophysics programs would get approximately $6.4 billion in funds.

The proposed legislation would allocate $5.3 billion for space exploration initiatives such as the Space Launch System, Orion, Exploration Ground Systems and Lunar Orbital Platform-Gateway projects.

The measure would also earmark $933 million in funds for space technology, $725 million for aeronautics and $110 million for NASA’s education programs, according to the report.

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Research Finds DOE Sponsorship Facilitates Modern Tech Development; Rick Perry Comments
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Research Finds DOE Sponsorship Facilitates Modern Tech Development; Rick Perry Comments


Research Finds DOE Sponsorship Facilitates Modern Tech Development; Rick Perry Comments
Rick Perry

A study by an Energy Department committee has found that DOE-funded basic research and scientific programs have led to some technological advancements over the past four decades.

The Basic Energy Sciences Advisory Committee’s report, titled A Remarkable Return on Investment in Fundamental Research,” explores the link between department-sponsored fundamental research efforts and modern technology platforms in areas such as combustion, communications, information and vehicles, DOE said Tuesday.

“The technological revolutions that we have witnessed in our lifetime all have their roots in basic discovery science,” said Energy Secretary Rick Perry, adding that he believes federal support can help the U.S. maintain a technological edge.

DOE funded more than 200 research projects on light-emitting diode technology, which resulted in the award of more than 270 patents, the report noted.

The department also sponsored combustion modeling efforts that helped facilitate the development of internal combustion engines, as well as established scientific user facilities that many government and industry researchers use.

BESAC is composed of outside experts who provide research advice to DOE’s Office of Science and produced the report to commemorate 40 years of BES research support.

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