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Trump to Nominate Raytheon Exec Mark Esper as Army Secretary
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Trump to Nominate Raytheon Exec Mark Esper as Army Secretary


Trump to Nominate Raytheon Exec Mark Esper as Army Secretary
Mark Esper

President Donald Trump has announced plans to nominate Mark Esper, vice president of government relations at Raytheon, as U.S. Army secretary, Inside Defense reported Wednesday.

Esper is the administration’s third pick for the post following the decision of Vincent Viola, founder of digital stock trading firm Virtu Financial, and Tennessee Sen. Mark Green to withdraw their names from consideration.

The Senate Armed Services Committee held a July 12 hearing to vet Ryan McCarthy, an executive at Lockheed Martin and the White House’s pick for the service branch’s undersecretary post.

Esper joined Raytheon in 2010 after serving as VP of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and executive VP of the Global Intellectual Property Center as well as the Aerospace Industries Association.

He previously served as director for national security affairs for Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist between 2004 and 2006 and policy director within the House Armed Services Committee.

The retired Army officer also worked at the Defense Department as deputy assistant secretary.

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Sen. Ron Wyden: DHS Needs to Adopt DMARC Tech to Address Impersonation of Federal Agencies Via Emails
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Sen. Ron Wyden: DHS Needs to Adopt DMARC Tech to Address Impersonation of Federal Agencies Via Emails


Sen. Ron Wyden: DHS Needs to Adopt DMARC Tech to Address Impersonation of Federal Agencies Via EmailsSen. Ron Wyden (D-Oregon) has called on the Department of Homeland Security to address cyber hackers’ attempts to transmit email messages that impersonate federal agencies through adoption of the Domain-based Message Authentication Reporting and Conformance technology.

Wyden told Jeanette Manfra, acting undersecretary for cybersecurity at DHS, in a letter released Tuesday that technology platforms such as DMARC would make it difficult for foreign governments and cyber criminals to impersonate agencies.

DMARC is a technical standard that works to help agency administrators submit requests seeking to reject or quarantine fraudulent emails in a spam folder, Wyden noted.

He called on DHS to include DMARC scanning as part of the Cyber Hygiene initiative and collaborate with the General Services Administration to develop a central platform designed to automatically collect DMARC reports from government agencies.

DHS should also release an operational directive that would require agencies within the executive branch to facilitate adoption of the DMARC technology with a quarantine or reject policy, he noted.

“Further mandate that agencies configure their DMARC reports to be sent to the central reporting system operated by DHS, so that DHS has visibility into any efforts by criminals and foreign governments to impersonate U.S. government agencies,” Wyden added.

House GOP to Tackle US-Mexico Border Wall Construction Fund
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House GOP to Tackle US-Mexico Border Wall Construction Fund


House GOP to Tackle US-Mexico Border Wall Construction FundHouse Republicans will take up a national security-focused spending bill next week that includes funds to begin construction of President Donald Trump’s proposed wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, the Associated Press reported Wednesday.

The report said an aide of Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-California) confirmed that Republican lawmakers plan to attach constructions funds for the border wall to a unified spending bill for the departments of Defense, Energy and Veterans Affairs.

The House Appropriations Committee on Tuesday approved an appropriations bill for the Department of Homeland Security that allocates $1.57 billion for border security, including $498 million to build 28 miles of levee wall in the Rio Grande Valley, the Hill reported.

The proposed legislation also includes $784 million for 32 miles of new fencing along the Valley; $251 million for 14 miles of secondary fencing in San Diego, California; and funds for mobile video surveillance systems, ground sensors, towers and other border protection efforts.

In March, the Customs and Border Protection issued requests for proposals for the design and construction of border wall prototypes.

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Neil Alan Chilson Named FTC Acting Chief Technologist
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Neil Alan Chilson Named FTC Acting Chief Technologist


Neil Alan Chilson Named FTC Acting Chief Technologist
Neil Alan Chilson

Neil Alan Chilson, an attorney adviser at the Federal Trade Commission, has been appointed to serve as the agency’s chief technologist on an acting basis.

FTC said Tuesday Chilson will advise the commission and its acting Chairman Maureen Ohlhausen on technology-related matters such as usage, law enforcement actions and policy recommendations.

He has served as a principal adviser to the FTC chairman on data security, privacy and technology issues in his most recent role.

Before he joined the federal government, Chilson was an attorney at Wilkinson Barker Knauer and a law clerk at Stein, McEwen & Bui and Public Knowledge.

He holds a bachelor’s degree in computer science from Harding University, a master’s degree in computer science from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a law degree from George Washington University.

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Boeing Vet Patrick Shanahan Confirmed as Deputy Defense Secretary
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Boeing Vet Patrick Shanahan Confirmed as Deputy Defense Secretary


Boeing Vet Patrick Shanahan Confirmed as Deputy Defense Secretary
Patrick Shanahan

The Senate voted 92-7 Tuesday to confirm Patrick Shanahan, senior vice president of supply chain and operations at Boeing, for the deputy defense secretary role, Defense News reported Tuesday.

Shanahan’s confirmation for the Defense Department‘s no. 2 civilian post comes as the Trump administration’s 40 nominees for federal government roles face Senate vote delay.

The Senate Armed Services Committee approved his nomination on June 28.

He will succeed Robert Work, who is set to hand over a dozen reviews to Shanahan.

Shanahan is a three-decade Boeing veteran who previously served as VP and general manager of the aerospace and defense company’s missile defense systems and rotorcraft systems segments.

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Report: F-35 JPO Aims to Address Hypoxia Concerns Through Oxygen Generating System Update
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Report: F-35 JPO Aims to Address Hypoxia Concerns Through Oxygen Generating System Update


Report: F-35 JPO Aims to Address Hypoxia Concerns Through Oxygen Generating System UpdateThe F-35 joint program office plans to update an onboard oxygen generation system to facilitate the flow of oxygen to pilots flying Lockheed Martin-built F-35 fighter jets, Defense News reported Tuesday.

The OBOGS upgrade plan is in response to five incidents of hypoxia-like symptoms or oxygen deprivation experienced by F-35A pilots at Luke Air Force Base in Arizona in June.

Brandi Schiff, a spokesperson for F-35 JPO, said a change in algorithm linked to oxygen concentration will be part of the OBOGS modification plan.

Schiff noted that Honeywell will design the updated firmware for the fighter jet’s OBOGS platform and create a way to retrofit all F-35 variants with the upgraded capability.

“Cost estimates are still being developed,” Schiff said.

“The current time estimate is 24 months, but the F-35 joint program office, or JPO, is pushing [F-35 prime contractor] Lockheed Martin to accelerate the fielding of this new firmware.”

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Report: DHS Advisory Group to Produce Reports on Botnet Attack Mitigation
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Report: DHS Advisory Group to Produce Reports on Botnet Attack Mitigation


Report: DHS Advisory Group to Produce Reports on Botnet Attack MitigationA group of advisers within the Department of Homeland Security‘s National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee will release two reports on how the U.S. government can counter cyber attacks carried out by networks of compromised devices, know as botnets, Nextgov reported Friday.

Sonus Networks CEO Raymond Dolan, chairman of NSTAC’s Internet and Communications Resilience Subcommittee, said the first report will include ways to expand existing technologies to prevent hackers from adding personal computers and other devices into botnet groups.

Dolan added that the first report will also cover measures to fight botnet attacks and will be issued to DHS and Commerce Department leaders in October.

The subcommittee plans to produce an initial draft of the first report in August and has called on 20 subject matter experts to provide information on botnets, Dolan noted.

The group has yet to set a due date for the second report, which will explore methods to mitigate the formation and growth of botnet armies, according to Dolan.

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Army Research Lab Seeks to Build Autonomous Drones, Robots for Electronic Warfare
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Army Research Lab Seeks to Build Autonomous Drones, Robots for Electronic Warfare


Army Research Lab Seeks to Build Autonomous Drones, Robots for Electronic WarfareThe Army Research Laboratory will fund new projects to develop autonomous drone and robotic technologies intended for electronic warfare operations, Defense One reported Tuesday.

ARL aims to equip autonomous platforms with onboard tools that will work to counter anti-access/area denial systems as part of the Distributed and Collaborative Intelligent Systems and Technology program.

The laboratory also seeks to leverage discoveries from commercial research on distributed sensors and other connected devices for military use through the Internet of Battlefield Things program.

Philip Perconti, ARL director, said the laboratory wants to create battlefield communications and sensing networks to support operations against adversaries that utilize EW systems.

Perconti added the laboratory could award contracts under both programs later this year.

House GOP Releases 10-Year Budget Plan to Ramp Up Military Spending, Cut Medicare
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House GOP Releases 10-Year Budget Plan to Ramp Up Military Spending, Cut Medicare


House GOP Releases 10-Year Budget Plan to Ramp Up Military Spending, Cut MedicareHouse Republicans released a 10-year budget plan Tuesday morning that dramatically increases military spending while cutting Medicare and benefit programs like food stamps.

 The GOP budget, authored by Budget Chairman Diane Black (R-Tenn.) promises to balance the budget within 10 years by way of sweeping reforms and cuts to several mandatory auto-pilot spending programs, which make up two-thirds of the federal budget.  It cuts $5.4 trillion over the next 10 years, including almost $500 billion from Medicare, $1.5 trillion from Medicaid and Obamacare, and massive cuts to federal employee pensions, food stamps, and the earned income tax credit.

Black’s plan would turn Medicare into a voucher-like program, the AP reports, “in which future retirees would receive a fixed benefit to purchase health insurance on the open market.”

“The status quo is unsustainable. A mounting national debt and lackluster economic growth will limit opportunity for people all across the country,” Black said in a statement. “But we don’t have to accept this reality. We can move forward with an optimistic vision for the future and this budget is the first step in that process. This is the moment to get real results for the American people. The time for talking is over, now is the time for action.”

Black announced that the plan would be put to the committee for a vote on Wednesday. The plan as it stands is likely to be delayed and has little to no chance of implementation. President Donald Trump is on the record as against cuts to Medicare, and planned legislation to replace Obamacare stalled in the Senate Tuesday.

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White House Appoints Allison Brigati as GSA Associate Admin for Office of Government-wide Policy
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White House Appoints Allison Brigati as GSA Associate Admin for Office of Government-wide Policy


White House Appoints Allison Brigati as GSA Associate Admin for Office of Government-wide Policy
Allison Brigati

Allison Brigati, a former general counsel and director of strategic initiatives at the National Academy of Public Administration, has joined the General Services Administration as associate administrator for the Office of Government-wide Policy.

GSA said Monday President Donald Trump picked Brigati to help guide strategic policymaking for the federal government on areas such as property, transportation, information technology and regulatory information, among others.

Brigati most recently worked as an associate broker at Virginia-based real estate firm McEnearney Associates before her appointment to GSA.

She served as senior counselor for U.S. affairs then senior quality assurance officer with the Department of Institutional Integrity at the World Bank between 2004 and 2008, and was deputy counsel of the Republican National Committee from May 1994 to January 1998.

GSA said Brigati brings experience as an expert legal adviser in contracting, employment and financial matters.

The Office of Government-wide Policy is in charge of maintaining the policy framework for government management of property, technology and administrative services.

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