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NASA Develops Silicon X-Ray Mirror Production Technique
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NASA Develops Silicon X-Ray Mirror Production Technique


NASA Develops Silicon X-Ray Mirror Production TechniqueWilliam Zhang, an astrophysicist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, has developed a silicon-based method to manufacture lightweight X-ray optical mirrors.

NASA said Tuesday that Zhang believes the use of silicon technology will help astrophysicists to create super-thin mirrors that have a large collection area and high resolution.

His goal is to further develop the non-conventional technology through the agency’s Strategic Astrophysics Technology program and meet the standards of the Chandra X-ray observatory in preparation for a future mission.

The agency noted that the new process combines lessons Zhang has learned from a glass slumping project and his team also works to develop methods to align and bond 6,000 mirror segments to create meta-shells that will be embedded into a mirror assembly.

Zhang used a glass slumping process to develop 9,000 super-thin curved glass mirrors for the Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array mission, NASA added.

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Australian F-35, EA-18G Jets to Debut in March
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Australian F-35, EA-18G Jets to Debut in March


Australian F-35, EA-18G Jets to Debut in MarchAustralia’s defense ministry will showcase a pair of Lockheed Martin-built F-35A fighter jets at the Australian International Airshow on March 3.

The airshow will mark the Australian debut of F-35 planes in conjunction with the country’s first Boeing-built EA-18G Growler electronic warfare aircraft, Australia’s air force said Tuesday.

“The F-35A will bring significant opportunities to Australian industry, with already over $800 million in local design and production work, which is expected to grow significantly as the program matures and production increases,” said Australian Defense Minister Christopher Payne.

Payne added EA-18G will introduce a dedicated electronic attack function to the Australian military.

Lockheed and the U.S. Air Force‘s training command will manage the deployment of Australia’s F-35s from Luke Air Force Base in Arizona.

The fighter jets will return to the U.S. to facilitate training of Australian pilots.

Australia intends to procure 72 F-35As to replace the country’s fleet of FA-18A/B Hornets and expects the new aircraft fleet to enter service by late 2018.

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Air Force Tests C-130J Hardware, Software Upgrades
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Air Force Tests C-130J Hardware, Software Upgrades


Air Force Tests C-130J Hardware, Software UpgradesU.S. Air Force airmen have performed a training flight using an updated version of the Lockheed Martin-built C-130J Super Hercules at Little Rock Air Force Base in an effort to test the operability of the aircraft’s new hardware and software features.

The Air Force said Tuesday airmen from the 19th and 314th Airlift Wings will collaborate over the next two years to evaluate C-130J Block 8.1 systems such as GPS, communications and friend-or-foe identification systems.

Block 8.1 enhancements are meant to help the Air Force comply with global air traffic management regulations.

Kyle Gauthier, a C-130J instructor pilot and flight commander at 61st Airlift Squadron, said the updated aircraft will help pilots obtain situational awareness and communicate with command-and-control centers worldwide.

C-130Js are designed to perform search-and-rescue, firefighting, aerial refueling, humanitarian relief and special operations in harsh environments.

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DHS to Showcase Cybersecurity Tech Platforms at RSA 2017 Conference
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DHS to Showcase Cybersecurity Tech Platforms at RSA 2017 Conference


DHS to Showcase Cybersecurity Tech Platforms at RSA 2017 ConferenceThe Department of Homeland Security plans to demonstrate cybersecurity platforms at the RSA 2017 conference that will be held from Feb. 14 to 16 in San Francisco, California.

DHS said Monday its science and technology directorate will showcase 12 government-funded technologies that are ready for pilot deployment and commercialization.

The security platforms include AS-Rank, CHARIOT, CodeDNA, DDNR, ImmuneSoft, Internet Atlas, QUASAR, REDUCE, REnigma, SilentAlarm, Virtual Mobile Infrastructure and ZeroPoint.

DHS S&T’s cybersecurity division works to discover and develop technology that can support the cybersecurity needs of users across the U.S. government, private sector and international organizations.

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House Committee Report: Airports Lack ‘Full Employee Screening’ at Access Points
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House Committee Report: Airports Lack ‘Full Employee Screening’ at Access Points


House Committee Report: Airports Lack 'Full Employee Screening’ at Access PointsA new report by the House Homeland Security Committee has found that a majority of U.S. airports do not implement “full employee screening” at access points and that conflict between government and industry stakeholders hampers efforts to build up aviation security.

The report titled “America’s Airports: The Threat From Within” is the product of a two-year investigation carried out by House Transportation and Protective Security Subcommittee Chairman John Katko (R-New York), the House panel said in a news release published Monday.

The document stated there are inconsistencies in the way air carrier and airport security officials train employees when it comes to responsible use of access and suspicious activity reporting.

The report also cited several examples of insider threats at airports such as drug and gun smuggling, attempt to detonate a bomb and employees’ involvement in terrorist activities abroad.

The House subpanel offered nine recommendations to mitigate risks of insider threats within the U.S. aviation sector and one of those is the call for the Transportation Security Administration and airports to review credentialing practices to ensure that airport employees adhere to stringent standards.

The Department of Homeland Security should collaborate with airports to find technology platforms designed to ensure security of employee access, the report added.

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Jason Gray: Cross-Agency Collaboration Key to FITARA Implementation
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Jason Gray: Cross-Agency Collaboration Key to FITARA Implementation


Jason Gray: Cross-Agency Collaboration Key to FITARA ImplementationJason Gray, chief information officer at the Education Department, has said the federal information technology community should encourage collaboration across agencies through sharing of strategies and lessons learned to fully implement the Federal Information Technology Acquisition Reform Act and expand the law’s impact.

Gray wrote in a CIO.gov article published Tuesday that federal agencies should increase IT cost transparency through the implementation of the Technology Business Management model.

“The TBM framework aims to standardize the way an organization categorizes IT costs, resources, and services by mapping and allocating costs to standardized categories,” he wrote.

He noted that his department uses a two-pronged approach to adopt FITARA and that includes implementation and compliance as well as assessment of the maturity of the compliance.

Gray also cited how FITARA provides CIOs visibility into a program’s performance and authority to decide on IT projects.

“To use FITARA successfully in this way, CIOs have to be willing to speak up for their authority and ensure the appropriate decisions are made,” he added.

Navy Rolls Out Enterprise-Wide Healthcare Resource App
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Navy Rolls Out Enterprise-Wide Healthcare Resource App


Navy Rolls Out Enterprise-Wide Healthcare Resource AppThe U.S. Navy‘s medical organization has released a mobile application designed to offer  sailors, marines and their families information about the locations of military treatment facilities and available healthcare services.

The app is designed to also help users access Defense Department hotlines, the RelayHealth patient-doctor communications service and links to Navy Medicine’s social media and health resources, the military branch said Monday.

Navy Medicine aims to install new features into the enterprise-wide app during 2017.

“Every day we leverage mobile technology for a greater portion of the things we need and want to do; our Sailors, Marines and their families deserve this same level of convenience from Navy Medicine,” said Mark Beckner, chief digital officer of the Navy’s Bureau of Medicine and Surgery.

The app is available on the Apple App and Google Play stores.

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House Approves Email Privacy Bill in Unanimous Vote
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House Approves Email Privacy Bill in Unanimous Vote


House Approves Email Privacy Bill in Unanimous VoteThe House on Monday unanimously approved a bill that would require the U.S. government to obtain a warrant to search email messages and other electronic files stored in the cloud, Broadcasting & Cable reported Tuesday.

John Eggerton writes the Email Privacy Act would update the Electronic Communications Privacy Act and would authorize law enforcement agencies to access online communications  more than 180 days old for investigation.

Rep. Darrell Issa (R-California) sponsored the bill.

“Right now, the rules governing how and when the government can access a person’s emails, photos, documents and other online communications are outdated and do not provide for the same Fourth Amendment protections given to on-paper or in-person communications,” Issa said in a statement released Monday.

“The bill we’ve passed today is an important privacy safeguard that will help cement Americans’ rights in the digital age.”

GAO: CMS Should Ensure Quality of Medicaid Data for Oversight Purposes
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GAO: CMS Should Ensure Quality of Medicaid Data for Oversight Purposes


GAO: CMS Should Ensure Quality of Medicaid Data for Oversight PurposesThe Government Accountability Office has called on the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to initiate efforts to evaluate and ensure the quality of Medicaid data for use in program oversight.

CMS should also speed up efforts to review data in the Transformed Medicaid Statistical Information System, GAO said in a report published Monday.

GAO made the recommendation after it evaluated Medicaid utilization and expenditure data and found that the healthcare program made approximately $36 billion in improper payments in fiscal 2016.

The congressional budget watchdog found that CMS’ Medicaid expenditure data do not offer accurate and complete information on how states fund their share of program costs.

GAO also raised issues on the timeliness and completeness of Medicaid utilization data, specifically for managed care.

CMS told GAO that 18 states started to submit T-MSIS data as of October 2016 and cited states’ efforts to replace their Medicaid information technology platforms as one of the factors that delayed the T-MSIS implementation.

 

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State Dept’s Michele Markoff: UN Group Should Encourage Member States to Adopt Existing Cyber Rules
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State Dept’s Michele Markoff: UN Group Should Encourage Member States to Adopt Existing Cyber Rules

State Dept’s Michele Markoff: UN Group Should Encourage Member States to Adopt Existing Cyber RulesMichele Markoff, deputy coordinator for cyber issues at the State Department, has said a United Nations group of cybersecurity experts should focus on how to encourage member states to implement existing cyber rules instead of developing new norms, Defense One reported Tuesday.

Joseph Marks writes Markoff is one of the delegates scheduled to attend the third meeting of the Group of Governmental Experts this month in Geneva.

“We don’t need a continual norms machine ramping out a lot of norms,” Markoff said Monday at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

“What we need to do is consolidate what we’ve done and get states to implement both in the internalization of the norms but also in the operationalization of [confidence-building measures] which will help the norms,” she added.

Confidence-building practices include efforts among countries to share information on national cyber strategies and transnational cyber threats, Marks reports.

GGE, which is set to hold its final meeting in June, consists of diplomats from 25 countries that include China and Russia and works as an advisory panel on international cyber issues, the report added.

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