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Senate Bill to Prohibit Federal Procurement, Use of AI Tools From Countries of Concern
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Senate Bill to Prohibit Federal Procurement, Use of AI Tools From Countries of Concern

Sens. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., John Barrasso, R-Wyo., and Rick Scott, R-Fla., have proposed a bill that would preclude the U.S. government and its contractors in the private sector from buying or using adversarial artificial intelligence tools and services.

Rubio’s office said Thursday the Artificial Intelligence Acquisitions Act would direct the undersecretary of Commerce for standards and technology to work with the Federal Acquisitions Security Council to develop a list of AI services and products from China, Russia, North Korea, Iran, Syria, Venezuela, Cuba and other countries of concern.

The proposed legislation would provide contractors doing business with the U.S. government two years to discontinue using AI products and services on the list.

“Communist China’s heavy investment in AI poses a serious national security threat, and the United States must have a plan to keep our nation safe on this front,” Rubio said. ”My Artificial Intelligence Acquisitions Act would ensure the federal government and its private sector contractors aren’t using AI designed by China, Russia, or other adversaries.”

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Federal Agencies Amend Acquisition Regulations About Multiple-Award Contract Protest Requirements
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Federal Agencies Amend Acquisition Regulations About Multiple-Award Contract Protest Requirements

The Department of Defense, the General Services Administration and NASA have released an issuance putting into effect a rule proposed in October 2023 that would amend the Federal Acquisition Regulation.

According to the final rule posted Tuesday on the Federal Register, the amendment implements changes put forward by the Small Business Administration that update and clarify requirements related to size and socioeconomic status protests concerning multiple-award contract set-asides and reserves, and orders placed under such contracts.

The agencies issued the proposed rule in October for public comment. The final rule incorporates changes based on public feedback.

The changes include the addition of text that specifies when a protest is due for multiple-award contract orders where the contracting officer requests re-representation for the order.

The changes also include modifications to the text clarifying when a protest is due when written notification is not required and other communication means are used.

The final rule goes into effect on Aug. 29.

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Navy Awards KBR $153M Contract for Flight Test & Aircrew Services Assistance
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Navy Awards KBR $153M Contract for Flight Test & Aircrew Services Assistance

The U.S. Navy has awarded KBR a $153 million contract to continue supporting the agency’s flight test and aircrew services.

Under the five-year recompete contract, KBR will aid Naval Test Wings Atlantic and Pacific Aircrew Services by further implementing engineering technical systems, independent analysis and technical support, the technology and engineering company announced Monday.

Byron Bright, president of KBR Government Solutions U.S. and a 2024 Wash100 awardee, said over four decades of collaborating with the Navy has led to this contract.

“KBR builds upon our more than forty-five years of aircrew services and flight test support to the U.S. Navy,” Bright stated.

KBR will leverage the company’s developmental test experience to advance the Naval Test Wing’s air vehicle test mission. The contract will cover services such as test and evaluation, air vehicle operation and ground operations.

“This strategic win solidifies KBR’s commitment to bring unmatched capability and expertise to naval aviation,” Bright added.

Work will be conducted at Naval Air Station locations in Patuxent River, Maryland, Pt. Mugu, California and China Lake, California.

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CIA’s Juliane Gallina to Speak at 2024 Intel Summit
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CIA’s Juliane Gallina to Speak at 2024 Intel Summit

The Potomac Officers Club’s upcoming 2024 Intel Summit boasts an impressive lineup of intelligence experts from both the Intelligence Community and industry. During the event, which will be held on September 19, you will have the opportunity to learn from four keynote speakers and numerous panelists who will weigh in on today’s most relevant intelligence topics.

One featured speaker is Juliane Gallina of the Central Intelligence Agency. Keep reading for more information on her background and a sneak preview of what she may discuss at the event.

Meet Juliane Gallina

Gallina currently serves as deputy director of digital innovation at the CIA. She joined the organization in April 2019 as chief information officer and later assumed the role of associate deputy director of digital innovation before being elevated to her current position in January. She is a two-time recipient of the Wash100 Award.

Juliane Gallina’s Career Background

Gallina has extensive experience in both the public and private sectors. Prior to joining the CIA, she spent nine years at IBM, where she served as a partner before moving into the role of vice president of U.S. federal key accounts. She was also an executive at Edge Consulting, which was purchased by the National Interest Security Company in 2008. A year later, she was appointed as director of software at NISC.

Gallina’s experience in federal leadership roles began at the National Reconnaissance Office, where she spent over a decade, beginning as a senior system engineer and program manager and ending as a deputy program director. She has additionally served as a U.S. Navy commander and was a seminar leader for the Navy Reserve’s Joint Rapid Acquisition Cell.

Juliane Gallina’s Innovation Goals

While serving in her previous role, Gallina revealed her top five technology priority areas in a September 2022 video interview with Executive Mosaic. These points of focus include:

  • Artificial intelligence and machine learning
  • Blockchain and cryptocurrency
  • Biotechnology
  • Microelectronics
  • Next-generation communications

Though these technologies offer many benefits for the United States, she noted that they are also “avenues for adversaries to disrupt American global economic superiority or strength, and they’re seeking to undermine it.”

Juliane Gallina to Keynote 2024 Intel Summit

Gallina will deliver the morning keynote address at the 2024 Intel Summit. During her speech, she will offer a look into the ways in which the CIA and wider Intelligence Community are harnessing the power of cutting-edge digital technologies to adapt to the needs of the modern intelligence landscape and stay ahead of U.S. adversaries in the race to achieve technological superiority.

To take advantage of the chance to hear from Gallina in person, secure your spot at the highly-anticipated 2024 Intel Summit!

CIA’s Juliane Gallina to Speak at 2024 Intel Summit
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GAO Says EPA Needs National Strategy to Address Cyberthreats Against US Water Sector
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GAO Says EPA Needs National Strategy to Address Cyberthreats Against US Water Sector

The Government Accountability Office has called on the Environmental Protection Agency to develop a national strategy to address the cybersecurity threats against U.S. water and wastewater systems.

In a report published on Thursday, GAO said the EPA, which heads the water cybersecurity efforts in the United States, must identify and prioritize the greatest risks that could disrupt the water sector’s operations.

The watchdog stressed that the EPA urgently needs a standard cyber strategy as the sector faces growing risks, specifically from external bad actors.

The office noted that foreign hackers targeted multiple water systems in 2023, adding that the incidents should remind the EPA and other relevant agencies that cyberattacks threaten critical infrastructure sectors.

To address the threats, the watchdog suggested that the EPA evaluate water sector risks and develop and execute a national cyber strategy.

GAO also urged the agency to review if its legal authorities to carry out cybersecurity responsibilities remain sufficient and seek additional powers if needed.

The accountability office stressed that a modern strategy and additional authority are necessary for the EPA to ensure that “the water sector is better prepared for any future cyberattacks.”

The GAO report came out after the EPA collaborated with the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency and the FBI to release guidance in January that water sector owners and operators can use to better respond to cyber incidents.

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AFWERX, MTSI Evaluate Electric Aircrafts for Possible Military Use
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AFWERX, MTSI Evaluate Electric Aircrafts for Possible Military Use

AFWERX, the Department of the Air Force’s innovation arm, and defense contractor MTSI have been conducting a series of test flights to evaluate electric-powered aircrafts.

The Air Force said Wednesday the collaboration is intended to assess the performance of BlackFly, an electric vertical take-off and landing—or eVTOL—aircraft from Pivotal, along with other electric aircrafts.

The project started mid-June and is expected to conclude in mid-September. The daily test flights are being conducted at Springfield-Beckley Airport with preparations done at the National Advanced Air Mobility Center of Excellence.

According to Josh Lane, AFWERX flight test engineer, the BlackFly is being evaluated for its flying capabilities and infrastructure. In line with AFWERX’s Agility Prime program, the project is exploring the possibilities of using these aircrafts for military operations while other stakeholders are looking at their potential for commercial use.

They are also trying to determine if the single-seat eVTOL can be converted into an unmanned aircraft. Joshua Bohun, the remote pilot in command, noted that the BlackFly’s advanced control systems made it easy to maneuver the aircraft.

The project is also evaluating the performance of DANNAR’s battery energy storage system and the portable chargers, particularly the remote-controlled Mobile Power Station, as the main electric charging system for the eVTOL aircrafts.

“The DANNAR system is designed to provide modularity and flexibility,” Lane said. “We use it for various power aspects, including ground control computers and aircraft recharging.”

Aside from the BlackFly, other eVTOL aircrafts being evaluated include the BETA ALIA, Pyka Pelican Cargo and Pipistrel Velis Electro.

Take part in the upcoming GovCon International Summit and get a chance to dissect the minds of government and industry experts. Register here.

AFWERX, MTSI Evaluate Electric Aircrafts for Possible Military Use
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CISA Issues Playbook for Supply Chain Software Security
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CISA Issues Playbook for Supply Chain Software Security

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency has provided government acquisition and procurement organizations with a newly developed guidebook on mitigating cyberattack threats on the software they use in the supply chain.

Titled “Software Acquisition Guide for Government Enterprise Consumers: Software Assurance in the Cyber-Supply Chain Risk Management Lifecycle,” the playbook consolidates software assurance standards and frameworks, with focus on software acquisition and lifecycle activities, CISA said.

Developed by CISA’s information and communications technology supply chain risk management task force, the guide addresses the heightened importance of rebalancing cybersecurity responsibilities between software suppliers and users.

According to Mona Harrington, CISA national risk management center assistant director and ICT SCRM task force co-chair, the guidance includes the agency’s secure by design principles and a questionnaire that should be tackled in the risk mitigation process for software procured from third parties.

The guide is a tool for government acquisition and procurement bodies for initiating discussions with their cybersecurity staff and enterprise risk frontliners, such as chief information officers, Harrington added.

The playbook provides a spreadsheet complementing its software acquisition roadmap to help users navigate the document.

The ICT SCRM task force will hold a webinar on the guidebook in the fall.

NCSC Releases 2024 National Counterintelligence Strategy
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NCSC Releases 2024 National Counterintelligence Strategy

The National Counterintelligence and Security Center has issued a new strategy that seeks to provide strategic direction for the U.S. federal government and the counterintelligence — or CI — community to counter foreign intelligence threats and align CI priorities with the National Security Strategy.

In a statement published Thursday, NCSC Director Michael Casey said the National Counterintelligence Strategy is designed to drive action, integration and resources across the CI community to safeguard U.S. strategic advantages and outmanuever foreign intelligence entities.

“Developed with our partners across the U.S. government, the strategy provides a comprehensive vision and direction for the CI community to address increasingly complex foreign intelligence threats,” Casey added.

The 2024 strategy has three key pillars: outmaneuver and constrain FIEs, protect U.S. strategic advantages and invest in the future.

Each pillar has specific strategic goals. For the first pillar, goals include detecting, understanding and anticipating foreign intelligence threats and combatting foreign intelligence cyber activities.

Under the second pillar, protecting individuals against foreign intelligence targeting and collection, safeguarding critical technology and U.S. economic security and reducing risks to key U.S. supply chains are some of the goals.

The third pillar calls for the U.S. government to build counterintelligence capabilities, resilience and partnerships.

POC - 2024 Intel Summit

Register here to join the Potomac Officers Club’s 2024 Intel Summit on Sept. 19 and hear top U.S. intelligence community officials and industry executives discuss the challenges, innovation initiatives, opportunities and technologies shaping the future of American intelligence.

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DARPA Tackles Memory Safety Vulnerabilities Problem With New Program
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DARPA Tackles Memory Safety Vulnerabilities Problem With New Program

The Defense Advanced Research Project Agency is aiming to eliminate memory safety vulnerabilities completely with a new program.

The Department of Defense research division said Wednesday issues with disclosed software vulnerabilities can be solved with the help of the Translating All C to Rust, or TRACTOR, program.

TRACTOR is an answer to the call of the Office of the National Cyber Director for a more proactive approach to finally solving memory safety vulnerabilities and lowering the risk of attacks. The program will be hosting public competitions.

The program intends to find ways to automate the translation of the world’s legacy C code to the safer Rust programming language with the help of large language models and other advancements in machine learning.

Existing tools for finding bugs are not enough to tackle memory safety issues in C and C++. The problem with memory safe programming languages is that it is difficult to rewrite legacy code at a scale large enough to deal with the whole problem. With the help of LLMs, the possibility of memory safety vulnerabilities affecting a computer’s memory will be erased.

Dan Wallach, DARPA program manager for TRACTOR, described the process as simply going to any LLM website and telling the AI chatbot to translate C code to a safe idiomatic Rust code.

“The research challenge is to dramatically improve the automated translation from C to Rust, particularly for program constructs with the most relevance,” said Wallach.

Join the Potomac Officers Club in getting to know some of the nation’s leading defense researchers, experts and decision-makers at the 2025 Defense R&D Summit in January. Click here to register.

DARPA Tackles Memory Safety Vulnerabilities Problem With New Program
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Maj. Gen. Robert Harter Appointed to Dual Leadership Role at Army Reserve Command
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Maj. Gen. Robert Harter Appointed to Dual Leadership Role at Army Reserve Command

Maj. Gen. Robert Harter has been named the new chief of Army Reserve and commanding general of the U.S. Army Reserve Command.

The Army Reserve said Thursday Harter was confirmed by the Senate to the dual role at the Army Reserve Command. He was also promoted to lieutenant general.

Prior to his new assignment, Maj. Gen. Harter was the commanding general of the 81st Readiness Division and the deputy chief and G3 of the Office of the Chief of Army Reserve. He also served as deputy chief of staff and later director of the Office of the Chief of Army Reserve staff.

In between his roles at the Army Reserve, Harter was chief of staff of the Army Materiel Command where he was tasked with integrating headquarters operations in support of AMC’s global sustainment mission set.

As the commanding general of the 316th Expeditionary Sustainment Command, Harter was deployed to CENTCOM in support of Operations Spartan Shield, Inherent Resolve and Enduring Freedom. He also served as the director of logistics and distribution operations for the 316th ESC..

The Alaska-born general’s other assignments as part of the Active Guard Reserve program include training chief for readiness of the 99th Regional Readiness Command; support operations officer of the 55th Sustainment Brigade; and branch chief of the Force Protection Branch, Joint Staff J8, Force Structure, Resources, and Assessment.

Before his AGR assignments, Harter was in active service, particularly with the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment at Bad Hersfeld, Germany, the 101st Corps Support Group at Fort Campbell Kentucky and the Army Munition Center and School at Redstone Arsenal, Alabama.

The Virginia-based Harter earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in business and communication from Virginia Tech and a master’s degree in national security strategy from the National War College.

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