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DIA’s Industry Days to Focus on AI, Machine Learning Tech
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DIA’s Industry Days to Focus on AI, Machine Learning Tech


DIA's Industry Days to Focus on AI, Machine Learning Tech
NIH image

The Defense Intelligence Agency will host a two-day event at its Washington headquarters in August to gather technology ideas from industry and academic professionals in the artificial intelligence and machine learning areas.

DIA said Thursday its innovation office aims to identify new technologies and business processes as well as introduce attendees to the agency’s Innovation Hub environment during the Industry Day series scheduled for Aug. 2 and 3.

IHUB is designed to virtually connect entrepreneurs in a collaborative environment for testing and evaluation of intelligence platforms.

“Innovation is happening in the private sector, so we want to leverage that to bring them into our agency and see how we can transform what we’re doing in the defense intelligence enterprise,” said Robert Dixon, special adviser for innovation at DIA.

The agency seeks AI and machine learning tools that can support automated reporting, data transformation, database development, information monitoring and thematic data management activities.

Interested vendors and members of the academia can submit concepts to the DIA in accordance with the “NEED 99 – Other Innovative Capabilities” list on the agency’s NeedipeDIA website.

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James Mattis: US Prefers Diplomatic, Economic Tools to Stop North Korea Threat
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James Mattis: US Prefers Diplomatic, Economic Tools to Stop North Korea Threat


James Mattis: US Prefers Diplomatic, Economic Tools to Stop North Korea Threat
James Mattis

Defense Secretary James Mattis has said the U.S. military supports the White House’s stance on potential methods to address nuclear and missile threats from North Korea, DoD News reported Thursday.

Mattis, an inductee into Executive Mosaic‘s Wash100 for 2017, told reporters Thursday at the Pentagon that President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson want to lead with diplomatic and economic efforts to resolve the problem.

He added the military remains ready to provide options to President Trump if necessary.

The Defense Department currently reviews intelligence from North Korea’s launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile earlier this week, according to Mattis.

He said the U.S. government is also working with China to urge North Korea to end its nuclear and missile programs.

Keith Hall: HASC’s Defense Bill Would Affect Net Direct Spending Over 10 Years
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Keith Hall: HASC’s Defense Bill Would Affect Net Direct Spending Over 10 Years


Keith Hall: HASC’s Defense Bill Would Affect Net Direct Spending Over 10 Years
Keith Hall

The Congressional Budget Office‘s preliminary estimates suggest that the implementation of the House Armed Services Committee’s proposed defense spending bill for fiscal 2018 would decrease or raise net direct spending by $500,000 from fiscal 2018 through fiscal 2020.

CBO Director Keith Hall told Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-Texas), HASC chairman, in a letter published Wednesday that fiscal 2018 National Defense Authorization Act would result in an increase in pay forfeitures and fines due to the addition of “a specified offense under the military justice system” in the bill.

Hall noted that such increases are categorized as revenues and would amount to less than $500,000 over the next decade.

CBO also predicts the fiscal 2018 NDAA would result in the application of pay-as-you-go procedures since its passage would increase revenues and direct spending, Hall added.

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Army Develops System for Multiple UAS Control
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Army Develops System for Multiple UAS Control


Army Develops System for Multiple UAS ControlThe U.S. Army‘s aviation development directorate has built a new platform designed to help air mission commanders operate up to three unmanned aerial systems at the same time.

The Supervisory Controller for Optimal Role Allocation for Cueing of Human Operators system, or SCORCH, was developed to help air mission commanders complete tasks at a faster rate without the need for additions to operator workloads, the Army said June 29.

“The SCORCH system was designed specifically to support an AMC on board a manned helicopter during manned-unmanned teaming operations,” said Grant Taylor, ADD engineering research psychologist.

Amit Surana, principal research scientist at the United Technologies Research Center, said that UTRC helped ADD develop the supervisory control interface for the SCORCH platform, software and decision-making support tools.

Surana added the system represents an integration of new technologies in areas including autonomy, cognitive sciences, human and machine interaction.

SCORCH’s interface is designed with a touchscreen glass cockpit, a movable game-type hand controller and target recognition system.

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Army Describes Counter-WMD Mission in New Doctrine
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Army Describes Counter-WMD Mission in New Doctrine


Army Describes Counter-WMD Mission in New DoctrineThe U.S. Army has released a new doctrinal publication that describes how the service branch plans to eliminate weapons of mass destruction, the Federation of American Scientists reported Wednesday.

The document titled “Combined Arms Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction” defines counter-WMD operations as measures taken against threat actors to impede the research, development, possession, proliferation, use and effects of WMD as well as related materials and expertise.

Conventional and special operations forces may be required to stop the movement of chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear materials as well as WMD components and WMD-related personnel into or out of certain areas or nations, according to the document.

These forces may need to use boarding vessels and search and detection platforms to secure and seize shipments.

Counter-WMD operations are not only meant to target WMDs but also networks that produce, sponsor, fund and use such weapons, the doctrine stated.

The publication was created primarily for military and civilian agency personnel who perform or support combined arms counter-WMD efforts.

The manual is also meant to serve as a primary reference to help tactical-level commanders, staff and agencies plan, synchronize, integrate and carry out counter-WMD activities.

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NASA Mulls Second Extended Mission for Orbital ATK-Built Dawn Spacecraft
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NASA Mulls Second Extended Mission for Orbital ATK-Built Dawn Spacecraft


NASA Mulls Second Extended Mission for Orbital ATK-Built Dawn SpacecraftNASA will decide in the next two months on a second extended mission for the Orbital ATK-built Dawn spacecraft, which is in orbit around the Ceres dwarf planet, Space News reported Wednesday.

Dawn arrived in Ceres’ orbit in March 2015 after a 7.5-year journey and completed a one-year extended mission in June.

NASA spokesperson Laurie Cantillo told Space News that the agency’s planetary science division has begun to review a report from an independent panel on Dawn’s science achievements at Ceres.

Cantillo added Dawn could stay in orbit around Ceres or use its remaining fuel to fly to another asteroid.

Carol Raymond, deputy principal investigator for Dawn at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, said at an agency meeting in June that the mission is also considering a flyby, the report stated.

Raymond noted Dawn has enough fuel to operate until the end of 2018.

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Govt, Industry Participants Train for Infrastructure Defense at Cyber Guard Exercise
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Govt, Industry Participants Train for Infrastructure Defense at Cyber Guard Exercise


Govt, Industry Participants Train for Infrastructure Defense at Cyber Guard ExerciseThe FBI, Cyber Command and Department of Homeland Security have co-hosted a week long exercise wherein participants from academia, industry, U.S. government and other allies performed training activities designed to prepare personnel for potential cyber attacks on critical infrastructure.

Cybercom said Wednesday that the Cyber Guard event gathered more than 40 participating organizations from 22 countries that teamed up to defend and protect infrastructure from varying cyber threats which ranged from disruptive to catastrophic.

More than 700 cyber operators and infrastructure personnel from Cybercom, the intelligence community, the National Guard and Reserves participated on various simulated cyber threat scenarios at the Joint Staff’s facility in Suffolk, Virginia.

“I think all warfare today requires inter-dependencies, coalitions and partners … but in cyber, I think there is a more profound requirement to have partnerships in ways that are different than other military warfighting domains,” said Lt. Gen. J. Kevin McLaughlin, deputy commander of Cybercom.

Cybercom said that the Cyber Guard event was created to help operators evaluate cyber attack capacities and establish collaborative cybersecurity strategies between U.S. agencies, international partners, private and public industries.

The event also assessed the legal challenges faced by elements of operations in cyberspace.

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US, South Korea Fire Missiles in Response to North Korea’s ICBM Test
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US, South Korea Fire Missiles in Response to North Korea’s ICBM Test


US, South Korea Fire Missiles in Response to North Korea’s ICBM TestSouth Korea and the U.S. fired missiles Tuesday into the former’s territorial waters as part of a military exercise after North Korea test-launched an intercontinental ballistic missile, DoD News reported Wedneday.

Navy Capt. Jeff Davis, a spokesman for the Defense Department, told reporters that service personnel used South Korea’s Hyunmoo II missiles and the eight U.S. Army’s Tactical Missile System during the exercise.

Davis noted that the U.S. tracked for 37 minutes the ICBM that took off from North Korea’s Banghyon airfield and landed in the sea of Japan.

“We strongly condemn this act by North Korea… It is escalatory [and] destabilizing,” Davis added.

Reuters also reported that the U.S. prefers to pursue diplomatic action in response to North Korea’s ICBM test but is prepared to use its military forces to put an end to the East Asian country’s nuclear missile program.

Nikki Haley, U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, said Wednesday at a U.N. Security Council meeting that China should initiate actions to control North Korea.

Haley also cited possible sanctions against North Korea in response to its ICBM test and those include imposing maritime and air restrictions, limiting the supply of oil to the country’s weapons programs and cutting off main sources of hard currency to the country, the report added.

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Joe Stuntz: OMB to Issue New Consolidated ID Mgmt Policy
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Joe Stuntz: OMB to Issue New Consolidated ID Mgmt Policy


Joe Stuntz: OMB to Issue New Consolidated ID Mgmt PolicyThe Office of Management Budget will create a new policy on identity management by building on the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s updated digital identity guidelines and on the White House’s memo that seeks to reduce agency reporting requirements, Federal News Radio reported Tuesday.

Joe Stuntz, a policy lead for cyber and national security unit at OMB, said the consolidated policy is part of OMB’s efforts to simplify the identity management guidelines used by federal agencies and contractors.

“As part of this burden reduction effort, we are looking at the existing identity memos [and] the fact that agencies have to go to five or six different places,” Stuntz said during a panel discussion at the Security Industry Association’s Gov Summit held Thursday in Washington.

“We are looking at how to do a little bit of centralization around that, how to make sure agencies know where to look [and] aren’t going to five different places [and] getting conflicting guidance.”

OMB will consider the Federal Identity, Credential and Access Management roadmap and the Circular A-130 update as it creates the new policy.

He added that OMB will seek public feedback on the new policy that seeks to leverage the changes made during the cybersecurity sprint following the data breach at the Office of Personnel Management.

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NATO Cooperative Cyber Defense CoE Calls for Joint Response to NotPetya, WannaCry Attacks
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NATO Cooperative Cyber Defense CoE Calls for Joint Response to NotPetya, WannaCry Attacks

NATO Cooperative Cyber Defense CoE Calls for Joint Response to NotPetya, WannaCry AttacksA group of researchers at NATO’s Cooperative Cyber Defense Center of Excellence has urged the international community to pursue a joint response to the threat actors behind the NotPetya and WannaCry malware campaigns.

The organization said Friday researchers Bernhards Blumbergs, Tomas Minarik, Kris van der Meij and Lauri Lindstrom have called for a special joint investigation among the victim nations on both NotPetya and WannaCry in efforts to deliver a response in line with international law.

“As important government systems have been targeted, then in case the operation is attributed to a state, this could count as a violation of sovereignty,” Minarik said regarding NotPetya.

“Consequently, this could be an internationally wrongful act, which might give the targeted states several options to respond with countermeasures,” he added.

CCD COE noted that Tallinn Manual 2.0 on the International Law Applicable to Cyber Operations indicates that self-defense and collective defense with military means are not applicable response options unless a cyber incident has consequences comparable to an armed attack.

The researchers also said the actors behind the NotPetya and WannaCry attacks are likely not the same and appear to be targeting a global demonstration of disruptive power rather than financial gain.

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