/
Mary Davie: GSA Adds 15 Vendors Under New Schedule 70 Cyber Special Item Numbers
Published on
Mary Davie: GSA Adds 15 Vendors Under New Schedule 70 Cyber Special Item Numbers


Mary Davie: GSA Adds 15 Vendors Under New Schedule 70 Cyber Special Item Numbers
Mary Davie

The General Services Administration has awarded 15 vendors spots under four new special item numbers for “highly adaptive” cybersecurity services as part of GSA’s Information Technology Schedule 70 contract vehicle.

Mary Davie, assistant commissioner at GSA’s integrated technology services branch, wrote in a blog post published Thursday that agencies can now place task orders or establish blanket purchase agreements through the new HACS SINs.

GSA established the four SINs in September for vendors that offer penetration testing, incident response, cyber hunt and risk and vulnerability assessment services.

Davie said the SINs are designed to provide access to pre-vetted support services that will help agencies test high-priority IT systems, address potential vulnerabilities and mitigate threats.

GSA plans to add more vendors under the SINs and all current IT Schedule 70 vendors that offer highly adaptive cybersecurity services will be required to migrate their products to the new SINs, Davie wrote.

The assistant commissioner noted GSA works with the Department of Homeland Security and the Office of Management and Budget to evaluate vendors and address the government’s cybersecurity needs.

The new SINs will support the White House’s Cybersecurity Strategy and Implementation Plan and Cybersecurity National Action Plan.

/
Reports: US Authorities Examine Cyber Attack on DNS Provider Dyn
Published on
Reports: US Authorities Examine Cyber Attack on DNS Provider Dyn


cyber-hack-network-computerU.S. authorities are investigating a distributed-denial-of-service attack that hit internet performance management company Dyn‘s managed domain name system infrastructure, USA Today reported Friday.

Eli Blumenthal and Elizabeth Weise write that Amazon, Twitter, Spotify, Netflix and PayPal were among the websites hobbled by the DDoS attack on the Dyn service Friday.

The report said security experts believe the source of attack came from internet-connected devices infected with the Mirai malicious source code.

Mirai uses malware from phishing emails to infect computer or home networks initially, then spread the virus to various devices to create a robot network, Blumenthal and Weise noted.

CNBC reported Friday the Department of Homeland Security examines the potential causes of the Dyn attack and that a U.S. intelligence official does not think the incident was a state-sponsored or a directed attack.

A team of Dyn engineers worked to restore the company’s service shortly after they discovered the cybersecurity incident, according to CNBC.

VA Unveils New Medical, Surgical Equipment Procurement Program
Published on
VA Unveils New Medical, Surgical Equipment Procurement Program


medical health doctorThe Department of Veterans Affairs has unveiled a new medical and surgical products acquisition program with the goal to simplify the procurement process at VA hospitals and clinics.

VA said Thursday the Medical/Surgical Prime Vendor–Next Generation program will work to streamline the process for ordering, tracking and procurement methods of clinical  supplies.

As part of the initiative, the department awarded contracts to American Medical Depot, Cardinal Health, Kreisers and Medline to support deliveries across five regions.

The program is part of VA Secretary Robert McDonald’s 12 Breakthrough Priorities that aim to increase support for veterans.

McDonald said “MSPV-NG aims to improve acquisition planning, sourcing and delivery” to help buyers get the best deals and reduce wasteful spending.

Set for official launch on Dec. 1, the program will offer medical, surgical, dental, and select prosthetic and laboratory supplies at nationally negotiated rates.

The program also seeks to increase the participation of clinicians in the process of sourcing products and selecting supplies for VA’s network of medical centers and clinics.

/
GSA, FBI Hold Groundbreaking Ceremony for Consolidated FBI Facility in Puerto Rico
Published on
GSA, FBI Hold Groundbreaking Ceremony for Consolidated FBI Facility in Puerto Rico


fbi-headquartersThe General Services Administration and FBI have broken ground on the bureau’s new building in Puerto Rico that will consolidate existing FBI locations on the island’s capital San Juan.

GSA said Friday Walsh Group is the contractor for design-build construction work on the new FBI facility through July 2019.

Denise Pease, regional administrator for GSA’s Northeast and Caribbean Region operations, said local subcontractors and small businesses will provide excavation, telecommunications, mechanical, electrical, plumbing, project infrastructure and civil engineering design services to support the construction.

Alejandro Garcia Padilla, governor of the commonwealth of Puerto Rico, said Puerto Rico plans to renew the memorandum of understanding between local and federal agencies on prosecutorial and investigative responsibility regarding certain crimes.

The new FBI building will be built on a federal campus in the Hato Rey area of San Juan.

/
Federal Reserve Board Eyes FINRA as Secondary Market Data Collection Agent
Published on
Federal Reserve Board Eyes FINRA as Secondary Market Data Collection Agent


financial reportingThe Federal Reserve Board looks to designate the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority as an agent to help the board collect information from banks regarding U.S. Treasury securities in the secondary market.

FRB said Friday it seeks public input on its data collection proposal and believes the initiative will complement the mission of the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The board added SEC approved FINRA’s new policy that requires the self-regulatory organization’s broker-dealer members to report secondary market transactions.

Federal Reserve Governor Jerome Powell said the collection of the data will help the U.S. official sector gain a detailed view of secondary market transactions for Treasury securities.

FINRA is a Congress-authorized organization that develops and enforces rules governing securities firms and brokers, examines firms for compliance with guidelines, educates investors and promotes market transparency.

/
Ashley Mahan: FedRAMP Cloud Service Authorizations Up 85%
Published on
Ashley Mahan: FedRAMP Cloud Service Authorizations Up 85%


cloudThe new Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program certification process has authorized more than 75 cloud service providers that include 41 third-party assessment organizations with 50 more CSPs in line for approval, Federal News Radio reported Thursday.

David Thornton writes the program looks to streamline the time it will take a cloud service provider to secure a FedRAMP provisional authorization and a recent modification on the process focuses on “high-impact” systems.

“We have seen an 85 percent increase in FedRAMP authorization for new cloud services,” said Ashley Mahan, FedRAMP agency evangelist.

The report noted FedRAMP has issued a standards baseline for high impact systems in July with the addition of “stricter” controls designed to meet Defense Department needs.

“There weren’t major changes in terms of capabilities [as compared to the draft high baseline], but there were a few control additions and tighter implementations that are present in the final baseline that were not in the original baseline requirements,” said Matt Goodrich, FedRAMP director.

/
Adm. Michael Rogers: Human Capital is Biggest Cyber Challenge
Published on
Adm. Michael Rogers: Human Capital is Biggest Cyber Challenge


Adm. Michael Rogers
Adm. Michael Rogers

U.S. Navy Adm. Michael Rogers, head of Cyber Command and the National Security Agency, has said human capital needs pose the biggest challenge in the cybersecurity arena.

The Defense Department said Thursday Rogers spoke at the CyberMaryland Conference to discuss challenges facing the cyber community.

“While the technology is incredibly important to our ability to meet the needs that are associated with the challenges of cyber and cybersecurity, perhaps the greatest challenge is not the technology but the human capital element,” Rogers said.

“The ability to generate trained men and women with the right kind of background and insight is a challenge that as a nation we are only beginning to come to grips with,” he added.

Rogers noted that internship programs at NSA and Cybercom serve as a main cybersecurity investment for both organizations and approximately 65 percent of interns end up in staff positions NSA.

He added every personnel must have a baseline knowledge on cyber and users must make “smarter” decisions to support cybersecurity.

/
Army Seeks Light Combat All-Terrain Vehicle Fielding in 2019
Published on
Army Seeks Light Combat All-Terrain Vehicle Fielding in 2019


l-atvThe U.S. Army plans to deploy the Light Combat All-Terrain Vehicle in 2019 as a replacement for the Humvee, the Army said Thursday.

Staff Sgt. Corinna Baltos writes the service branch will field a two-seat combat support version and a four-passenger combat variant of L-ATV starting with the 82nd airborne division followed by the 173nd infantry brigade combat.

L-ATV is designed to be transported by helicopter and works to carry up to 15,639 pounds of cargo.

“We wanted to develop a truck with better underbody protection, and load protection, but one that could still put 3,500 pounds of payload in it,” said Col. Shane Fulmer, product manager systems integration for the Joint Program Office.

“This vehicle fits the bill,” Fulmer said of L-ATV.

Paratroopers from the 2nd battalion under the 173rd airborne brigade’s 503rd infantry regiment inspected Tuesday an L-ATV that was en route to Lithuania for testing, the report said.

/
Curt Dukes Outlines NSA Role in Cyber Defense Mitigation Efforts
Published on
Curt Dukes Outlines NSA Role in Cyber Defense Mitigation Efforts


Curtis Dukes
Curtis Dukes

Curt Dukes, the National Security Agency‘s deputy national manager for national security systems, has discussed NSA’s role in the development of cyber defense mitigation efforts and response to intrusions in the public and private sectors, DoD News reported Thursday.

Amaani Lyle writes Dukes discussed NSA’s incident-response work after incidents in computer networks of the Office of Personnel Management, State Department, Defense Department and other commercial companies at the American Enterprise Institute on Tuesday.

Dukes noted  NSA has implemented anti-exploitation features in a Windows environment as well as developed an application whitelist of trusted websites in support of efforts to mitigate an attacker’s cyber intrusion life cycle.

DoD also implements a host-based intrusion prevention system to perform daily antivirus protection through assessments of an adversary’s capacity for attacks.

“As a nation we have to rethink how we’re actually organized when we do cyber defense to protect the whole of the nation — not only government, but also our key industry sectors,” said Dukes.

/
NGA Chooses 16 Orgs for Disparate Data Challenge Phase 2
Published on
NGA Chooses 16 Orgs for Disparate Data Challenge Phase 2


NGA-logoThe National Geospatial-Intelligency Agency has invited 15 entities to join the second phase of NGA’s competition that seeks methods to discover, retrieve and analyze data in disparate formats, schemas, interfaces and locations.

NGA said Wednesday 15 of the awardees received $10,000 cash prizes and one entity secured a non-cash award under the Disparate Data Challenge‘s first phase wherein participants were asked to implement functioning systems that could facilitate access and retrieval processes for representative data sets analysis.

“This challenge is part of a greater strategy to engage with innovators and problem solvers we haven’t typically worked with,” said Mark DiPaolo, chief of the NGA’s mainstreaming innovation branch.

NGA chose these organizations to participate in the second leg of the challenge:

  • App Symphony
  • Blue Zoo
  • CyberGIS
  • Diffeo
  • Enigma
  • Envitia
  • GeoFairy
  • MARI
  • MediaFlux
  • Meta DDC
  • Paxata
  • Pyxis
  • RAMADDA
  • SitScape
  • Sourcerer
  • Voyager

1 … 2,350 2,351 2,352 2,353 2,354 … 2,610