Kerry Long, program manager at the Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity, has said humans have the capability to change the future of the cyber domain, C4ISRNet reported Friday.

“If you think about it, cyber space is really the one environment that we’re fighting in that we can actually change,” Long said Wednesday at the Federal Times-hosted CyberCon conference in Washington.

“We created it in the first place – by ‘we’ I mean [the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency],” he added.

Mark Pomerleau writes Long noted that DARPA and IARPA have started to invest in efforts that seek to defend the “next internet,” which he says could develop into a “massive cloud,” from potential cyber vulnerabilities.

Long said that the intelligence community needs to practice caution in the cyber space as various entities across the world use the same cloud infrastructure to share data, Pomerleau reports.

He also cited the need for developers to address the challenges associated with big data analytics, the report added.

The Defense Department has implemented a Wi-Fi network at the Pentagon as a result of efforts to consolidate DoD’s information technology services under a Defense Information Systems Agency-controlled shared services organization, Federal News Radio reported Monday.

Jared Serbu writes Brig. Gen. Brian Dravis, director of the Joint Service Provider, said that savings from the consolidation of ad-hoc IT organizations within the building paid for the Wi-Fi project.

The department also updated its headquarters’ key IT assets as part of a physical plant modernization push known as “PenRen” which covers thousands of miles worth of cabling and consolidated data centers, Serbu reports.

The report said JSP will soon be integrated into DISA and be responsible for various Pentagon IT functions such as the management of nearly 500 IT contracts and about $1 billion worth of IT infrastructure.

Dravis told the station that JSP aims automate and virtualize the building’s IT infrastructure.

The U.S. Army plans to hold a groundbreaking ceremony on Nov. 29 for a new cyber headquarters at Fort Gordon, Georgia that will consolidate the service branch’s cyber, capability development, education and training operations.

Army Secretary Eric Fanning and Army Cyber Command lead Lt. Gen. Paul Nakasone will attend the ceremony that will kick off a more than two-year construction effort, the service branch said Wednesday.

The Army Corps of Engineers selected B.L. Harbert International in August to lead the project under a potential two-year, $85.1 million contract.

B.L. Harbert will build new facilities for cyber operations and command-and-control functions through May 2018 as part of the project’s first phase.

Phase two of construction will cover a facility to house cyber protection team operations and is scheduled to be completed in 2019, the Army noted.

The branch’s new cyber hub is designed to accommodate more than 1,200 cyber soldiers and civilians and will be ready for occupancy in 2020.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology has found that the U.S. industry should address needs for measurement science and technology demonstrations to boost growth in advanced manufacturing and save at least $100 billion per year.

NIST said Thursday it funded separate economic studies on additive manufacturing; advanced robotics and automation; roll-to-roll manufacturing; and smart manufacturing.

“Gaps in the technology infrastructure — including the lack of reliable measurement and test methods, scientifically based standards, and other formal knowledge and tools — limit advanced manufacturing’s further development and adoption,” said NIST Economist Gary Anderson.

“Our studies emphasize that full economic impact will only be realized if all technical needs are met, and all stakeholders regardless of size, not just large manufacturers, can share in the rewards,” Anderson added.

The four studies identified 5 to 10 technical barriers to the adoption of each manufacturing technology; assessed the impacts of addressing the challenges; and determined needs that should be met to eliminate the obstacles.

NIST’s studies estimate annual cost savings of up to $4.1 billion; $40.1 billion for advanced robotics and automation; $400 million for roll-to-roll manufacturing; and $57.4 billion for smart manufacturing.

Researchers said small- and medium-sized manufacturers should have access to similar methods, tools and knowledge as larger manufacturers to achieve cost savings.

Raj Shah, head of the Defense Innovation Unit Experimental organization, has said he is optimistic DIUx will continue to operate under the administration of President-elect Donald Trump amid criticisms from Republican lawmakers, Federal News Radio reported Wednesday.

“My hope and sense is that innovation is not a partisan issue and so having the opportunity to continue to new things, make mistakes, understand what doesn’t work as well is what will be critical to us in a rapidly changing threat environment,” Shaj said Wednesday at the Federal Times Cybercon event in Washington.

Shah told event attendees that DIUx has made development work on several technology areas such as artificial intelligence, biotechnology, autonomy, machine learning, commercial space and networking, Scott Maucione writes.

DIUx has awarded contracts worth approximately $36 million combined and has opened offices in Boston and Austin, Texas, in addition to its Palo Alto, California-based outpost, according to a report by Sydney J. Freedberg Jr. and Colin Clark for Breaking Defense.

Shah noted that the 2016 National Defense Authorization Act seeks to facilitate the transition of system prototypes to full-rate production through the Commercial Solutions Opening procurement vehicle, according to the report.