The Federal Risk Authorization Management Program team seeks to revamp the readiness assessment process for cloud service providers in an effort to help reduce wait times for vendors seeking authorization, Federal News Radio reported Friday.

Meredith Somers writes William Hamilton, FedRAMP program manager for operations, and his team currently work to cut the assessment process from the 6-12 month time frame to the target 3-6 month duration under the FedRAMP Accelerated program.

Hamilton told a panel hosted by ISC2 in Washington that the readiness assessment process will help cloud vendors “get to our FedRAMP marketplace faster,” according to the report.

The process will require cloud companies to submit short reports and undergo reviews to address cloud issues, the station reports.

Claudio Belloli, FedRAMP program manager for cybersecurity, said the team conceived the new authorization process based on previous tours and discussions with stakeholders; architecture, engineering and cybersecurity reviews; and interviews with the Defense Department, Department of Homeland Security and the General Services Administration.

Some former and current government security officials who took part in a panel discussion held Friday in Washington believe collaboration between technology users in the public and private sectors is key to address advanced cyber threats, Fedscoop reported Friday.

Greg Otto writes Leo Scanlon, acting chief information security officer of the Department of Health and Human Services, said the Information Sharing and Analysis Center can serve as a collaborative model for companies who aim to secure their information technology systems.

“I think it’s a very effective step,” Scanlon told the International Information Systems Security Certification Consortium-hosted panel discussion Friday.

“I think it’s introducing a capability that’s particularly useful in places that we don’t expect to be able to field full blown IT [security operations center] capabilities,” he added, according to the report.

The report said the Information Sharing Analysis Organization Standards Organization developed a framework for the establishment of threat data sharing hubs.

The U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Research, Development and Engineering Center has developed a system that works to troubleshoot the Improved Data Modem software which supports digital message exchange for rotary-wing aircraft.

The service branch said Thursday the IDM Systems Interoperability Lab conducted live, virtual and constructive simulation at the aviation systems integration facility of AMRDEC’s software engineering directorate to track issues in IDM.

Scott Dennis, director of the aviation systems integration facility, said IDM works to send and receive digital messages from multiple products, networks and aircraft with 11 software variations, three hardware variances and four guide documents.

Dennis added the range of involved products and versions make it a challenge to meet project objectives.

He further said SIL is designed to use virtual battlefield simulations to gauge IDM performance in real world scenarios.

SIL worked to identify three defects in the IDM version 9.2.1.1 operational flight program during its software development phase in 2015, Dennis noted.

A research team at the State University of New York at Buffalo has developed a wireless communication system that aims to increase the speed of data transmission from submarines and underwater drones, C4ISR & Networks reported Friday.

Dimitris Pados and his co-researchers started the project in late 2011 in collaboration with the National Science Foundation and Teledyne Technologies, according to the report by John Edwards and Eve Keiser.

The report noted the system is based from a signal processing technique and comprises two Ettus Research-built software-defined networking modules that are designed with  Teledyne’s TC4013 transducers.

Researchers found the wireless technology was able to transmit data at 200 kilobits per second over 200 meters underwater during a recent demonstration at a manmade lake on the SUNY-Buffalo campus.

Pados told C4ISR & Networks he believes the system also has potential to aid in port surveillance operations as well as diver-to-diver or diver-to-underwater vehicle communications.

The U.S. Army‘s Communications-Electronics Research, Development and Engineering Center will use a system-of-systems approach to develop new positioning, navigation and timing strategies for mounted platforms, dismounted soldiers, anti-jam antennas and pseudolites.

CERDEC said April 28 CERDEC’s command, power and integration directorate looks to apply the Assured PNT approach to address warfighter requirements through an integrated, configurable system.

“Some sensors and technologies are better suited for certain missions and environments, but if we integrate these sensors and technologies, we achieve the best combination that will address various environments and provide the best solution at all times,” said Charlie Miller, CERDEC CP&ID PNT division chief.

The integration also works to support PNT requirements even in environments where global positioning system signals are degraded, the center said.

CERDEC noted that it has also collaborated with the Army Research Laboratory, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and the Aviation and Missile Research, Development and Engineering Center to produce micro electro-mechanical systems that monitor body movements.

The team also looks to establish Global Navigation Satellite Systems and explore new network technologies that enable dismounted or mounted soldiers to share information using a network and map their location, the report said.

The U.S. Navy plans to launch a contest to draw ideas on system modernization and cybersecurity from the service’s uniformed personnel, Federal News Radio reported Thursday.

Nicole Ogrysko writes the Navy will coordinate with the Defense Innovation Unit Experimental, the innovation hub of the Defense Department, and Silicon Valley companies to kick off the contest and judge the entries in an effort to apply potential technologies in a  real-world setting.

Janice Haith, deputy chief information officer for the Department of the Navy, told an ISC2’s CyberSecureGov conference in Washington that the goal of the competition is to solicit ideas from Navy personnel on how to address legacy information technology challenges and cybersecurity risks.

The focus will be on outdated systems and embedded platforms installed in 300 vessels of the Navy with the goal of mitigating cyber threats when the ships depart the port, according to the report.

The U.K.’s government digital service agency will launch its new identity verification platform for digital government services in the coming days.

Janet Hughes, GDS identity assurance program director, wrote in a blog post published Thursday that the GOV.UK Verify platform has passed the “Digital by Default Service Standard” assessment to address security, safety and usability requirements.

She added the transition to a live service is a gradual process and the assessment works to facilitate large-scale deployment across multiple departments.

The organization will continue to develop new updates for the service and post more about the developments over the next year, Hughes wrote.

Dell landed a two-year, $1.2 million contract from the U.K.’s department for work and pensions earlier this month to decommission the Government Gateway system in efforts to transition to GOV.UK Verify.