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Virginia Tech’s Randy Marchany: Federal Gov’t Tends to Label Some Cyber Threat Data ‘Classified’
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Virginia Tech’s Randy Marchany: Federal Gov’t Tends to Label Some Cyber Threat Data ‘Classified’


cybersecurityRandy Marchany, chief information security officer at Virginia Tech, has said the federal government has a propensity to restrict the sharing of some cyber threat data and ongoing breach campaigns, Nextgov reported Wednesday.

Aliya Sternstein writes Marchany made his remarks at a cybersecurity conference Tuesday hosted by the U.S. Cyber Challenge and the Association for Federal Information Resources Management.

He said information on cyber incidents could help his team identify malicious threats on the school’s network infrastructure as well as disseminate information with other institutions in the education sector.

“The federal government now has this tendency to try to put a classified label on everything,” he told conference attendees.

“The information that we do get turns out to be really, really valuable in helping us correlate [suspicious activity],” he added.

In 2013, Virginia Tech reported a breach on its human resources server that compromised the personal data of approximately 145,000 applicants, the report noted.

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GAO: GSA Needs Risk Identification Plan for Gov’t Building Remodeling Projects
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GAO: GSA Needs Risk Identification Plan for Gov’t Building Remodeling Projects


GSAThe Government Accountability Office has recommended that the General Services Administration establish a framework for GSA personnel to identify and assess potential risks that may arise during alteration or repair of federal buildings.

GAO said in a report published Thursday it found GSA has limited data on unforseen conditions that can affect a government facility repair or alteration project’s overall cost and schedule.

Eleven of the 18 non-generalizable GSA projects that auditors reviewed encountered an unexpected circumstance, according to the government watchdog.

The reviewed projects cost at least $2 million and were funded from fiscal 2010 to fiscal 2013.

“GSA officials told GAO that contract change orders are used to document unforeseen conditions that result in a change to the contract, but that these change orders are not analyzed to identify what role these conditions represent on projects or their causes or impacts,” the report states.

The watchdog urged GSA to formulate and implement a plan to analyze data it collects from building alteration and repair initiatives to avoid project cost overruns or schedule delays.

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NGA’s Robert Cardillo: Data Sharing Can Help Protect Space Assets
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NGA’s Robert Cardillo: Data Sharing Can Help Protect Space Assets


Robert Cardillo
Robert Cardillo

Robert Cardillo, director of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, believes information sharing efforts can help bolster the security of space assets, DoD News reported Thursday.

Jim Garamone writes Cardillo noted the Joint Interagency Space Operations Center’s role in facilitating information sharing during a hearing before the House Armed Service Committee’s strategic forces subcommittee.

“[The center] is an amazing effort between the [Intelligence Community] and the [Defense Department] to share information… through a whole unity of effort between the two organizations,” he said.

Cardillo, an inductee into Executive Mosaic‘s Wash100 for 2016, noted that adversaries currently aim to dismantle U.S. space capabilities, the report said.

He said space-based systems such as global positioning systems, missile warning and communications serve as the “core” of U.S. defense, Garamone reports.

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Andrew Hallman: CIA Eyes Digital Transformation Strategy to Harness Big Data
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Andrew Hallman: CIA Eyes Digital Transformation Strategy to Harness Big Data


big dataCIA Deputy Director Andrew Hallman has said the agency needs to make culture and technical changes in order to manage an explosion of data and exploit information to help address national security challenges, Nextgov reported Wednesday.

Frank Konkel writes Hallman leads a digital innovation directorate that CIA established last year to transform its digital ecosystem, explore data management ideas and identify ways for consumers to access useful data.

He told a Cloudera-sponsored federal forum Tuesday modernizing the CIA’s underlying digital infrastructure  entails a “decentralized governance process with just enough high-level guidance to operationalize.”

CIA aims to build a solid strategy around big data after it adopted an Amazon Web Services-built cloud computing platform, Konkel reports.

The report said Hallman also believes big data technology can help agency analysts to gain insight into potential adversaries’ digital exhaust.

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Deborah Lee James: Air Force Needs More Training, ‘Strategic Deterrence’ Fund for Nuclear Triad
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Deborah Lee James: Air Force Needs More Training, ‘Strategic Deterrence’ Fund for Nuclear Triad


Deborah Lee James
Deborah Lee James

Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James has said the service branch needs more time to train and achieve the level of readiness it needs to counter global threats the U.S. currently faces, Air Force Times reported Thursday.

Oriana Pawlyk writes James made her remarks at a hearing of the House Armed Services Committee Wednesday on the service branch’s budget request for fiscal 2017.

“Half of our combat air forces are not sufficiently ready for the kind of fight [Army Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Milley] just described,” said James, an inductee into Executive Mosaic’s Wash100 for 2016.

Milley, also an inductee into Executive Mosaic’s Wash100 for 2016, cited Russia, China, North Korea and Iran as potential threats to U.S.’ national security.

“Money is helpful, but freeing up the time to do this training is equally important,” James added.

Lara Seligman also reported for Defense News that James also asked Congress to fund the three components of the service branch’s nuclear triad through a “strategic deterrence” joint fund.

These components include the B-21 bomber, the U.S. Navy’s Ohio Replacement Submarine program and the Ground-Based Strategic Deterrent initiative.

“If [there] is a strategic deterrence fund that would help or benefit one leg of the triad, I would ask for consideration that all legs of the triad be included in such an approach,” she said at the hearing.

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Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Talley: Army Reserve Needs Sufficient Resources to Address Unexpected Contingencies
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Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Talley: Army Reserve Needs Sufficient Resources to Address Unexpected Contingencies


reservists marchingLt. Gen. Jeffrey Talley, chief of the U.S. Army Reserve, has said his organization is in need of sufficient training resources in order to maintain readiness as well as respond to unanticipated contingencies, DoD News reported Wednesday.

Lisa Ferdinando writes Talley joined other National Guard and Reserve chiefs at a Senate Appropriations Committee’s defense subcommittee hearing Wednesday on the budget request for fiscal year 2017.

“This committee’s support is crucial to ensuring that we remain ready to provide support to the total force as unique current global requirements, respond to national emergencies and mobilize for contingency operations when our nation needs us most,” Talley told subpanel members.

Sen. Thad Cochran (R-Miss.), committee chairman, said the proposed defense budget for fiscal 2017 seeks to allocate $46.6 billion for the National Guard and Reserve.

Army Gen. Frank Grass, chief of the National Guard Bureau, and Vice Adm. Robin Braun, head of the Navy Reserve, also issued statements at the hearing.

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GAO: DHS Moves to Address Acquisition Management Challenges
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GAO: DHS Moves to Address Acquisition Management Challenges


DHS - ExecutiveMosaicThe Department of Homeland Security has made progress on its efforts to address acquisition, human capital, information technology and financial management problems across the 22-agency organization, according to a Government Accountability Office report.

GAO said Wednesday the department has fully addressed 10 of the 30 actions and outcomes related to those four key functions to date.

The government watchdog indicated that DHS has struggled to manage cost, schedule, and performance of several of its large programs.

DHS and its component agencies buy systems intended for border security, marine safety, traveler screening, cybersecurity and disaster response efforts, according to GAO.

The report says the department has established a policy to manage multi-year programs that cost more than $300 million.

“To ensure that recent efforts are sustained, the department must continue to implement its sound acquisition policy consistently and effectively across all components,” the agency noted.

House Clears Federal Data Center Efficiency Bill; Rep. Anna Eshoo Comments
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House Clears Federal Data Center Efficiency Bill; Rep. Anna Eshoo Comments


DataCenterThe House of Representatives has approved by voice vote Rep. Anna Eshoo’s proposed legislation that seeks to boost federal data center efficiency.

Eshoo, the ranking member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s communications and technology panel, said in a statement released Monday the bill would “[save] the federal government energy and taxpayer dollars by requiring the use of energy efficient and energy saving technologies, specifically in federal data centers.”

The proposed Energy Efficient Government Technology Act calls for coordination between federal agencies and the Office of Management and Budget to develop technology procurement plans and conduct regular evaluation on the energy consumption of federal data centers.

It would also require an update to the baseline for data center energy efficiency and would establish an open data initiative in order to disseminate energy usage data.

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CERDEC Works on Noise-Encrypted Waveform Designed for Radar Emission Masking
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CERDEC Works on Noise-Encrypted Waveform Designed for Radar Emission Masking


Helicopter-RadarThe U.S. Army continues its work to develop a noise-encrypted radar waveform designed to hide radar emissions in efforts to address issues in radar system performance in a radio frequency environments.

Army Materiel Command‘s Communications-Electronics Research, Development and Engineering Center currently performs research and development work on the Advanced Pulse Compression Noise waveform, which uses elements from traditional and non-traditional waveforms, the Army said Tuesday.

“Techniques such as real-time re-programmable waveform synthesis and low probability of intercept/low probability of detection provide added capability that will address the emerging electromagnetic spectrum challenges our soldiers are likely to face in the future,” said Paul Zablocky, director of CERDEC’s intelligence and information warfare directorate.

The Army added that APCN can be used by both soldiers and civilian law enforcement agencies, is tunable or programmable in real time and has the potential to minimize challenges due to frequency congestion.

The Army Research Laboratory helped CERDEC create an experimental demonstrator used for the APCN waveform development.

The radar system will undergo additional experiments using advanced radar waveforms in the coming days, the Army said.

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Defense Secretary Nominates Marshall Webb for Air Force Special Operations Command Commander
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Defense Secretary Nominates Marshall Webb for Air Force Special Operations Command Commander


$headshot Marshall-Webb
Lt. Gen Marshall Webb

Lt. Gen Mashall Webb, commander of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization Special Operations Headquarters, has been nominated to lead the U.S. Air Force Special Operations Command in Hurlburt Field, Florida.

Defense Secretary Ash Carter has nominated the 30-year veteran command pilot as commander of the special operations command, Defense Department said Wednesday.

Webb currently leads the NSHQ that handles development, coordination and direction of that works to optimize special operations forces employment.

He has over 3,700 flight hours including 117 combat hours and served as the commander for the 20th Special Operations Squadron, 352nd Special Operations Group, 1st Special Operations Wing, 23rd Air Force, and Special Operations Command Europe.

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