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CISA Working to Identify Systemically Important Entities
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CISA Working to Identify Systemically Important Entities

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency is identifying critical infrastructure organizations that should be designated as systemically important entities, or SIE, in accordance with a national security memorandum that officially designated the agency as the national coordinator for critical infrastructure, Federal News Network reported.

CISA’s National Risk Management Center is analyzing the risks facing organizations to determine whether an entity should be included in the SIE list. According to the memo, the SIE designation is for critical infrastructure entities whose operations, when disrupted, could negatively impact national security, economic security, or public health or safety.

In an interview, David Mussington, executive assistant director for infrastructure security at CISA, said the effort aims to ensure those responsible for key critical infrastructure assets are known in terms of their criticality and supported by national policy and the sector risk management agencies, or SRMAs, including the Department of Energy.

SRMAs play a role in the SIE identification. The memo required such agencies to submit draft sector risk management plans to CISA before the end of October to inform the first cross-sector risk assessment, which CISA will use to develop the SIE list.

According to Mussington, understanding how threat actors target SIEs and exploit vulnerabilities will enable CISA to create a critical infrastructure-focused risk mitigation plan.

David Mussington is a speaker at the Potomac Officers Club’s Homeland Security Summit on Nov. 13. Join the event to learn more about the country’s most significant threats and what’s being done to thwart them. Register today!

CISA Working to Identify Systemically Important Entities

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Hackers Attempt to Infiltrate Telecom Networks Amid US Election
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Hackers Attempt to Infiltrate Telecom Networks Amid US Election

Cyber attackers are attempting to infiltrate U.S. telecommunication networks and affiliated wiretap infrastructures amid the 2025 presidential election, but federal officials say these events won’t sway the outcome of the race.

The Salt Typhoon hackers have tried to access the phone communications of presidential campaign officials and their staff as well as around 10 communication firms, including Verizon, AT&T and Lumen, the Wall Street Journal reported Sunday.

CISA Director Jen Easterly, a 2024 Wash100 awardee, gave updates on the current investigation into Salt Typhoon.

“We are working with our FBI partners on the investigation related to the Salt Typhoon activity. At this point in time, we have no reason to believe that that activity will have any material impact on the outcome of the presidential election,” Easterly said during a news conference Monday.

CISA leaders will be speaking at the Potomac Officers Club’s 2024 Homeland Security Summit on Nov. 13 about the nation’s cybersecurity efforts in today’s tense geopolitical landscape. Secure your tickets to the 2024 Homeland Security Summit now!

What Is Known About Salt Typhoon

DHS has confirmed that the Cyber Safety Review Board will spearhead an investigation into Salt Typhoon. The Unified Coordination Group, an organization that supports disaster response operations at the federal and state level, has also been assigned to the investigation. The number of affected individuals has grown since the incident was first reported about a month ago.

Neal Higgins, a former deputy White House national cyber director who’s now a partner at law firm Eversheds Sutherland, said, “At this point, there’s probably more that we don’t know than we do. It’s unclear what the access vector was, the scope of the intrusion was and how many victims are involved. The fact that a Unified Coordination Group has been convened … tells you that the administration is taking it seriously.”

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Kim Stevens Appointed Chief Health Informatics Officer at VA
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Kim Stevens Appointed Chief Health Informatics Officer at VA

The Department of Veterans Affairs has appointed Kim Stevens its new chief health informatics officer. Stevens brings to the position more than a decade of healthcare and digital technology experience.

Announcing her new role at LinkedIn, Stevens said she will lead the VA’s efforts to develop and deploy informatics solutions to enhance patient care and organizational performance.

The new appointee most recently served as contributing faculty at Walden University, where she guided doctoral candidates in nursing practice and advanced research methodologies for shaping future healthcare leaders. Stevens was also an associate manager at Accenture, where her post focused on using digital technologies to improve scientific data management and ensure compliance and operational efficiency.

Earlier, Stevens employed her solid background in nursing and informatics during stints at Oracle, the National Institute of Health and various hospitals and universities.

Stevens earned her bachelor’s degree in nursing and master’s and doctorate in nursing informatics from Walden University.

Kim Stevens Appointed Chief Health Informatics Officer at VA

On Dec. 11, Join the Potomac Officers Club’s 2024 Healthcare Summit to explore the transformative trends and innovations shaping the future of the healthcare sector. Register now to attend the important event.

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New MITRE Paper Calls for EM Spectrum Management Reform
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New MITRE Paper Calls for EM Spectrum Management Reform

MITRE has released a paper where it critiqued the unsustainability of the current electromagnetic spectrum management process and advocated for reform via the implementation of dynamic spectrum sharing, or DSS.

Why Is Existing Spectrum Management Unsustainable?

MITRE said Monday that accessing the spectrum is key to U.S. security and competitiveness but the way the resource is currently managed is slow, costly and inflexible. One such unsustainable method involves the static relocation of federal users in order to free up spectrum to be auctioned to commercial users. Political and economic barriers also exist that cause tension between federal and commercial spectrum users.

How Can Dynamic Spectrum Sharing Help?

The non-profit company said that, to address these challenges, the next U.S. administration can implement dynamic spectrum sharing, which can allow for flexible capacity optimization and resource allocation and enable the coexistence of various spectrum users. In the paper, the company also proposed multiple implementation strategies, including the development of artificial intelligence-powered DSS capabilities and the launch of a nationwide pilot program for a DSS platform.

MITRE went on to say that the next administration can help ensure national security and economic growth by carrying out spectrum management reform.

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Army Integrates USACE Financial Management With Contract Writing
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Army Integrates USACE Financial Management With Contract Writing

The U.S. Army has integrated the Army Corps of Engineers Financial Management System, or CEFMS, with its modernized contract writing platform as part of efforts to streamline contracting processes and enhance financial management for USACE-managed projects.

The service said Monday the Program Executive Office Enterprise and the Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army for Procurement integrated CEFMS with the Army Contract Writing System, or ACWS, to facilitate data transfer between the two platforms to help improve expenditure tracking and provide updates on contract status and funding allocations.

PEO Enterprise is fielding the integrated system to 3,250 users in waves. The Army expects the updated ACWS to reach full deployment by April 2025.

“Through the culmination of close coordination with multiple stakeholders and successful management of competing priorities on short and often reduced schedules, we are pleased to deliver this capability to our Army contracting community,” said Lt. Col. Camille Morgan, product manager for ACWS at PEO Enterprise. 

Impacts of ACWS-CEFMS Integration

The integration effort is part of the Army’s broader initiative to transform its contracting and financial management processes.

The military branch expects the newly integrated system to accelerate the processing of contracts and payments, improve reporting tools and enable project managers to easily track contract expenditures against approved budgets as part of efforts toward transparency and accountability.

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Federal CISO, CDO Councils Unveil Zero Trust Data Security Guide
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Federal CISO, CDO Councils Unveil Zero Trust Data Security Guide

The Federal Chief Information Security Officer, or CISO, Council and the Federal Chief Data Officers, or CDO, Council have issued a document to guide federal agencies as they operationalize data security using a zero trust framework.

“This guide represents insights from agency practitioners who are in the trenches working to implement zero trust and secure their organization’s data,” Kirsten Dalboe, chair of the CDO Council, said in a statement published Thursday.

“We’re building a cooperative relationship between data and cyber to tackle this government-wide challenge and ultimately ensure the public’s data is secured,” added Dalboe, who also serves as CDO for the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

More than 30 federal departments and agencies helped create the Federal Zero Trust Data Security Guide.

A working group of security and data experts developed the 42-page document in accordance with an Office of Management and Budget memorandum that seeks to advance the adoption of zero trust cybersecurity principles within the U.S. government.

About the Guide

The document addresses the zero trust data security into three chapters: define the data, secure the data and manage the data.

The second chapter, for instance, discusses the implementation of security monitoring and controls for data and integration of risk management and identity, credential and access management to ensure data security.

The guide also outlines several zero trust data security principles, including adopting a data-centric view, promoting data resiliency and integrity and implementing standardized least privilege and access control.

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DIU Launches TACTILE Program, Demonstrates Capability
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DIU Launches TACTILE Program, Demonstrates Capability

The Defense Innovation Unit has unveiled the Tactical Launch Effort, or TACTILE, program in response to the emerging demand for low-cost, long-range suborbital energetics.

The program is intended to enhance the development of suborbital launch capabilities using technological advancements, DIU said Monday.

Objectives of the TACTILE Program

The TACTILE program is a Department of Defense initiative that aims to accomplish the following goals:

  • Integrate advanced manufactured solid propellant, or AMSP, to the commercial prototype modular launch system as an alternative to liquid and cryogenic rocket fuels
  • Test an AMSP printed motor in a relevant flight environment and assess its scalability and flexibility
  • Develop and evaluate affordable system design capable of high-cadence launches using a commercially available launch service.

TACTILE Program Demonstration

X-Bow Systems, the primary contractor, held a demonstration on Sept. 12 to showcase a 3D-printed AMSP motor. The XB-32 rocket, using the 3D-printed propellant, was launched and reached an altitude of 32,000 feet. It was also able to travel at a speed of Mach 1.2.

The DIU worked with the Space and Missile Defense Command to conduct the launch and evaluate the AMSP-printed rocket motors. The demonstration was focused on the potential of lowering labor expenses, transporting and storing fuel safely and operating efficiently.

Major General Steve Butow, space portfolio director at DIU, stated, “The successful demonstration of 3D-printed propellant through the TACTILE program is a major step forward in delivering low-cost, rapidly deployable suborbital solutions, including in hypersonics.”

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USAF Leaders Discuss Re-optimization for Great Power Competition
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USAF Leaders Discuss Re-optimization for Great Power Competition

U.S. Air Force leaders pushed for re-optimization and structural reorganization to better counter threats, particularly from China, amid the Great Power Competition. 

At the 56th Airlift/Tanker Association Symposium, Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall, a Wash100 awardee, said the United States must adapt to evolving tactics. 

“For a long time, we’ve been able to operate relatively freely,” he told the audience. “China has, like the Soviet Union, adapted. So must we.” 

Air Force Modernization

The Air Force began the process of reoptimizing for the Great Power Competition in early 2024 with the release of a plan that detailed changes that will enable the service to maintain superiority against adversaries. 

During the symposium, Gen. Johnny Lamontagne, head of the Air Mobility Command, gave an update on the AMC’s structure and capabilities. He shared that the command will review the effectiveness of its employment of aeromedical evacuation and global air mobility support systems. He also revealed that the next iteration of Mobility Guardian, AMC’s flagship exercise, will be held in mid-2025 in the Pacific. 

Meanwhile, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Allvin pointed to the newly established Integrated Capabilities Command as part of the service’s re-optimization initiatives. The ICC will oversee and accelerate force modernization efforts. 

“The ICC will allow us to build one Air Force, one force design, by building the systems first and ensuring different capabilities can be integrated into them,” said Allvin. 

He added that the process would enable the military branch to adapt more quickly. 

David Flosi, chief master sergeant of the Air Force, urged airmen to focus on the mission amid reorganization, adding that mobility forces play a crucial role in rapid global mobility.

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Jennifer Kron on NSA’s Hybrid Compute Initiative
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Jennifer Kron on NSA’s Hybrid Compute Initiative

Jennifer Kron, chief financial manager at the National Security Agency, said NSA’s hybrid cloud environment, also known as the Hybrid Compute Initiative, is now operational and that its goal is “all about finding the right compute solution for each mission, the right option for every distinct problem and for every distinct purpose,” Federal News Network reported Friday.

“This year it went live, and we are deploying mission with our partner,” Kron said of the initiative during a conference on Oct. 29 in Omaha, Nebraska. “That’s our core mission services, our IC GovCloud, which provides hundreds of programs and systems that are used not only by NSA, but across the IC and [the Defense Department].”

In July 2021, Amazon Web Services won a $10 billion cloud computing contract from NSA as part of the agency’s Hybrid Compute Initiative. In 2022, NSA moved to reaward the contract to AWS after it reevaluated bid submissions.

According to FNN, the increasing volume of data has driven NSA to consider and adopt more cloud offerings from commercial sources.

“The long term reasons why we made this shift is the increased reliability, increased performance, ultimate scalability and modularity, the efficiency,” Kron said.

“So there was no way we could get where we needed to go in [signals intelligence] and cyber without those partnerships,” added the former deputy chief information officer at NSA.

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Expected Location Chosen for 2nd CHIPS for America R&D Facility
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Expected Location Chosen for 2nd CHIPS for America R&D Facility

The Department of Commerce and Natcast, operator of the National Semiconductor Technology Center, have introduced the second site of the CHIPS for America research and development hub.

The department said Monday the second facility, the CHIPS for America Design and Collaboration Facility, or DCF, will be built in Sunnydale, California. The DCF is positioned to be instrumental in boosting the government’s semiconductor innovation and collaboration efforts.

CHIPS for America Design and Collaboration Facility

The NSTC facility will be utilized for conducting semiconductor research, particularly in chip design, electronic design automation, chip and system architecture and hardware security. It will also help enhance workforce development, investment and collaboration across the ecosystem.

In addition, the facility is expected to drive collaborations among industry leaders, investors and government partners. The DCF can host gatherings and events where these groups and individuals can interact and forge relationships. NSTC members can also access physical and digital assets in the DCF to develop semiconductor innovation.

Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo said the proposed facility in California provides access to research and tools while creating job opportunities.

“The research and development component of the CHIPS and Science Act is fundamental to our long-term national security and ensuring the U.S. remains the most technologically competitive place on earth,” said Raimondo.

The EUV Accelerator, CHIPS for America’s first flagship facility, is located in Albany, New York and was announced earlier this week. The location for the NSTC Prototyping and National Advanced Packaging Manufacturing Program Advanced Packaging Piloting Facility has yet to be announced.

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