The Defense Department has released a draft regulation that seeks to amend the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement in an effort to provide additional time for contractors to comply with the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s security requirements for cloud services.

DoD said in a Dec. 30, 2015 notice posted on Federal Register that defense contractors have until Dec. 31, 2017 to comply with security provisions stipulated in NIST’s Special Publication 800-171.

The NIST publication contains requirements for contractors on how to protect sensitive data stored in contractors’ information networks and systems.

The department will also require contractors to inform DoD’s chief information officer of any NIST provisions that were not implemented within one month of contract award, according to the interim rule.

Comments on the proposed rule are due Feb. 29, according to the notice.

A weapons testing official at the Defense Department has said the Joint Program Office’s plan to complete software development work on the Lockheed Martin-built F-35 aircraft by July 31, 2017 seems unrealistic, Defense News reported Saturday.

Lara Seligman writes Michael Gilmore, DoD’s director of operational test and evaluation, said in a Dec. 11 memo that he is concerned that JPO might rush tests on the fighter jet’s Block 3F software in order to meet the July 2017 deadline.

Gilmore added there is a “very high risk” the software might fail the final testing phase prior to a full-rate production decision due to hasty testing schedules.

“The JPO does not intend on ‘short-cutting’ any required test points,” Joe DellaVedova, a spokesman for JPO, told Defense News in an email.

DellaVedova said approximately half of all baseline flight testing points for the Block 3F software had been concluded by JPO as of Jan. 15 and that the office remains on schedule to deliver the software in the fall of 2017.

“Any critical deficiencies identified during the remainder of development flight testing and [initial operational test and evaluation] will be coordinated with key stakeholders including the services and operational test team, to determine the need for any required fixes or other follow-up actions,” DellaVedova wrote in the email.

The Office of Personnel Management has launched an online cybersecurity education program for federal employees and their families in a move to help bolster the cybersecurity workforce, FCW reported Friday.

Chase Gunter writes OPM developed the 20-month Master of Science in Information Security Operations program in partnership with Champlain College Online.

Beth Cobert, OPM acting director, said the program aims to “address critical cybersecurity skills gaps and help address the higher education needs of the federal workforce.”

OPM and Champlain College Online will offer a 50-percent discount through 2017 to federal employees and their families to enroll in the program under the college’s truED alliance, FCW reports.

Cybersecurity professionals will teach enrollees how to counter cyber threats through hands-on training, Gunter reports.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology is inviting interested government, academic and corporate personnel to become part of a new working group under the agency-led National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education.

NIST said Thursday the NICE Working Group seeks members to identify new strategies to address the cybersecurity skills gap in the U.S.

The working group will have subgroups for competitions, workforce framework, training and certifications, career development and workforce planning, K-12 and collegiate programs, NIST noted.

NICE program leaders plan to hold a kickoff teleconference on Wednesday to discuss the working group’s objectives and member roles.

Group meetings are scheduled to occur on the fourth Wednesday of each month.

Matt Goodrich, director of the Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program at the General Services Administration, has said stakeholders believe the program is a potential “market maker” and has influenced how industry gauges cloud security.

He wrote in a blog entry posted Wednesday that cloud service providers, third-party assessors, government agencies and others have also provided feedback over the past six months for further updates to the program.

FedRAMP users have called for increased visibility into the process and program transparency as well as a faster time to authorization, he said.

According to Goodrich, the program will explore potential changes to the authorization process, collaborate with 18F to develop a public dashboard on the FedRAMP website, pilot a new baseline for high-impact security systems and further promote FedRAMP use.