DHS Seeks Student Volunteers for Secretary’s Honors Program on Cybersecurity
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DHS Seeks Student Volunteers for Secretary’s Honors Program on Cybersecurity


JobAdThe Department of Homeland Security has issued a job announcement for available positions under the Secretary’s Honors Program Cyber Student Volunteer Initiative across 45 locations in the U.S.

DHS said in a notice posted Dec. 29 on USAJobs that the positions are open to undergraduate and graduate students in cybersecurity-related fields who are interested in volunteer assignments with DHS.

Assignments include cybersecurity research, hardware and software updates, cyber policy development, vulnerability scans and incident response, the notice stated.

Selected student volunteers will work to support the cybersecurity mission at these DHS agencies and components:

  • Coast Guard
  • Customs and Border Protection
  • Immigration and Customs Enforcement
  • National Protection and Programs Directorate
  • Office of the Chief Information Officer
  • Office of Intelligence and Analysis
  • Office of Policy
  • Transportation Security Administration

The application period is open through Jan. 29.

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State Dept’s New Center Seeks to Counter Violent Extremism Via Social Media Campaigns
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State Dept’s New Center Seeks to Counter Violent Extremism Via Social Media Campaigns


Department of the statesThe State Department has launched a new center staffed by public and private sector professionals who aim to counter disinformation from ISIS, al-Qaeda and other extremist groups through the use of computer-mediated tools.

The Global Engagement Center will collaborate with government organizations to create thematic campaigns across social media as well as coordinate counterterrorism messaging efforts aimed at foreign audiences, the department said Friday.

Michael Lumpkin, assistant defense secretary for special operations and low-intensity conflict, will serve as director of the engagement facility.

The State Department also seeks to empower a network of positive messengers and offer seed funds to nongovernmental organizations and media companies that can help stop the spread of violent extremism content through the center.

The facility will use data science and analytics technology to design, implement and evaluate social media campaigns against the ISIS group and develop strategies for public sector agencies to address domestic extremist movements.

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Juniper Networks’ Bob Fortna Outlines Key Practices for Future Data Center
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Juniper Networks’ Bob Fortna Outlines Key Practices for Future Data Center


data ServersBob Fortna, vice president of federal defense sector at Juniper Networks, has prescribed five practices he says are necessary to build the data center of the future.

Fortna wrote in an opinion piece for GCN published Monday that he believes the deployment of a software-defined networking will help data center managers handle virtualization, reduce costs and deliver services.

He also proposed for the automation of tools and processes in order to implement a software-defined architecture in government agencies.

Fortna believes automation “helps agencies enhance their security posture by reducing the potential vulnerabilities caused by human intervention.”

He also recommended that data center managers adhere to open standards, use analytics to customize data center capabilities and migrate to high-performance network infrastructures in order to accommodate demands.

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Eric Fanning Resigns as Acting Army Secretary
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Eric Fanning Resigns as Acting Army Secretary


Eric-FanningEric Fanning is set to resign as acting Army secretary while the Senate Armed Services Committee has yet to hold a confirmation hearing for his nomination to the post, Defense News reported Monday.

Aaron Mehta and Joe Gould write that Fanning was nominated to succeed John McHugh, who departed his post in November.

Pentagon Press Secretary Peter Cook said members of the Senate Armed Services Committee are concerned about the acting role given to Fanning, according to the report.

Army Undersecretary Patrick Murphy has been appointed as interim secretary of the department, Defense News reports.

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Larry Allen: Federal Govt Should Start Acquisition Reform Efforts With ‘Open Dialog’ With Service Contractors
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Larry Allen: Federal Govt Should Start Acquisition Reform Efforts With ‘Open Dialog’ With Service Contractors


acquisition policyLarry Allen, founder and president of Allen Federal Business Partners, has said government acquisition officials should monitor spending on services in order to manage procurement processes in the federal government.

Allen wrote in a Federal News Radio article published Monday that federal acquisition leaders can begin their spending monitoring and procurement reform efforts through an “open dialog” with contractors that work to provide services to government agencies.

“Understanding how federal agencies are viewed as a service customer will likely lead to actionable information that can be used to start a process of service acquisition reform based on common sense,” Allen said.

“This in turn can lead to best practices, and perhaps eventually, procurement rules that are made for service buying so that product-based rules don’t have to be used on something for which they were never intended,” he added.

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Navy, Penn State Researchers Develop Collaborative Soaring, Data Sharing Algorithms for UAS
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Navy, Penn State Researchers Develop Collaborative Soaring, Data Sharing Algorithms for UAS


droneThe Naval Research Laboratory has partnered with the Pennsylvania State University’s Air Vehicle Intelligence and Autonomy Lab to demonstrate algorithmic methods for telemetry data exchange between two soaring unmanned aerial vehicles.

NRL said Wednesday its Autonomous Locator of Thermals algorithm and AVIA’s AutoSOAR autonomous soaring algorithm worked to enable two sailplanes to flew autonomously and share information cooperatively during flight tests held at a military airport in Maryland.

Researchers launched a total of 23 unmanned flights at Phillips Army Airfield in September and October to test their cooperative autonomous soaring formulas.

“This testing showed proof of concept on multiple occasions, with both aircraft finding thermals and ‘calling’ the other aircraft over to use the same area of lift to increase endurance of the swarm,” said Dan Edwards, an NRL aerospace engineer.

The algorithms also worked to help the sailplanes glide at an altitude of more than 1,400 meters for up to five hours using only atmospheric power, NRL said.

NRL and AVIA plan to examine the feasibility of combining solar photovoltaic technology and cooperative autonomous soaring methods for solar-powered unmanned flights.

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House Committee to Tackle SES Accountability, Employee Performance Bills
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House Committee to Tackle SES Accountability, Employee Performance Bills


CapitolDomeThe House Oversight and Government Reform Committee is set to discuss a number of bills intended to change the rules on Senior Executive Service accountability and paid leaves, Federal News Radio reported Friday.

Nicole Ogrysko writes Rep. Tim Walberg (R-Mich.) is expected to introduce the Senior Executive Service Accountability Act, which proposes a two-year probationary period for career employees.

The bill also wants to allow career appointees who are removed from service for poor performance to get their basic pay received before they joined the SES, according to the report.

Other measures contained in the bill include a 14-day suspension for career appointees accused of misconduct, authorization for agency leaders to remove employees and reassignment of career appointees, the station reports.

Legislators will also tackle at a business meeting a proposed U.S. Code amendment that aims to change probationary periods for competitive service and SES members, Federal News Radio reports.

Ogrysko writes Committee Chairman Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) will also introduce the Official Personnel File Enhancement Act, which calls for the addition of investigation findings to an employee’s personnel file.

GSA Proposes Federal Travel Expense Regulation Amendments
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GSA Proposes Federal Travel Expense Regulation Amendments


AirportRunwayThe General Services Administration has proposed a rule that would amend a section in the Federal Travel Regulation to include ATM fees under incidental expenses rather than miscellaneous expenses.

A notice posted Friday on the Federal Register noted that the amendment aims to bolster the government’s travel cost projections and cost control measures.

The proposal also indicates that it is up to the agency to decide if it will accept the reimbursement of costs for laundry, cleaning and pressing of clothing during the travels of federal officials.

GSA will accept comments on the proposed rule through March 8.

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Mac Thornberry: DoD Should Tolerate Risks in Acquisition Programs
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Mac Thornberry: DoD Should Tolerate Risks in Acquisition Programs


acquisition policyRep. Mac Thornberry (R-Texas), chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, has said the Defense Department should tolerate risks through experimentation when it comes to the acquisition of new technology platforms, FCW reported Thursday.

“We’ve got to allow people to make mistakes,” Thornberry said at a committee hearing Thursday.

“One way to help with that is to be able to experiment and prototype so you that you see if something is going to work before you buy a bunch of them,” he added.

Sean Lyngaas writes Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.), a ranking member of the House panel, discussed the issue of bureaucracy in DoD’s acquisition system during the hearing.

“What I’m most interested in is how we can more empower the individuals at the Pentagon to make those decisions with fewer layers of bureaucracy,” Smith said.

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Rear Adm. Peter Fanta Previews Navy’s Pipeline of Surface Warfare Programs
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Rear Adm. Peter Fanta Previews Navy’s Pipeline of Surface Warfare Programs


Peter Fanta
Peter Fanta

Rear Adm. Peter Fanta, director of surface warfare (N96) at the U.S. Navy, has said the service branch is working to analyze capability gaps to prepare for its procurement of the Future Surface Combatant slated for 2030.

He told Defense News reporter Christopher Cavas in an interview published Sunday that the production of Flight III Arleigh Burke-class destroyers and the replacement of coastal patrol boats are also in the pipeline of programs.

Fanta noted that the Navy will seek to both sustain existing capabilities and introduce new ones as it aims to match capability and capacity requirements to the threat environment.

“We look at future threats, at how those threats come together, what the build rates on the threats are, what we’re most likely to experience and then what do we expect the ship to do,” he said.

He added that budget shortfalls have impacted some planned programs, including modernization efforts for cruiser and amphibious ships and the acquisition of more surface-to-surface missiles for naval vessels.

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