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Acquisition & Procurement/News
DOD Issues Request for Comment on Proposed Amendment of DFARS Clause on Copyright Disputes
by Jamie Bennet
Published on February 16, 2024
DOD Issues Request for Comment on Proposed Amendment of DFARS Clause on Copyright Disputes

The Department of Defense is seeking external feedback on its proposal to make changes to the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement, or DFARS.

The Pentagon is looking to add trademark and other designation policies to DFARS, according to the agency notice posted Thursday on Federal Register.

DFARS will be amended to include coverage and ownership claim of program names and other contract-specific designations to reduce the risk of conflict among DOD, its offerors and its contractors.

In the event of any conflict, the new rule would enable early resolution of disputes on rights to the designations before a contract award is even granted.

The amendment will appear in a new DFARS subpart in DFARS on patents, data, and copyrights. DOD is open to public comments on the matter until April 15.

News/Wash100
Hitachi Vantara’s Mark Serway and ECS’ John Heneghan Honored With 2024 Wash100 Awards
by Ireland Degges
Published on February 16, 2024
Hitachi Vantara’s Mark Serway and ECS’ John Heneghan Honored With 2024 Wash100 Awards

On Friday, Executive Mosaic celebrated Hitachi Vantara Federal CEO Mark Serway and ECS President John Heneghan for their 2024 Wash100 Award wins.

The coveted Wash100 Award annually highlights the top executives in the government contracting industry. Those who join the ranks of Wash100 represent the most influential figures in the field and are identified through a rigorous selection process that weighs each nominee’s past accomplishments and forward momentum.

Serway won his first Wash100 Award this year for transforming Hitachi Vantara’s leadership team and providing data offerings to public sector clients. In 2023, the company appointed six new individuals to executive-level positions and joined the U.S. Artificial Intelligence and Safety Institute Consortium to support the U.S. government’s work to establish standards for trustworthy AI. Read his full profile here.

Hitachi Vantara’s Mark Serway and ECS’ John Heneghan Honored With 2024 Wash100 Awards

Heneghan’s win was his third, and this year, he was honored for driving innovation by hiring new company leaders and securing significant contracts. Last year, the company welcomed four new executives and booked prime spots on a $1.25 billion Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency contract and a 10-year, $60.7 billion information technology-focused Department of Veterans Affairs award. Click here to read his full profile.

ECS is sponsoring the Potomac Officers Club’s 5th Annual Artificial Intelligence Summit on March 21, which will bring together public and private sector AI experts. Dr. William Streilein, chief technology officer of the Department of Defense’s Chief Digital and AI Office, will keynote the event. To learn more and register to attend the summit, click here.

Don’t forget to vote for your favorite 2024 Wash100 winners in the annual popular vote contest! Visit Wash100.com to cast your 10 votes before the competition comes to a close.

Cybersecurity/Healthcare IT/News
NIST Releases Final Version of Guidance on HIPAA Security Rule Implementation
by Jerry Petersen
Published on February 15, 2024
NIST Releases Final Version of Guidance on HIPAA Security Rule Implementation

The National Institute of Standards and Technology has released the final revision of its special publication titled “Implementing the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Security Rule: A Cybersecurity Resource Guide”.

The document, also referred to as SP 800-66r2, offers guidance for regulated entities like HIPAA-covered organizations and their associates on how they can improve their cybersecurity posture and comply with the HIPAA Security Rule, the NIST said Wednesday.

SP 800-66r2 also lists activities that regulated entities can implement as part of an information security program and offers guidance on how risks to electronic protected health information can be assessed and managed.

The guide was revised by the NIST with the help of the Office for Civil Rights within the Department of Health and Human Services. Last year, NIST released a draft version of the special publication for further public comment. That draft version itself had incorporated public feedback gathered in 2021.

News
SEC Proposes Rule to Raise Threshold for Qualifying VC Funds
by Naomi Cooper
Published on February 15, 2024
SEC Proposes Rule to Raise Threshold for Qualifying VC Funds

The Securities and Exchange Commission has proposed a new rule that would update the definition of a qualifying venture capital fund.

SEC said Wednesday it proposes to raise the dollar threshold for a fund to qualify as a qualifying venture capital fund from $10 million to $12 million aggregate capital contributions and uncalled committed capital based on the Personal Consumption Expenditures Chain-Type Price Index.

The proposed rule would also establish a process for future inflation adjustments every five years in accordance with the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act of 2018.

According to the Commission, qualifying venture capital funds are excluded from the Investment Company Act’s definition of an “investment company.”

News
OSTP Provides Guidance on Conflict Disclosure, Talent Recruitment for Federal Projects With Other Countries
by Jamie Bennet
Published on February 15, 2024
OSTP Provides Guidance on Conflict Disclosure, Talent Recruitment for Federal Projects With Other Countries

The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy issued two memos to ensure data security of government research projects that collaborate with foreign agencies and talent.

In a statement released Wednesday, OSTP explained its new Policy Regarding Use of Common Disclosure Forms for federal research, accompanied by guidance on foreign talent recruitment programs for government research and development agencies.

The first memo serves as an aid to help agencies use the proper conflict disclosure forms when reviewing proposals for foreign R&D partnerships. With this guidance, OSTP aims to prevent conflict and duplication of the U.S. projects with other countries.

The second memo, which is backed by the CHIPS and Science Act, defines recruitment programs for foreign talent in federal projects. Part of its purpose is to weed out suspicious recruitment agencies.

News/Space
SSC Uses SpaceX’s Falcon 9 Rocket to Launch Missile Detection, Tracking Satellites for MDA & SDA
by Jane Edwards
Published on February 15, 2024
SSC Uses SpaceX’s Falcon 9 Rocket to Launch Missile Detection, Tracking Satellites for MDA & SDA

Six satellites of the Space Development Agency and Missile Defense Agency aboard SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket lifted off Wednesday from a launch complex at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida as part of a U.S. Space Force mission.

USSF-124 is a National Security Space Launch mission launched by Space Systems Command to bring the satellites to low Earth orbit to deliver networked communications, missile detection and missile tracking capabilities to the U.S. and its allies, SSC said Wednesday.

For USSF-124, the command reused a first-stage booster that previously backed six missions.

“As we move forward together with SpaceX, we’re methodically expanding reuse to leverage the benefits for the USSF and our space vehicle teammates. The mission team was able to add the Tranche 0 satellites to USSF-124 in under 30 days, less than six months from the then scheduled launch date,” said Walt Lauderdale, AATS mission director at SSC.

“This unprecedented responsiveness is a needed capability for the Space Force to confront today’s threat environment,” added Lauderdale.

Two of the six spacecraft are for MDA’s Hypersonic and Ballistic Tracking Space Sensor and the remaining four satellites are for the Tranche 0 Tracking Layer of SDA’s Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture.

Industry News/News
SBA Opens Up New Opportunities With Small Business Investment Company Program
by Jane Edwards
Published on February 15, 2024
SBA Opens Up New Opportunities With Small Business Investment Company Program

The Small Business Administration has reported milestones as a result of the implementation of regulatory and policy reforms to the Small Business Investment Company program, or SBIC. Through the program, SBA is working to accelerate the flow of private investment in startups and small businesses in underserved communities and technology areas that are key to U.S. national security and economic development.

In July 2023, program reforms were implemented through the SBIC Investment Diversification Growth Rule, which updated the program’s structural aspects and launched the SBIC Accrual Debenture, SBA said Wednesday.

The SBIC Accrual Debenture is SBA’s new government-guaranteed loan that seeks to “match the cashflow patterns of equity-oriented investment strategies” and enable the agency to license and offer loans to private funds that invest in startups and small companies.

One of the milestones achieved is the approval received by Stifel North Atlantic to secure an SBA-DOD SBIC Critical Technologies license and receive a commitment of funds from SBA. Stifel intends to improve the resilience of the domestic supply chain by fostering the adoption of additive manufacturing capabilities in lower-middle market businesses.

The second milestone is the approval of the first SBA Accrual SBIC license in December. Salt Lake City-based technology venture capital firm Pelion Ventures will manage the license.

In fiscal year 2023, SBA released $4.05 billion in commitments to SBICs, which sustained or created approximately 130,281 jobs.

Contract Awards/News
DOD OIG Recommends Remedies for Issues Concerning Management of Cost-Plus-Award-Fee Contracts
by Jane Edwards
Published on February 15, 2024
DOD OIG Recommends Remedies for Issues Concerning Management of Cost-Plus-Award-Fee Contracts

The Department of Defense’s Office of Inspector General has issued a report offering 12 recommendations to contracting officials to address concerns regarding the management and administration of cost-plus-award-fee contracts, known as CPAF.

Released Wednesday, the report suggests implementing a process for calculating the contractor’s award fees in accordance with the approved award-fee plan criteria; recalculating the prior award-fee amounts earned by the contractor to identify overpayments; and establishing a platform to accurately capture all relevant cost-plus-award-fee data.

The OIG made the recommendations after reviewing 27 CPAF contracts to determine how the department’s contracting officials oversee such contracts.

According to the report, such officials provided effective oversight of vendors’ performance and justified award fees paid for CPAF contracts.

However, the report found that contracting officials failed to properly justify award fees paid for three contracts and did not comply with DOD and federal policies when conducting management and administration for 78 percent of the reviewed 27 CPAF contracts.

“The findings in this audit illustrate the need for the DoD to improve its contracting practices,” commented Robert Storch, inspector general of the DOD. “Robust justifications for award fees paid to contractors reduce the risk that contractors are paid more than they earned.”

Executive Moves/News
Vice Adm. Brad Cooper Named CENTCOM Deputy Commander
by Jane Edwards
Published on February 15, 2024
Vice Adm. Brad Cooper Named CENTCOM Deputy Commander

Vice Adm. Brad Cooper, most recently commander of the Fifth Fleet and CMF or the Combined Maritime Forces, has taken on the role of deputy commander of U.S. Central Command.

CENTCOM announced the move in a post published Monday on the social media platform X.

“Brad’s leadership, experience, and spirit of innovation will serve CENTCOM incredibly well going forward,” commented Gen. Michael Erik Kurilla, commander of CENTCOM.

Cooper, a career surface warfare officer, previously served as chief of legislative affairs for the U.S. Navy, commander of Naval Surface Force Atlantic, head of the Expeditionary Strike Group 7 in Japan and commander of U.S. Naval Forces Korea.

He served on aircraft carriers, guided-missile destroyers, amphibious assault ships and guided-missile cruisers and held executive, special assistant and military assistant positions in the White House, the Office of the Secretary of Defense, U.S. Pacific Fleet headquarters and U.S. Africa Command.

Cooper handed over command of the Fifth Fleet and CMF to Vice Adm. George Wikoff during a ceremony on Feb. 1 at Naval Support Activity Bahrain.

Wikoff also assumed command of U.S. Naval Forces Central Command and the International Maritime Security Construct during the ceremony.

Cybersecurity/News
CISA Requests Proposals for TIES Cybersecurity Threat Intelligence Prototype Project
by Naomi Cooper
Published on February 15, 2024
CISA Requests Proposals for TIES Cybersecurity Threat Intelligence Prototype Project

The Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency has begun seeking proposals from industry sources capable of building a prototype cybersecurity threat intelligence platform under the Threat Intelligence Enterprise Service, or TIES, program.

CISA seeks to award an other transaction agreement to develop and establish a CTI exchange platform and data feeds for use initially by federal civilian executive branch agencies for the TIES minimum viable product, according to a notice posted Wednesday on SAM.gov.

The CTI exchange platform will be a centralized mechanism that will work to streamline the provision of cyber threat intelligence from multiple government and commercial sources.

The platform must understand the indicators of compromise characteristics from the threat intelligence feed source.

Interested parties have until March 4 to respond to the request for proposals.

CISA Requests Proposals for TIES Cybersecurity Threat Intelligence Prototype Project

The Potomac Officers Club will host the 2024 Cyber Summit on June 6 to discuss the ever-evolving role of cyber across the government sector. Click here to register!

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