DIU Launches PFAS Remediation Projects at Select Military Bases
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DIU Launches PFAS Remediation Projects at Select Military Bases

The Department of Defense’s Environmental Security Technology Certification Program and the Defense Innovation Unit have launched a new set of prototype projects to demonstrate per- and polyfluoroalkyl substance treatment technologies at three military installations.

The Environmental Remediation & Restoration from PFAS Initiative will deploy water source remediation, soil treatment and destructive technologies to treat PFAS-contaminated media at selected U.S. Navy and Air Force bases, DIU said Friday.

Allonnia, Cyclopure and ECT2 have been selected to conduct water source remediation work at former Naval Air Station Joint Base Willow Grove and nearby Biddle Air National Guard Base in Horsham, Pennsylvania.

ASRC Consulting, Savron and TRS will deploy soil treatment technologies at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska. Meanwhile, Aquagga, Arcadis, Battelle and General Atomics will employ destructive technologies at a DOD-identified site.

“With a successful demonstration, the prototypes will be able to provide treatment options for DoD installations impacted by PFAS,” said Dr. Andrea Leeson, deputy director and environmental restoration program manager at ESTCP.

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IARPA Solicits Proposals for New Cyberthreat Attribution Technologies
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IARPA Solicits Proposals for New Cyberthreat Attribution Technologies

The Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity has issued a broad agency announcement for a new program to develop technologies designed to help forensic experts attribute a cyberattack based on coding styles.

IARPA said Monday the two-phase Securing Our Underlying Resources in Cyber Environments program aims to determine similarities between binary code and source code files and provide information to forensic experts on the likely origins of cyberattacks.

“As a result, SoURCE CODE will make it more difficult for cyber-criminals to operate without detection and remain anonymous,” said Program Manager Kris Reese.

Phase one will run for 18 months to conduct foundational research that will guide the development of novel methods to identify cyberthreat actors. Phase two will last one year to apply the techniques across both the source code forensics and binary forensic domains.

Sandia National Laboratory, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and the Software Engineering Institute will test and evaluate the participants’ systems.

Responses to the BAA are due Jan. 22, according to a notice posted Wednesday on SAM.gov.

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Keysight, AFRL Partner to Test Communication Networks at Sub-THz Frequencies
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Keysight, AFRL Partner to Test Communication Networks at Sub-THz Frequencies

Keysight Technologies has signed a cooperative research and development agreement, or CRADA, with the Air Force Research Laboratory to deliver its testbed technology to advance communications in sub-terahertz for next-generation networks.

Under the agreement, AFRL will use Keysight’s existing testbeds to evaluate full device characterization and measurement concepts at sub-THz frequencies, Air Force Materiel Command announced Monday.

Keysight will gain access to AFRL’s expertise in developing long-range outdoor end-to-end communications links and modeling wireless channel properties.

The test and measurement equipment company will also provide AFRL researchers access to its resources and capabilities to conduct performance analysis, including link simulations and digital twin modeling.

“Keysight aims to significantly advance sub-terahertz wireless technologies to support defense and civilian communication links and networks through this CRADA with AFRL,” said Vince Nguyen, vice president and general manager for Keysight’s technologies aerospace defense and government solutions team.

Learn more about the Department of Defense’s research and development priorities in 14 critical and emerging technology areas at the Potomac Officers Club’s 10th Annual Defense Research and Development Summit on Jan. 31, 2024.

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NASA, NOAA to Issue RFP for Solar Wind Plasma Sensor Procurement Effort
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NASA, NOAA to Issue RFP for Solar Wind Plasma Sensor Procurement Effort

NASA and the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration plan to release a solicitation for the procurement of two Solar Wind Plasma Sensor instruments, or SWiPS, as part of the Space Weather Next Lagrange 1 Series of satellites.

The agencies intend to launch a full and open competition for a cost-plus-fixed-fee hardware contract to design, build, test, launch and maintain two SWiPS instruments that will provide NOAA with solar wind data and coronal mass ejection imagery, according to a presolicitation notice published Monday.

The final request for proposals is expected to be released on Dec. 20, and offers may be due by Feb. 5, 2024.

NOAA and NASA expect to award the contract by July 2024.

The contract could run through January 2034 and covers the integration, testing, calibration, evaluation and support of launch and on-orbit check-out of the SWiPS instruments, maintenance of the instrument ground support equipment, ground processing algorithms and mission operations support at the NOAA satellite operations facility.

The first flight SWiPS unit is expected to be delivered by March 2027 and the second unit by June 2029.

Potential offerers should inform the agencies of their intent to bid and should electronically submit contractual and technical questions by Dec. 5.

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CISA Launches Protective DNS Services Pilot Program for Critical Infrastructure Organizations; Eric Goldstein Quoted
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CISA Launches Protective DNS Services Pilot Program for Critical Infrastructure Organizations; Eric Goldstein Quoted

A new Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency pilot program is now offering critical infrastructure entities access to government-owned cybersecurity shared services, according to Eric Goldstein, the agency’s executive assistant director for cybersecurity.

In a blog post published on Friday, he discussed the deployment of the Protective Domain Name System Resolver, which can prevent users from connecting to suspected or known malicious sites, to the critical infrastructure sector and invited “target-rich, resource-poor” organizations in the areas of healthcare, utilities and education to volunteer for the pilot project.

Launched last month, the no-cost pilot program was created to provide critical infrastructure organizations a cost-effective cyber threat intelligence resource. The results will help CISA stress-test its cybersecurity delivery mechanisms, Goldstein explained.

The agency aims to bring 100 entities into the project this year, with the intention of adding more participants and shared services in 2024.

NIST Director Laurie Locascio Announces $3B Program to Bolster U.S. Advanced Packaging Manufacturing
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NIST Director Laurie Locascio Announces $3B Program to Bolster U.S. Advanced Packaging Manufacturing

The Biden administration is earmarking $3 billion for the National Advanced Packaging Manufacturing Program for semiconductors.

Laurie Locascio, director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology, announced Monday that the program is part of the administration’s vision to maintain U.S. leadership in advanced packaging research and innovation.

The funding will be used to award contracts for projects that focus on materials and substrates; equipment, tools and processes; power delivery and thermal management; and photonics and connectors. NIST will also support vendors that will establish a chiplet ecosystem and co-design technologies for advanced packaging testing, security, maintenance, interoperability and reliability.

The plans are embedded in the Vision for the National Advanced Packaging Manufacturing Program, which was published under the CHIPS for America Act.

“Within a decade, we envision that America will both manufacture and package the world’s most sophisticated chips,” Locascio remarked. “This means both onshoring a high-volume advanced packaging industry that is self-sustaining, profitable and environmentally sound, and conducting the research to accelerate new packaging approaches to market.”

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CISA Publishes Supplement to HPH Cyber Risk Summary
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CISA Publishes Supplement to HPH Cyber Risk Summary

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency released a supplementary document to the Healthcare and Public Health, or HPH, Cyber Risk Summary it published in July.

The new HPH risk mitigation guide discusses vulnerabilities and corresponding mitigation best practices in healthcare IT security, from asset inventory to access management, CISA said Friday.

The HPH sector faces web application vulnerabilities, encryption weaknesses and unsupported software more frequently than other cyber threats. These flaws often lead to data breaches, ransomware and denial of service.

The latest mitigation guide provides information based on vulnerability data from HPH organizations enrolled in CISA’s Web Application Scanning and Cyber Hygiene Vulnerability Scanning services. It also maps the resolution strategies according to the agency’s cross-sector cybersecurity performance goals, which involve the Department of Health and Human Services and Health Sector Coordinating Council.

On Dec. 6, healthcare IT will be one of the issues to be discussed at the Potomac Officers Club’s 2023 Healthcare Summit. Join the event by registering now.

POC - 2023 Healthcare Summit
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NIST Issues Guidance on Integrating ICT Risks in ERM Programs
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NIST Issues Guidance on Integrating ICT Risks in ERM Programs

The National Institute of Standards and Technology has issued two new special publications designed to help decision makers incorporate information and communication technology, or ICT, risks into the enterprise risk management programs of their respective organizations.

The first publication — NIST Special Publication 800-221, Enterprise Impact of Information and Communications Technology Risk: Governing and Managing ICT Risk Programs Within an Enterprise Risk Portfolio — aims to help readers understand the relationship between ERM and ICT risk management, NIST said Friday.

The second publication — NIST Special Publication 800-221A Information and Communications Technology Risk Outcomes: Integrating ICT Risk Management Programs with the Enterprise Risk Portfolio — complements the first document and offers a “framework of outcomes” applicable to all ICT risk types.

NIST SP 800-221 says it endorses an approach to ERM that sees ITC and the associated risks as an interconnected portfolio rather than a set of disparate programs in light of how ICT comprises a system of systems.

The document also endorses the practice of ICT risk information aggregation and normalization, which would help identify and communicate risk scenarios to decision makers.

DARPA Sets Proposers Day for Next-Generation Microelectronics Manufacturing Program
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DARPA Sets Proposers Day for Next-Generation Microelectronics Manufacturing Program

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency will host a proposers day on Nov. 28 to provide details on Phases 1 and 2 of a program to establish a domestic capability to research, develop and manufacture three-dimensional heterogeneously integrated microsystems.

DARPA said Friday the event aims to convene the science and technology community to discuss the forthcoming program announcement for the Next-Generation Microelectronics Manufacturing Phase 1 and Phase 2 and promote teaming arrangements among participants.

The proposers day will also serve as a platform for industry, academia and government organizations to exchange ideas and contributions on 3DHI research and manufacturing.

Eleven teams have been selected to establish foundational research to inform the succeeding stages of the program.

In September, DARPA hosted a workshop to explore industry recommendations on creating a U.S.-based center for fabricating 3DHI microsystems.

The upcoming event will be held at the Booz Allen Hamilton Conference Center in McLean, Virginia.

DOD Issues Final Rule on Commercial Item Contracting Amendment
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DOD Issues Final Rule on Commercial Item Contracting Amendment

The U.S. Department of Defense has amended the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement to partially implement a portion of the fiscal year 2017 National Defense Authorization Act to limit the inclusion of certain regulations to the acquisition of commercial products and services.

A notice published in the Federal Register Friday said the final rule identifies specific DFARS contract clauses that should be excluded from contracts and subcontracts for commercial products and services and commercially available off-the-shelf items.

The final rule does not implement the changes in the proposed rule to redefine “subcontract” in DFARS based on the section 874 update.

“DoD agrees that the DFARS definitions of ‘subcontract’ and ‘subcontractor’ should be consistent with the FAR definitions. Therefore, DoD has initiated a separate DFARS Case 2023–D022 to implement the definition of ‘subcontract’ in the DFARS to facilitate alignment with the proposed rule for FAR case 2018–006,” the notice reads.

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