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DOD OIG Releases Evaluation of Pentagon’s Control Over Biometric Devices
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DOD OIG Releases Evaluation of Pentagon’s Control Over Biometric Devices

The Department of Defense’s Office of Inspector General released a report evaluating the DOD’s control and accountability over biometric devices that collect, store and transmit biometric data.

The report revealed that military services and combatant commands complied with DOD policy and their guidance and procedures for biometric devices but found that some devices could not encrypt data because the DOD does not specify information security standards or require encryption on the biometric technologies, the DOD OIG said Thursday.

To address the issue, the inspector general recommended that the undersecretary of defense for intelligence and security add data encryption standards to the DOD biometrics policy.

Biometric devices covered in the report include secure electronic enrollment kits, biometric automated toolsets, Javelin, Biosled and handheld interagency identity detection equipment.

“Improving DOD-wide standards for encryption and data protection requirements for biometric devices would help to reduce the risks of inadvertent release of such sensitive information,” said DOD Inspector General Robert Storch.

Thomas Rondeau: DOD Focusing on 5G Tech Security to Broaden Communications Capabilities
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Thomas Rondeau: DOD Focusing on 5G Tech Security to Broaden Communications Capabilities

Thomas Rondeau, principal director for future G at the Department of Defense, said the Pentagon is focused on ensuring the security of future G and 5G technologies as it seeks to strengthen its communications posture and deliver enhanced capabilities to warfighters, the Federal News Network reported Thursday.

“A key tenet here is privacy-enhancing technologies and additional security technologies in order to start breaking down those challenges that this technology will always have for us,” Rondeau said.

The DOD is also investing in technology to help it identify and manage signatures in the electromagnetic spectrum to better protect warfighters against jamming threats.

“[W]e are working closely with our industry base to define new technologies that will help us enhance our low probability of detection, interception, our anti jam capabilities within standard, compliant 5G systems,” Rondeau said.

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Federal Reserve Embraces Generative AI with New Incubator Program
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Federal Reserve Embraces Generative AI with New Incubator Program

The Federal Reserve System has established a new generative artificial intelligence “incubator” program to test out the emerging technology’s potential applications.

Sunayna Tuteja, the Federal Reserve System’s first-ever chief innovation officer, said the Fed needs to start putting generative AI technology into action, with responsibility and ethics at the forefront of their efforts.

Federal Reserve Embraces Generative AI with New Incubator Program

Generative AI will be a central topic of conversation at the Potomac Officers Club’s 5th Annual AI Summit on March 21, 2024. Keynote speakers from the Pentagon, DARPA, DHS and NGA will gather with the leading AI experts from government and industry to share their insights on the future of AI in the public sector. Register here to save your spot. 

“This is one of those technologies where you have to think but you also have to do, so how do we create a framework that enables us to do that?” Tuteja said at a conference hosted by FedScoop and Microsoft in Arlington, Virginia earlier this month.

“We’ve got to put hands on keys. This is not a theoretical exercise,” Tuteja added. “So how do we create the right guardrails and safe spaces within our organization that enables and empowers as many of our colleagues to really put hands on keys and start to think about the value of this technology on the businesses that they lead?”

The Federal Reserve is looking at potentially using AI to analyze payment system data and data related to supervision and regulation activities. Tuteja said applying the right AI models, especially in regards to payment system data, could help the Fed better understand its customers’ behavior and make more informed business decisions.

As AI technologies have grown in popularity in recent years, concerns about the workforce have emerged, but Tuteja asserted that the Fed’s use of AI is focused on “augmenting” humans, not replacing them.

“Our thesis is not that AI or generative AI is going to be a replacement, but more so that it will play the role of augmentation and complement. So in a way that humans now have more time and space to do the higher order work,” she explained.

The Federal Reserve’s new incubator program aligns with the objectives and goals outlined in President Biden’s recent landmark executive order on AI.

Senate Bill Looks to Establish Bipartisan Fiscal Commission
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Senate Bill Looks to Establish Bipartisan Fiscal Commission

Sens. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., and Mitt Romney, R-Utah, have introduced bipartisan legislation to establish a bicameral fiscal commission that would present legislative solutions to strengthen the federal government’s long-term fiscal health.

The Fiscal Stability Act aims to stabilize the nation’s finances for future generations and decrease the national debt now exceeding $33.6 trillion, more than double what it was a decade ago, Manchin’s office said Thursday.

The 16-member commission will produce a report and propose legislation to improve the government’s fiscal condition, stabilize debt-to-GDP ratio within 15 years and enhance the solvency of federal trust funds over a 75-year period.

The Speaker of the House, House Minority Leader, Senate Majority Leader and Senate Minority Leader will each appoint three elected officials and one outside expert to the commission.

“Our national debt weakens our economic and national security and jeopardizes our leadership on the international stage. If we cannot come together to rein in this looming crisis, we will be failing the American people and harming the well-being of our future generations,” Manchin said.

Co-sponsors of the bill are Sens. Todd Young, R-Ind.; Kyrsten Sinema, I-Ariz.; Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo.; John Hickenlooper, D-Colo.; John Cornyn, R-Texas; Mark Warner, D-Va.; Thom Tillis, R-N.C.; and Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H.

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Former Raytheon Exec David Broadbent Joins Intelsat to Lead Government Solutions Arm; Dave Wajsgras Quoted
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Former Raytheon Exec David Broadbent Joins Intelsat to Lead Government Solutions Arm; Dave Wajsgras Quoted

Satellite communications company Intelsat has appointed Raytheon alum David Broadbent as its president of government solutions.

Reporting to CEO and seven-time Wash100 Award recipient Dave Wajsgras, Broadbent will oversee the international government solutions team and has been added to the company’s seven-member management committee, the McLean, Virginia-headquartered organization said Monday.

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Wajsgras highlighted Broadbent’s strengths in sowing cooperation amongst teams, winning new business and his consistent knack for implementing incremental improvement across all operations.

“Broadbent has spent his entire, successful career navigating complex U.S. and international government business environments, and he has a strong track record of delivering exceptional results at every level,” Wajsgras, who is also formerly of Raytheon, continued.

Broadbent devoted over two decades at Raytheon to gaining expertise in program execution, contracts, financial planning, business development and more. He held positions like international director of strategic pursuits, director of contracts for integrated air and defense and, most recently, president of the company’s space systems wing. Earlier in his career, while still in the U.K., Broadbent worked on engineering design and supply chain projects at Vickers Defence Systems.

“The company has a strong global presence and a distinguished history of innovation, customer focus and delivering on its commitments,” Broadbent said of Intelsat. “With an exciting multi-orbit strategy and technology roadmap, we are incredibly well positioned for growth in the rapidly evolving SATCOM and services sector.”

Intelsat is regularly contracted by government customers for broadband connectivity, video communications and mobility services, among other tasks. Its offerings reportedly enable homeland security, disaster preparedness and remote military initiatives.

Former Raytheon Exec David Broadbent Joins Intelsat to Lead Government Solutions Arm; Dave Wajsgras Quoted
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Greenbelt, Maryland Site Chosen for New FBI HQ Campus
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Greenbelt, Maryland Site Chosen for New FBI HQ Campus

The General Services Administration will now kick off the acquisition process after selecting a 61-acre site in Greenbelt, Maryland, as the location for the FBI’s new headquarters campus.

GSA said Thursday it selected Greenbelt over two other sites in Landover, Maryland, and Springfield, Virginia because it offers the best transportation access to the bureau’s employees and visitors, the lowest cost to taxpayers and the most certain schedule when it comes to project delivery.

The factors considered for the site selection include the bureau’s proximity to mission-related locations, site development flexibility and schedule risk, transportation access, cost and promotion of sustainable siting and equity.

GSA will now work on the prospectus or the comprehensive project fact sheet for submission to Congress.

According to GSA, efforts to identify a downtown location in Washington, D.C., are also underway to house approximately 750 to 1,000 FBI employees that will move out of the J. Edgar Hoover Building and provide the bureau continued accessibility to the Department of Justice and other agencies.

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NIST Publishes Draft Revision of Controlled Unclassified Data Guidelines for Public Comment
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NIST Publishes Draft Revision of Controlled Unclassified Data Guidelines for Public Comment

The National Institute of Standards and Technology is seeking public feedback on its draft update of a special publication on protecting controlled unclassified information, or CUI.

NIST on Thursday published its proposed third revision to Special Publication 800-171 for non-government CUI protection, as well as SP 800-171A for CUI security requirement assessment.

SP 800-171r3 includes significant changes in the employment of least privilege principles and monitoring and controlling remote access sessions. NIST proposes to limit authorized system access to users that need to complete assigned organizational tasks. The draft also calls for periodic review of privileges and the removal of access if necessary.

For SP 800-171Ar3, NIST aligned the assessment procedure syntax with the Cybersecurity and Privacy Reference Framework.

Both drafts are open for public comment until Jan. 12.

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NSF Partners With Government, Industry & Academia on AI Resource Sharing Project
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NSF Partners With Government, Industry & Academia on AI Resource Sharing Project

The National Science Foundation convened a workshop on Nov. 7 to begin the process of designing a pilot program for the National Artificial Intelligence Research Resource.

NAIRR envisions the establishment of infrastructure that will work to connect U.S. researchers to AI and other resources they need, with the ultimate aim of democratizing access to the technology and ensuring its trustworthiness, the NSF said Thursday.

The gathering — the first in a series — saw participation from representatives of the private sector, academia and federal agencies, in line with the requirements of Executive Order 14110, which called for the development of the NAIRR pilot.

NSF Director Sethuraman Panchanathan described the initial workshop as “a tremendous success,” adding, “NAIRR builds on a legacy of successful public-private partnerships that have driven American leadership in research and innovation. We are proud to continue to welcome new partners to the NAIRR community in the months to come.”

Successive meetings will aim to further gather input from the broader community regarding the design of the pilot.

DHS Launches New Office to Oversee Data Analysis, Statistical Reporting
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DHS Launches New Office to Oversee Data Analysis, Statistical Reporting

The Department of Homeland Security has launched a new office to expand statistical reporting and analysis capabilities and increase data transparency across the agency.

The Office of Homeland Security Statistics will initially provide reports and statistical data on immigration and add reports and data on law enforcement and international trade in the coming weeks, DHS said Thursday.

“Data-driven decision making is an integral part of everything we do, and this new office will inform our policymaking, enhance our law enforcement and investigative operations, and allow us to distribute resources, including grants, more effectively,” said Alejandro Mayorkas, secretary of DHS and a previous Wash100 awardee.

Marc Rosenblum, a statistical official at DHS, will lead OHSS, which will cover statistical data on cybersecurity, emergency management, maritime response operations and airport screening beginning in fiscal year 2024.

House Bill to Make OSINT Products Available to Federal Agencies, Congress
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House Bill to Make OSINT Products Available to Federal Agencies, Congress

Reps. Joaquin Castro, D-Texas, and Mike Gallagher, R-Wis., have introduced legislation requiring the U.S. intelligence community to make unclassified, open-source intelligence available to other federal agencies and Congress.

The Open Source Intelligence Availability Act would require the IC to update the Intelligence Community Directive 208 to streamline the production and dissemination of unclassified intelligence products derived from OSINT sources and determine which agencies need access to the information, Castro’s office said Thursday.

The Director of National Intelligence must submit a plan outlining policies and procedures for sharing OSINT products with covered entities and individuals no later than 180 days after the enactment of the legislation.

“The Open Source Intelligence Availability Act will close critical gaps in our information ecosystem and help all our federal agencies do a better job of serving the American people,” Castro said.

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