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AWS’ Ash Thankey Reflects on Career Background & Leadership Approach
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AWS’ Ash Thankey Reflects on Career Background & Leadership Approach

Ash Thankey currently serves as director of national security at Amazon Web Services, where he oversees human systems, cyber, signals intelligence and defense intelligence units within the company’s U.S. business. Prior to joining AWS, Thankey held roles at Oracle and Adobe.

In a recent interview with the Potomac Officers Club, Thankey shared his career inspirations, discussed his strengths as a leader and highlighted his accomplishments.

He describes his approach to leadership in this excerpt from the interview:

“My management style centers around empathy, embodying the principles of a servant leader. I’m committed to clearing the path for my team’s success by stepping back and allowing them to thrive. Sometimes this means recognizing that success isn’t attainable. In those moments, it’s paramount to offer reassurance to our team members and convey that it’s acceptable to face setbacks. In fact, these losses can serve as profound sources of learning, eventually contributing to more substantial victories down the line. At Amazon, the philosophy of embracing failure is central because it empowers individuals to take calculated risks.”

For more of Thankey’s insights, read the full Executive Spotlight interview on the Potomac Officers Club website.

Interested in participating in your own Executive Spotlight interview? This exciting brand-building opportunity is available exclusively for Potomac Officers Club members. Click here to view our membership options and discover which one is right for you.

Mattermost’s Barry Duplantis on ChatOps Use & JADC2 Impact
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Mattermost’s Barry Duplantis on ChatOps Use & JADC2 Impact

ChatOps tools have huge potential to enhance decision-making at the edge, according to Barry Duplantis, vice president and general manager of Mattermost’s North America public sector arm.

These technologies enable constant connection between mission teams and decision makers using flexible, scalable command and control communication tools, and Mattermost’s ChatOps platform was shown to be beneficial in the Air Mobility Command’s recent Mobility Guardian 2023 exercise, the company said in a case study report.

During the readiness exercise, 3,000 U.S. and Allied Forces personnel were deployed, with detachments from the U.S., United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, France and Japan, allowing over 15,000 U.S. and global forces to participate concurrently in exercises throughout the Indo-Pacific region.

“The Mobility Guardian 2023 exercise demonstrates the critical value of ChatOps in supporting mission operations and enabling teams to move at the speed of the mission,” Duplantis stated.

Mobility Guardian exercises are generally unscripted to challenge forces to think and act quickly in difficult operational environments. This year, the exercise utilized Mattermost’s ChatOps tool to support the use of asynchronous communication channels and collaboration platforms.

Duplantis noted the anticipated impact of ChatOps tools on the Department of Defense’s broader Joint All-Domain Command and Control initiative, which aims to revolutionize joint operations for an information advantage.

“As the DOD progresses on its JADC2 initiatives, I’m confident we’ll see increased reliance on ChatOps across branches as they collaborate to enhance decision quality at the edge,” he said.

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Virtru’s Shannon Vaughn Claims Military Missions Should Implement Data-Centric Cybersecurity
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Virtru’s Shannon Vaughn Claims Military Missions Should Implement Data-Centric Cybersecurity

Data-centric cybersecurity and automated classification can help the U.S. military achieve battlespace dominance due to their ability to protect information regardless of its location or users, Shannon Vaughn, general manager of Virtru Federal and U.S. Army Reserve officer, wrote in an article in C4ISRNET.

In his opinion piece, Vaughn talks about the emergence of data dominance as one of the most critical elements of military missions, and how non-conventional cyber defense is the ideal approach moving forward.

To implement a data-centric approach, the military must classify and tag their information according to level of sensitivity. Effective tagging and classification can be leveraged by mission teams to control the access and use of their information, giving them built-in security controls instead of device-based protection, according to Vaughn.

Mission teams should utilize a combination of attribute-based access control, or ABAC, and automated classification and tagging to streamline and expedite the process. Vaughn recommended ABAC that is enabled by the Trust Data Format standard, which features military-grade encryption and is approved by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.

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3 Agencies Propose Rule for Cyber Contractual Requirements for Unclassified Federal Info Systems
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3 Agencies Propose Rule for Cyber Contractual Requirements for Unclassified Federal Info Systems

The General Services Administration, NASA and the Department of Defense are seeking feedback on a proposed rule that intends to standardize cybersecurity contractual requirements for unclassified federal information systems as part of the implementation of a section within the 2021 cybersecurity executive order.

The proposed rule outlines cybersecurity procedures, policies and requirements for contractor services to build, implement, maintain or operate a FIS, including policies for using cloud and non-cloud computing services, according to a Federal Register notice published Tuesday.

“This rule underscores that compliance with these requirements is material to eligibility and payment under Government contracts,” the notice reads.

The proposed policy, which was introduced as an amendment to the Federal Acquisition Regulation, will apply to the acquisition of commercial products and services.

For FIS using non-cloud computing services, the proposed regulation details requirements for records management and government access, assessments, specification of additional security and privacy controls and cyber supply chain risk management, among others.

Comments on the proposed rule are due Dec. 4.

OPM Notifies Agencies of Plan to Implement Continuous Vetting for Non-Sensitive Public Trust Population
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OPM Notifies Agencies of Plan to Implement Continuous Vetting for Non-Sensitive Public Trust Population

The Office of Personnel Management has issued a memorandum informing federal agencies of its plan to replace periodic reinvestigations with continuous vetting for non-sensitive public trust positions.

Full enrollment of the non-sensitive public trust population into CV is expected to kick off in fiscal year 2024, according to the memo signed Tuesday by OPM Director Kiran Ahuja.

In accordance with a 2017 executive order, CV will apply to non-sensitive positions that are designated at high and moderate risk levels, including federal employees in the competitive service, personnel in the excepted service, personnel at federal contractors and non-appropriated fund employees at the Department of Defense, according to an overview of the policy.

Federal News Network reported the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency started a pilot program in June to gather lessons learned before kicking off broader personnel enrollment into CV procedures.

OPM is calling agencies to start considering how they will implement CV for the non-sensitive public trust population and collaborate with their authorized investigative service providers as they work on implementation plans.

“Until agencies begin enrollment of their non-sensitive public trust populations into continuous vetting, they must continue to initiate reinvestigations for individuals occupying these positions in accordance with existing policy and established protocol,” the memo reads.

OPM said doing so will enable agencies to prevent any delays in mobility for government employees or applicants and achieve compliance with regulatory requirements.

Senate Bill to Use USPS Authentication Services to Combat Identity Fraud
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Senate Bill to Use USPS Authentication Services to Combat Identity Fraud

Sens. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Bill Cassidy, R-La., have introduced legislation that would allow the U.S. Postal Service to provide identity verification and related services to the commercial sector to combat identity fraud stemming from artificial intelligence-generated deepfakes.

The Post Office Services for Trustworthy Identity Act of 2023 would enable the USPS to offer in-person identity proofing services and charge fees as necessary to cover such services, Wyden’s office said Monday.

The POST ID Act would also allow USPS to issue authenticators such as physical security keys to verified individuals for future interactions and enroll them in digital accounts or systems.

In-person proofing is resistant to many forms of fraud and abuse as it requires authenticators to verify an individual’s identity using physical credentials.

“The Postal Service already provides in-person identity proofing services when Americans need to get a passport, and it’s only natural that the private sector also be able to leverage those services when companies need a way to verify someone’s identity in person,” said Jeremy Grant, coordinator of the Better Identity Coalition.

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Space Force Takes Over Responsibility for Joint Tactical Ground Station Mission
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Space Force Takes Over Responsibility for Joint Tactical Ground Station Mission

The U.S. Space Force officially assumed responsibility for the U.S. Army’s Joint Tactical Ground Station missile warning system mission on Sunday, Oct. 1.

Space Delta 4 at Buckley Space Force Base in Aurora, Colorado, will oversee the JTAGS mission until Space Operations Command formally establishes the 5th Space Warning Squadron, SpOC said Monday.

JTAGS are space ground systems designed to receive, process and transmit infrared data derived from overhead sensors and satellite data to warfighters and combatant commanders, providing them with real-time warning on ballistic missile launches.

In August 2022, the Army transferred the military satellite communications mission to the Space Force, marking the consolidation of all Department of Defense’s satcom functions under a single service branch.

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DHS S&T Undersecretary Dimitri Kusnezov Discusses Initiatives to Commemorate Cybersecurity Awareness Month
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DHS S&T Undersecretary Dimitri Kusnezov Discusses Initiatives to Commemorate Cybersecurity Awareness Month

The Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology Directorate is working with the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency on multiple projects to protect the country’s cyber systems and networks, S&T Undersecretary Dimitri Kusnezov said.

The directorate is marking the beginning of Cybersecurity Awareness Month with initiatives on shared intelligence resilience, identity proofing technologies and training tools for identifying malicious activity and actors.

According to Kusnezov, S&T’s Cybersecurity Threats Technology Center is leading the Shared Intelligence Resilience project, which will use artificial intelligence and machine learning to help organizations and distributed systems identify and address IT vulnerabilities. The institute is working on another AI study aimed at leveraging human-machine teaming to deter the adversarial use of AI in zero trust platforms.

The directorate’s Biometric and Identity Technology Center is investigating the effectiveness and security of smartphone-based identity proofing technologies in distinguishing legitimate users from impostors. BITC is collaborating with several agencies including the Transportation Security Administration, the National Institute of Standards and Technology and the Homeland Security Investigations Forensic Laboratory,

On Feb. 28, 2024, the Potomac Officers Club will host its fifth Annual Artificial Intelligence Summit to showcase the latest technologies and bring together experts and vendors in the field of AI. Register as early as now to take part in the event.

POC - 5th Annual Artificial Intelligence Summit
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Agencies Push for Federal Acquisition Regulation Amendment to Include New SBA Contract Protest Rules
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Agencies Push for Federal Acquisition Regulation Amendment to Include New SBA Contract Protest Rules

A proposed amendment to the Federal Acquisition Regulation would reflect policy changes made by the Small Business Administration regarding protest submission requirements for multiple-award contract set-asides and reserves.

The Department of Defense, NASA and the General Services Administration are pushing for the amendment, which would include SBA’s new rules to specify the size or socioeconomic status protests for such contracts, according to a notice posted Tuesday on Federal Register.

SBA recently revised its 13 Code of Federal Regulations to clarify the thresholds of size protests. Aside from multi-award indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity set asides and reserves, the regulatory changes also affect multiple-award task order contracts

SBA’s rule does not apply to task orders or blanket purchase agreements that were booked under a Federal Supply Schedule.

The agencies are accepting comments to the proposed FAR amendment until Dec. 4.

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NASCIO-Accenture Study Says Majority of State CIOs Expedite Cloud Adoption Efforts
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NASCIO-Accenture Study Says Majority of State CIOs Expedite Cloud Adoption Efforts

A study by the National Association of State Chief Information Officers and Accenture has found that 88 percent of state CIOs are accelerating their adoption of cloud services across operational domains.

NASCIO and Accenture surveyed 43 state CIOs and conducted in-depth interviews with a subset of state information technology leaders in April for the study and found that 74 percent of respondents said they consider security as the cloud’s most important benefit, according to a joint release published Tuesday.

The report showed that 30 percent of state CIOs have completed a cloud roadmap and 70 percent of respondents are developing strategies for cloud adoption.

Sixty percent of organizations have integrated cloud adoption into their process for enterprise IT governance.

According to the study, the adoption of hybrid and multicloud environments has become common among state governments and 53 percent of state CIOs said lack of personnel and workforce skill shortages are preventing their organizations from implementing cloud platforms.

Accenture and NASCIO revisited a 2021 study on state agencies’ cloud migration efforts, enabling the two organizations to establish a baseline for assessing the maturity of state governments’ cloud adoption.

“This report looks at progress that states have made in the past two years and recommendations for further progress,” said Doug Robinson, executive director at NASCIO. “It’s clear cloud services have become a critical component of the state CIO operational portfolio.”

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