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State Department’s Acquisition Strategy Reorganization Includes Push for OTA, FFRDC Access; Michael Derrios Quoted
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State Department’s Acquisition Strategy Reorganization Includes Push for OTA, FFRDC Access; Michael Derrios Quoted

The Department of State is shifting its acquisition strategy in the next few years, seeking direct access to certain contract vehicles and focusing on security, overseas facilities, professional services and artificial intelligence and cyberdefense, said Michael Derrios, the agency’s senior procurement executive.

In an interview with Federal News Network, he gave an overview of the State Department’s new acquisition approach, which includes specialized federally funded research and development centers.

In October, the department received approval to begin direct relationships with FFRDCs instead of using other agencies’ contracts with such centers. Prior to the approval, the State Department was limited to other agencies’ FFRDC contract ceilings and get out-of-scope services through other agreements.

Derrios said they are also pushing for Congressional clearance to use other transaction agreements, which could help the agency procure some of their unique needs.

“Today we have to go to other agencies and try to get access to their FFRDCs. Now we will be able to have our own suite of FFRDC contractors,” Derrios said. “We just didn’t have our own indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity vehicles with the MITREs, LMIs or RANDs of the world. They provide great service in niche areas. The State Department’s mission is evolving. We are now doing things that the department wasn’t asked to do in year’s past.”

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Proposed Legislation Calls for Cybersecurity Guidelines Governing Drones Used by Agencies
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Proposed Legislation Calls for Cybersecurity Guidelines Governing Drones Used by Agencies

Sens. Mark Warner, D-Va., and John Thune, R-S.D., have introduced new legislation that seeks to enhance the cybersecurity of unmanned systems used by the federal government.

The Office of Sen. Warner said Wednesday that the Drone Evaluation to Eliminate Cyber Threats Act of 2024 calls for the development by the National Institute of Standards and Technology of guidelines governing the cybersecurity of civilian drones, and the pilot testing and implementation of those guidelines by the Office of Management and Budget.

The DETECT Act also calls on the OMB to provide federal agencies with guidance on reporting security vulnerabilities in the drones they use. The proposed legislation mandates contractors that provide federal agencies with drones or drone-related services to report vulnerabilities that they might discover. Contractor reporting would be governed by regulations to be issued by the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council.

According to Sen. Warner, ensuring the safety and security of drones is critical because of the transformative quality of the capabilities they offer.

“This legislation will establish sensible cybersecurity guidelines for drones used by the federal government to ensure that sensitive information is protected while we continue to invest in this new technology,” Warner added.

For his part, Sen. Thune said, “This common-sense legislation would require the federal government to follow stringent cybersecurity guidelines and protocols for drones and unmanned systems.”

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Ascentium Books Navy Contract for Automation & Analytics Support; Andrew Hong Quoted
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Ascentium Books Navy Contract for Automation & Analytics Support; Andrew Hong Quoted

Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business Ascentium has secured a U.S. Navy contract to provide an automation and analytics product.

Ascentium’s Automated Information Datacenter Analysis platform is expected to lower the administrative burden for the service branch’s Consolidated Afloat Networks and Enterprise Services system, the Fairfax, Virginia-based company announced on Monday.

“We are honored to leverage our advanced Agile Analytics methodology to enable the U.S. Navy to deliver rapid, incremental solutions,” said Ascentium President Andrew Hong.

Valued at multiple millions, this award is an extension of the SDVOSB’s ongoing work with the Naval Information Warfare Center Atlantic. Currently, Ascentium provides the unit with systems engineering, technical and management support services.

Under the new contract, Ascentium is responsible for developing, sustaining, deploying and modernizing the Orchestration/Dashboard capabilities for surface and submarine automated infrastructure network operations. Specifically, the company will automate the execution, logging and reporting of shipboard Maintenance Requirement Cards, which guide maintenance activities associated with the CANES network infrastructure.

“We are excited to continue our work with NIWC Atlantic to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of CANES operations,” Hong said.

US Navy, MDA Achieve Missile Interception ‘Milestone’; Lt. Gen. Heath Collins Quoted
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US Navy, MDA Achieve Missile Interception ‘Milestone’; Lt. Gen. Heath Collins Quoted

The U.S. Navy’s Standard Missile-3 Block IIA effectively intercepted a medium-range ballistic missile after being launched from the Aegis Weapon System on an Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer.

SM-3 Blk IIA was part of the Stellar Sisyphus flight test conducted by the U.S. Navy and the Missile Defense Agency, which announced the event’s results on Thursday.

The objective of the test was to gather data on complex target discrimination and interception from multiple sensors and varying viewing angles.

The Navy used the USS McCampbell and USS Jack Lucas to launch the weapon systems.

The demo “was a key milestone in giving our Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense ships increased sensing and tracking tools to combat threat proliferation,” remarked Lt. Gen. Heath Collins, director of MDA. ”This was an incredible accomplishment and I commend the U.S. Navy Sailors, the MDA team and our industry partners,” the Wash100 winner added.

US Navy, MDA Achieve Missile Interception 'Milestone'; Lt. Gen. Heath Collins Quoted

Collins will deliver a keynote speech at the Potomac Officers Club’s Space Summit on March 5. Register here for this industry-leading gathering on all things shaping the GovCon space domain now!

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US Government Innovators Avril Haines & Paul Courtney Receive Wash100 Recognition
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US Government Innovators Avril Haines & Paul Courtney Receive Wash100 Recognition

On Monday, Executive Mosaic highlighted 2024 Wash100 Award winners Avril Haines, director of national intelligence, and Paul Courtney, chief procurement officer for the Department of Homeland Security, for their contributions to critical federal missions.

Each year, the Wash100 list recognizes the most outstanding government and industry executives for their leadership, innovation, vision, reliability and achievements in the GovCon sector. The forward-looking accolade is given to the individuals who are poised to do work of great significance in the coming year.

Haines earned her fourth consecutive Wash100 Award this year for her intelligence community leadership and efforts to thwart disinformation in an era of increasing global threats. She is honored for her keen attention to strengthening the resilience of the U.S. intelligence community in the face of rising competition between countries and an increasingly complex geopolitical landscape. Read more about why we chose Haines for the 2024 Wash100 Award here.

Courtney made his debut on the Wash100 list this year for his work to make the acquisition processes within DHS more efficient, effective and oriented toward emerging technologies and industry partnerships. In his current role, Courtney directs a yearly spend upwards of $25 billion on contract awards to industry. Check out Courtney’s full Wash100 profile here.

Vote for Avril Haines and Paul Courtney in the 2024 Wash100 popular vote competition! Cast your ten votes at Wash100.com. Voting closes April 30, and the winner will be revealed shortly thereafter.

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Sean Mooney Named Director of NIH Center for Information Technology
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Sean Mooney Named Director of NIH Center for Information Technology

Sean Mooney, a professor of biomedical informatics and medical education at the University of Washington’s School of Medicine, has been appointed director of the National Institutes of Health’s Center for Information Technology or CIT.

He is expected to officially assume the role by the middle of March to replace Ivor D’Souza, who has served as acting CIT director following Andrea Norris’ retirement in 2022, NIH said Thursday.

In this capacity, Mooney will be responsible for a $400 million IT portfolio that includes cloud-based services, collaboration tools, a network that supports research efforts and a supercomputer that enables researchers to perform large-scale data analyses.

NIH Director Monica Bertagnolli said Mooney has supported biomedical research through the development of collaborative computing systems.

“His background in bioinformatics and expertise in the implementation and governance of a multi-faceted research IT department make him particularly suited to lead NIH CIT,” Bertagnolli added.

Mooney also serves as chief research information officer at the University of Washington, director of informatics at the UW Institute of Translational Health Sciences and interim director for the UW Institute for Medical Data Science.

He is a fellow of the American College of Medical Informatics, former associate professor and director of bioinformatics at the Buck Institute for Research on Aging and former assistant professor of medical and molecular genetics at Indiana University School of Medicine.

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First Report on NOAA Digital Twin Technology Assessment Effort Out Now
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First Report on NOAA Digital Twin Technology Assessment Effort Out Now

The first of three reports on digital twin technologies commissioned by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Environmental Satellite, Data and Information Service has been published.

The reports were commissioned in 2022 via broad agency announcements under the Joint Venture Partnerships program, which aims to determine the maturity of Earth observation digital twin technology and the possibility of making it part of NOAA systems and operations, NESDIS said Thursday.

The reports encompass studies and demonstrations of twin technology and recommendations regarding their potential implementation at NOAA. The first report, authored by engineering, analysis and research services provider Science and Technology Corporation, features a prototype digital twin capability meant to provide insights into costs and benefits and technological requirements.

The other two reports are being prepared by Orion Space Solutions and Lockheed Martin. They are expected to be released this fall.

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Technology Modernization Fund Requests AI Project Proposals; Clare Martorana Quoted
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Technology Modernization Fund Requests AI Project Proposals; Clare Martorana Quoted

The Technology Modernization Fund, or TMF, is seeking proposals for artificial intelligence projects designed to enable federal agencies to modernize legacy systems, enhance service delivery and accelerate mission objectives.

The General Services Administration said Thursday the call for project proposals aims to support the implementation of an October 2023 executive order on the secure and trustworthy development and use of AI across the federal government.

In a separate announcement, TMF said it is looking for project proposals focused on enabling AI rapid deployment, process automation, assistive technology, improved customer experience and reduced administrative burdens.

“We have identified more than 700 use cases of where AI is being deployed across the federal government, from its use in anticipating and mitigating prescription drug shortages and supply chain issues to assisting cyber forensic specialists in detecting anomalies and potential threats in federal civilian networks,” said Clare Martorana, federal chief information officer and chair of the TMF board.

“Use of the TMF has the potential to accelerate AI usage in government and unlock the innovation that we know we are capable of delivering for the public,” Martorana, a previous Wash100 awardee, said.

POC - 5th Annual Artificial Intelligence Summit

Join the Potomac Officers Club’s 5th Annual Artificial Intelligence Summit on March 21 to hear more about cutting edge AI innovations from government and industry experts. Register here.

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NSA, Partners Release Joint Guidance on Mitigating Living-Off-the-Land Threats
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NSA, Partners Release Joint Guidance on Mitigating Living-Off-the-Land Threats

The National Security Agency, Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, FBI and U.K. National Cyber Security Center have released joint guidance on identifying and mitigating living-off-the-land techniques, also known as LOTL.

NSA said Wednesday the guidance outlines threat detection information and best practices for mitigating LOTL activities including applying authentication controls, implementing logging for better detection of malicious activities and maintaining user and admin privilege restrictions.

The agency and its partners also urge software and technology manufacturers to audit remote access software, establish baseline behaviors and refine monitoring tools and alert mechanisms.

“Together with our partners and allies, we’re shining a light on attacks that occur in dark corners, and illustrating how the PRC behaves irresponsibly by holding civilian critical infrastructure at risk,” said Rob Joyce, NSA’s director of cybersecurity and a two-time Wash100 awardee.

White House Outlines Safeguards for Transferred Defense Articles Through National Security Memo
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White House Outlines Safeguards for Transferred Defense Articles Through National Security Memo

The White House has issued a national security memorandum outlining safeguards and ensuring accountability concerning transferred defense articles and defense services.

The memorandum requires the Secretary of State to secure written assurances from foreign governments receiving defense services and articles from the U.S. Departments of State and Defense, the White House said Thursday.

The document also requires the secretaries of State and Defense to submit no later than 90 days from now a congressional report addressing the defense articles and defense services provided by the two departments.

The congressional report should include any new assurances obtained, an assessment of any credible reports, a description of procedures used to make the assessment and an analysis and evaluation of any reports indicating that the use of such defense services and articles “has been found to be inconsistent with established best practices for mitigating civilian harm.”

In the event that the reliability or credibility of assurances provided by the foreign country has been put into question, the secretary of State or Defense should report to the president and state the necessary steps to be taken to remediate the situation.

“Such remediation could include actions from refreshing the assurances to suspending any further transfers of defense articles or, as appropriate, defense services,” the memorandum reads.

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