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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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Biden to Nominate W. Kimryn Rathmell as National Cancer Institute Director
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Biden to Nominate W. Kimryn Rathmell as National Cancer Institute Director

President Joe Biden has expressed his intent to nominate W. Kimryn Rathmell, a physician-scientist oncologist and educator, to lead the National Cancer Institute.

“The National Cancer Institute is central to the success of the Cancer Moonshot and Dr. Rathmell will lead the agency towards new ways to prevent, detect and treat cancer and to ensure we reach more Americans with the tools we have to save and extend lives,” Biden said in a statement published Friday.

Rathmell currently serves as chair of the Department of Medicine and physician-in-chief at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee. She previously held leadership positions as a member of the National Institutes of Health Cancer Genome Atlas program, serves on NCI’s Board of Scientific Advisors and has worked on the Department of Defense’s Kidney Cancer Research Program.

Rathmell, who also serves as Hugh Jackson Morgan Chair in Medicine at VUMC, is a member of the Association of American Physicians and a fellow of the American Society of Clinical Oncology.

Her research focuses on the molecular, cell and genetic biology of kidney cancer.

Xavier Becerra, secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, said Rathmell’s decades of experience will help drive NCI’s innovation and research to improve care for cancer patients.

POC - 2023 Healthcare Summit

Find out the latest health care technology trends at the Potomac Officers Club’s 2023 Healthcare Summit on Dec. 6. Register here to attend this important event.

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Secretary of State’s Advisory Board Considers Potential Impact of AI on Arms Control, Nonproliferation in New Study
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Secretary of State’s Advisory Board Considers Potential Impact of AI on Arms Control, Nonproliferation in New Study

A U.S. State Department advisory board has released a study outlining findings and recommendations to address the risks and benefits of using artificial intelligence, machine learning and related technologies in arms control, nonproliferation and verification.

The department said Thursday the report was developed by the secretary’s International Security Advisory Board in response to the request of Ambassador Bonnie Jenkins, under secretary of state for arms control and international security.

The report’s findings and recommendations are divided into seven categories: nuclear weapons and proliferation; biological and chemical threats; autonomous weapon systems; global supply chains, export and trade; responsible state behavior and human rights; opportunities and applications in intelligence; and capacity building and human capital.

Its recommendations regarding nuclear weapons and proliferation include working with the Intelligence Community to expand its nonproliferation and deterrence strategy by adding early detection and deterrence based on the use of AI, machine learning and big data and using new approaches developed by national laboratories to determine an emerging nuclear program’s weapons-usable capability.

To address biological and chemical threats, the ISAB study calls on the department to lead international partners in preparing for potential negative uses of AI and ML in biotechnology and promote the development of gene synthesis security among U.S. allies.

The report also urges the State Department to maintain its posture on the language of “human control” and create a diplomatic strategy to guide the launch of an ad-hoc Lethal Autonomous Weapon Systems treaty writing process.

DOD Introduces New Strategy for Operations in the Information Environment
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DOD Introduces New Strategy for Operations in the Information Environment

The U.S. Department of Defense has released a new strategy to improve its department-wide information capabilities.

Centered around four key areas – people and organizations, programs, policies and governance and partnerships – the 2023 Strategy for Operations in the Information Environment aims to bolster the department’s information planning and resources to help overcome hindrances to U.S. national interests, the DOD announced on Friday.

“Make no mistake: America’s competitors and enemies are moving quickly in the information environment, hoping to offset our enduring strategic advantages elsewhere,” DOD Secretary Lloyd Austin remarked.

“This strategy is an important step forward in swiftly and seamlessly synchronizing and integrating our own operations in the information environment so that we can continue to strengthen our deterrence – and position the United States to lead the way toward a 21st-century world that is more secure and free,” the Wash100 awardee added.

The information environment is impacted by all military activities and operations, according to the SOIE document. An OIE advantage is enabled by the integration of information into operational strategies, planning and design.

Part of the strategy is training personnel to lead and conduct OIE while including data and joint information force providers as part of the strategy. It will also build an agile infrastructure that includes systems capable of characterizing IE and supporting interoperability across joint forces.

The agency pledged to adapt concepts and guidance to ensure and maintain the posture of OIE and continuously monitor its ability to implement the data environment.

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