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Eileen Donahoe Joins State Department as Special Envoy, Coordinator for Digital Freedom
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Eileen Donahoe Joins State Department as Special Envoy, Coordinator for Digital Freedom

President Joe Biden has appointed Eileen Donahoe, most recently executive director of the Global Digital Policy Incubator at Stanford University’s Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, as special envoy and coordinator for digital freedom within the State Department’s bureau of cyberspace and digital policy.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement published Monday Donahoe’s foreign policy experience and technical knowledge will help advance the country’s priorities related to digital inclusion, online freedoms and information integrity.

Donahoe’s appointment “reinforces the importance of digital freedom and values-based technology governance work as Administration and Department priorities,” added Blinken, a previous Wash100 awardee.

The newly appointed special envoy spent over two years as director of global affairs at Human Rights Watch and was the first U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva.

According to her LinkedIn profile, Donahoe served as a visiting scholar and affiliate at Stanford’s Center for International Security and Cooperation and as a technology litigation associate at law firm Fenwick & West.

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DLA Awards Small Businesses SBIR Contracts for Advancing Warfighting Capabilities
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DLA Awards Small Businesses SBIR Contracts for Advancing Warfighting Capabilities

The Defense Logistics Agency has awarded contracts to small businesses that responded to solicitations under its Small Business Innovation Research Program to build new warfighting capabilities during the fourth annual Industry Collider Day held at the McNamara Headquarters Complex.

Indianapolis, Indiana-headquartered Crown Magnesium secured an SBIR contract to develop a proof-of-concept to create a domestic source of magnesium metal to reduce reliance on foreign sources, DLA said Tuesday.

Metronome Software, Sentar and Architecture Technology Corporation were selected to help the DLA enhance the detection of cyberattacks.

The final award was given to Stinn Materials to facilitate the domestic manufacturing of new or improved materials and enable innovation in current and future weapons systems.

During the event, Navy Vice Adm. Michelle Skubic, director of DLA, highlighted the importance of collaboration across the military, industry and academia to help build a more lethal force amid a constant race to innovate. 

“We rely on our partners across government, across industry, across academia. That includes the many small business partners that we work with to find solutions across a variety of technical areas,” Skubic said.

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US Agencies Warn Against AI-Generated Deepfake Threats
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US Agencies Warn Against AI-Generated Deepfake Threats

The National Security Agency, the FBI and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency have released a joint advisory warning national critical infrastructure owners and operators against threats from synthetic media, such as deepfakes.

The cybersecurity information sheet describes deepfakes as multimedia synthetically created or manipulated using artificial intelligence and machine learning to spread misinformation, NSA said Tuesday.

According to the joint advisory, threat actors could use AI-generated media to impinge on an organization’s brand, impersonate leaders and financial officers and enable access to networks, communications and sensitive information.

To prevent such threats, the agencies recommend that organizations implement deepfake detection tools with real-time verification capabilities and passive detection techniques.

“The tools and techniques for manipulating authentic multimedia are not new, but the ease and scale with which cyber actors are using these techniques are. This creates a new set of challenges to national security,” said Candice Rockell Gerstner, an applied research mathematician specializing in multimedia forensics.

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Treasury’s Paul Rosen Offers Update on Committee on Foreign Investment in the US
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Treasury’s Paul Rosen Offers Update on Committee on Foreign Investment in the US

Paul Rosen, assistant secretary for investment security at the Department of the Treasury, said the Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act of 2018 provided the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States with key authorities over certain investment structures and enabled CFIUS to process 440 transaction filings in 2022, up from 237 filings in 2017.

Rosen’s remarks are part of his prepared testimony set to be delivered on Wednesday before the House Financial Services Committee as part of a congressional hearing on CFIUS and other government efforts to strengthen U.S. national security.

“FIRRMA also strengthened our processes to better enable timely and effective reviews of transactions within our jurisdiction. It also provided the Committee with much needed jurisdiction over certain transactions involving real estate in close proximity to sensitive facilities, such as military bases,” Rosen noted.

The assistant secretary said the department has issued the committee’s inaugural enforcement and penalty guidelines meant to hold transaction parties accountable for failure to comply with laws to mitigate national security risks.

Since FIRMMA’s enactment, he mentioned that CFIUS has ramped up efforts to work with industry stakeholders and international allies to increase awareness of the committee’s mission.

According to Rosen, the office of investment security will launch a program that would direct U.S. individuals to inform Treasury of certain transactions in foreign countries of concern, particularly deals that involve technologies in the fields of artificial intelligence, quantum information technology and semiconductors and microelectronics.

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DOD, Albemarle Partner to Expand Domestic Lithium Production for Battery Supply Chain; Anthony Di Stasio Quoted
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DOD, Albemarle Partner to Expand Domestic Lithium Production for Battery Supply Chain; Anthony Di Stasio Quoted

The Department of Defense and chemical manufacturing company Albemarle have inked a $90 million agreement to expand domestic lithium mining and production and support the U.S. battery supply chain.

Albemarle plans to reopen its lithium mine in Kings Mountain, North Carolina, and make it operational between 2025 and 2030, DOD said Tuesday.

The company will have the support of the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Industrial Base Policy through its Manufacturing Capability Expansion and Investment Prioritization office. The partnership reflects MCEIP’s five-year investment plan aimed at securing material and mineral supply chains to ensure the availability of essential resources to the defense and commercial sectors.

Commenting on the team-up, MCEIP Director Anthony Di Stasio said, “The agreement with Albemarle demonstrates the DoD’s ongoing commitment to meeting the needs of our warfighter, today and in the future. This investment directly supports President Biden’s April 2022 Presidential Determination for Critical Materials in Large-Capacity Batteries.”

The move is under Defense Production Act Title III authorities and utilizes Inflation Reduction Act funds.

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Senate Confirms Tanya Bradsher as VA Deputy Secretary
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Senate Confirms Tanya Bradsher as VA Deputy Secretary

Tanya Bradsher, chief of staff for the Department of Veterans Affairs since March 2021, has received confirmation from the Senate to serve as the VA’s deputy secretary, becoming the first woman to hold the leadership position.

The retired U.S. Army lieutenant colonel has served as senior adviser to Secretary Denis McDonough and helped manage the expansion of Veteran care and benefits through the implementation of the PACT Act, VA said Tuesday.

“Tanya is an incredible leader who has dedicated her life to fighting for this country and her fellow Veterans — and under her leadership, I’m confident that VA will continue delivering more care and more benefits to more Veterans than ever before,” McDonough said.

Bradsher replaces former deputy secretary Donald Remy, who stepped down after nearly two years in the position.

Guy Kiyokawa, who has served as VA’s deputy secretary on an interim basis, will resume his responsibilities as assistant secretary for enterprise integration.

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CISA Outlines Roadmap to Ensure Open Source Software Security in Government; Eric Goldstein Quoted
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CISA Outlines Roadmap to Ensure Open Source Software Security in Government; Eric Goldstein Quoted

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency developed a roadmap of its goals to ensure open source software security within the federal government from 2024 to 2026.

The Open Source Software Security Roadmap, which was opened for public comment in August, has four main goals including minimizing the risks of its use by government agencies, CISA said Tuesday.

The strategy also aims to lay the foundation of CISA’s role in open source protection and defense, and to maintain continued visibility into the usage and risks of such systems. The agency intends to enforce the roadmap to bolster the ecosystem for platforms with publicly available source codes.

“Open source software has fostered tremendous innovation and economic gain, including serving as the foundation for technologies used across our federal government and every critical sector,” said Eric Goldstein, CISA’s executive assistant director for cybersecurity. “In part due to this prevalence, we know that vulnerable or malicious open source software can introduce systemic risks to our economy and essential functions. CISA is proud to serve as a partner to the open source community as we collectively take urgent steps to support open source security and ensure that all partners in this critical ecosystem invest in a secure, resilient, and innovative open source future.”

GM Defense Enters Memorandum of Understanding With NP Aerospace to Expand Global Business, Improve Product Delivery; Steve duMont Quoted
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GM Defense Enters Memorandum of Understanding With NP Aerospace to Expand Global Business, Improve Product Delivery; Steve duMont Quoted

General Motors’ defense business has signed a memorandum of understanding with NP Aerospace, a UK and Canada-based manufacturing company, to collaborate on research and development, post-production support and global logistics sustainment initiatives for military products.

Signed during the Defense and Security Equipment International 2023 event, the agreement covers the areas of integrated vehicles, power and propulsion, autonomy and connectivity, fuel cell, power generation, system integration and platform integration, GM Defense announced from London, England on Wednesday.

Steve duMont, president of GM Defense and a 2023 Wash100 Award recipient, highlighted NP Aerospace’s “proven track record and expertise,” which he said complements GM Defense.

“This collaboration will help position our commercial-based solutions, including the ISV and HD SUV, to global militaries while aligning our capabilities to meet the needs of the UK Ministry of Defence’s Land Industrial Strategy,” he added.

Built on the foundation of the Chevrolet Colorado ZR2 midsize truck architecture, the ISV is constructed with 90 percent commercial-off-the-shelf parts. These elements include Chevrolet Performance components that have been tailored to meet U.S. Army needs.

GM Defense recently launched the ISV Family of Vehicles, offering a variety of options to meet specific mission needs. Currently, GM Defense is also working on a purpose-built Heavy-Duty armored Sport Utility Vehicle.

The MOU multiplies the array of vehicles maintained under NP Aerospace’s Vehicle Systems, Services and Spares business, which currently holds contracts from the UK Ministry of Defence and Canadian Department of National Defence. It will also boost GM Defense’s ability to effectively deliver its products to military customers.

“Our collaboration with GM Defense is very exciting as it diversifies our product and technology offering established through the UK MoD protected mobility fleet contract and expands our vehicle armour and engineering capabilities into North America,” said NP Aerospace CEO James Kempston.

This agreement follows GM Defense’s recent integration of GM Defense Canada and establishment of GM Defense International in 2022.

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Space Force Combines Elements of SSC, SOC to Strengthen Mission Area Readiness; Gen. Chance Saltzman Quoted
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Space Force Combines Elements of SSC, SOC to Strengthen Mission Area Readiness; Gen. Chance Saltzman Quoted

The U.S. Space Force established two provisional units of Integrated Mission Delta to consolidate electronic warfare and missile warning operations with satellite communication, positioning, navigation and timing.

The prototype IMDs will be launched in the fall, as part of the service branch’s strategy to streamline operations, USSF said Tuesday.

The divisions will spin off and combine elements of maintenance activities, which are managed by the Space Systems Command, with areas under the Space Operations Command such as mission generation, cyber defense and intelligence support.

The branch plans to forge a single organization responsible for mission area readiness training, personnel, equipment and sustainment.

“We cannot afford to split a mission area’s critical activities across organizational seams,” according to Gen. Chance Saltzman, Space Force chief of space operations. “It is essential that all elements of readiness – people, training, equipment and sustainment – fall into the same organizational structure, and that we create unity of command around those elements at the lowest possible level,” the Wash100 awardee added.

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Pentagon Unveils 2023 Cyber Strategy Summary; John Plumb Quoted
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Pentagon Unveils 2023 Cyber Strategy Summary; John Plumb Quoted

The Department of Defense has issued an unclassified summary of a strategy that establishes how DOD will operate in the cyber domain to advance U.S. defense priorities and digitally protect U.S. citizens.

The 2023 DOD Cyber Strategy outlines the four lines of effort the department will pursue to address existing and future cyberthreats and implements the priorities of the 2022 National Defense Strategy, 2022 National Security Strategy and the 2023 National Cybersecurity Strategy, DOD said Tuesday.

The four lines of effort are defending the nation; preparing to fight and win the nation’s wars; protecting the cyber domain with allies and partners; and building enduring advantages in cyberspace.

To advance the first line of effort, DOD will disrupt the capabilities of malicious threat actors, defend U.S. critical infrastructure and fight threats to military readiness by working with interagency partners and using available authorities.

Other initiatives are ensuring the cybersecurity of the DOD Information Network, improving the cyber resilience of the Joint Force and building up the capability of U.S. allies in cyberspace.

“This strategy draws on lessons learned from years of conducting cyber operations and our close observation of how cyber has been used in the Russia-Ukraine war,” said John Plumb, assistant secretary for space policy at DOD.

“It has driven home the need to work closely with our allies, partners, and industry to make sure we have the right cyber capabilities, cyber security, and cyber resilience to help deter conflict, and to fight and win if deterrence fails,” added Plumb.

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