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CIA to Unveil AI Tool to Support Open Source Data Analysis
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CIA to Unveil AI Tool to Support Open Source Data Analysis

The CIA’s Open-Source Enterprise division is planning to roll out a generative artificial intelligence tool designed to give analysts better access to open source data, Bloomberg reported Tuesday.

Randy Nixon, director of the Open-Source Enterprise at the CIA, said the new tool will enable analysts to see the original data source and will have a chat feature for faster distribution of publicly and commercially available intelligence.

Users can take information gathering to “the next level and start chatting and asking questions of the machines to give you answers, also sourced,” according to Nixon.

The AI tool will be available to the CIA, the National Security Agency, the FBI and other defense and intelligence community agencies.

The CIA did not disclose further details on the new tool, including how it will protect information from spreading on the open internet.

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CISA Launches National Campaign to Raise Online Security Awareness; Jen Easterly Quoted
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CISA Launches National Campaign to Raise Online Security Awareness; Jen Easterly Quoted

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency has launched a nationwide cybersecurity public awareness campaign aimed at providing resources and tools to protect businesses, organizations and the public from cyberattacks.

CISA said Tuesday the “Secure Our World” campaign focuses on four basic cybersecurity practices: creating strong passwords and using a password manager; setting up multifactor authentication for online accounts; recognizing and reporting phishing incidents; and enabling automatic updates on software.

“I’m incredibly excited to launch our nationwide Public Service Announcement campaign, which includes resources and tools every individual and organization can use to stay safe online by practicing good cyber hygiene,” said CISA Director Jen Easterly, a two-time Wash100 awardee.

The campaign is part of CISA’s Cybersecurity Awareness Program, which aims to raise public awareness of cyber threats and online security.

POC - 2023 Homeland Security Summit

The Potomac Officers Club is hosting the 2023 Homeland Security Summit on Nov. 15 to bring together top officials from CISA, CBP and the Department of Homeland Security. Click here to learn more and register to attend the event.

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Senator Proposes Continuing Resolution to Extend Government Funding Through Mid-November
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Senator Proposes Continuing Resolution to Extend Government Funding Through Mid-November

Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., has introduced a bipartisan measure that seeks to prevent a government shutdown by the end of September by extending federal funding through Nov. 17.

The continuing resolution would provide lawmakers time to complete work on full-year appropriations bills, the Senate Appropriations Committee said Tuesday.

The stopgap bill would extend the Federal Aviation Administration’s authorities through the end of 2023, produce funding for disaster-stricken communities and maintain support for Ukraine.

The proposed legislation seeks to authorize $1.65 billion in emergency funding to support Ukraine’s defensive efforts against Russian invasion.

The Department of Defense would get $4.5 billion in emergency funding to respond to the situation in Ukraine and replenish U.S. military inventory, according to the bill’s section-by-section summary.

The CR would also allow DOD to obligate funds to kick off construction work on the second Columbia-class submarine using the “Shipbuilding and Conversion, Navy” account.

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William LaPlante on Pentagon’s Efforts to Advance Multiyear Contracts for Munitions
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William LaPlante on Pentagon’s Efforts to Advance Multiyear Contracts for Munitions

William LaPlante, under secretary for acquisition and sustainment at the Department of Defense, said DOD is pushing to get the Standard Missile-6, Long-Range Anti-Ship Missile, Patriot Advanced Capability-3 and other munitions and weapons systems on multiyear contracts, which he said would play an important role in an extended conflict in the Indo-Pacific region, Defense News reported Tuesday.

“If you look at the real challenges, it is matching a consumption rate that you are trying to predict. War breaks out and the consumption rate of X goes up from here this quickly. So how do you … without a buffer … match consumption rate with production rate,” LaPlante, a two-time Wash100 awardee, said Tuesday at a Center for Strategic and International Studies event in Washington, D.C.

“We want to do the multi-years because — it’s not a panacea, it will get savings but that’s not the reason we’re pushing it — but it’s because it takes one more reason away from industry to say, ‘I’m not putting my [capital expenditures] against it because I don’t believe you guys,'” he noted at the event.

The defense acquisition chief added that multiyear contracts could help the U.S. government demonstrate that it is serious about purchasing more munitions for an extended period of time.

“I like to think a multi-year would help. Once we put up [economic order quantity funding], which is a bunch of the money up front so they [can buy] a lot of the long-lead items, we generally don’t break multiyear contracts in the DoD; we honor them,” LaPlante said. “That’s the reason why we want to get to that.”

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CGI Federal Books Potential $143.5M Initial Task Order Under AOUSC IDIQ; Clay Goldwein Quoted
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CGI Federal Books Potential $143.5M Initial Task Order Under AOUSC IDIQ; Clay Goldwein Quoted

CGI Federal has secured an initial task order under a potential 10-year, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity award from the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts.

The initial task order has a potential value of $143.5 million if all options are exercised, and as the awardee, CGI will support the judiciary’s financial management and acquisition processes enabled by the company’s Momentum platform, CGI announced from its Fairfax, Virginia headquarters on Wednesday.

“IT modernization requires business agility to meet evolving demands. CGI provides a flexible, holistic approach that enables digital transformation,” said Clay Goldwein, senior vice president and national security and justice business unit lead at the enterprise.

Momentum is a contract and financial management software that includes automation and data capabilities. Under the IDIQ, CGI will offer strategic consulting, advisory, application operations and management, hosting and other assistance associated with processes using Momentum. The one-year initial task order covers operations and maintenance, service desk support and training services.

Brian Becker, vice president and U.S. federal judiciary and legislative branch sector lead at CGI, said Momentum improves financial transparency, accountability and performance, which boosts operational efficiency, enhances user experience and allows the judicial branch to “further the stewardship of taxpayer dollars.”

Currently, Momentum is used by over 100 federal organizations, and CGI has recently won multiple awards related to the software.

In March, the company received a $40 million Nuclear Regulatory Commission contract to continuously support the commission’s financial management systems, which use Momentum.

Just over a year earlier, CGI secured a potential $250 million Blanket Purchase Agreement from the Department Of Justice and a five-year, $133.9 million initial task order to manage the department’s Unified Asset Management System and Momentum-powered Unified Financial Management System.

The software was also recently added to the Financial Management Quality Service Management Office’s online Marketplace Catalog. It was approved as part of the General Services Administration Multiple Award Schedule.

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NCCoE Issues Hybrid Satellite Networks Cybersecurity Framework Profile
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NCCoE Issues Hybrid Satellite Networks Cybersecurity Framework Profile

The National Institute of Standards and Technology’s National Cybersecurity Center of Excellence has released the final interagency report on a profile meant to help space stakeholders assess the cybersecurity posture of hybrid satellite networks.

The HSN Cybersecurity Framework Profile seeks to help organizations integrate security, better understand the attack surface and improve resilience of space systems, NCCoE said Monday.

The HSC CSF Profile intends to help organizations identify assets, data, systems and risks that pertain to hybrid satellite networks; protect HSN services by performing self-assessments and adhering to cybersecurity principles; and detect cybersecurity-related disturbances or corruption of HSN services and data, among others.

According to NIST, the document also aims to facilitate the integration of HSN components via consideration of cybersecurity functions and categories and provide a comprehensive framework to facilitate risk management decisions.

The HSN profile’s scope focuses on physical and virtual interfaces, including antenna fields, payloads, user terminals, virtual machine-based command formatter and software-defined elements hosted on a cloud.

CISA Task Force Releases Bill of Materials Framework for Information & Communication Technologies
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CISA Task Force Releases Bill of Materials Framework for Information & Communication Technologies

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency has released a framework to standardize the naming methodology for hardware bills of materials and improve supply chain risk management in information and communication technology.

The HBOM for Supply Risk Management was developed by the ICT SCRM Task Force in a bid to address logistics risks faced by critical infrastructure entities, as well as local, tribal and federal government branches, CISA announced Monday.

The guidance includes use case categories, HBOM formats and data field taxonomy. Use case categories are divided in terms of compliance, security and availability of products. The task force also recommended formatting that breaks down products into their components for easier distinction and identification.

“By enhancing transparency and traceability through HBOM, stakeholders can identify and address potential risks within the supply chain, ensuring that the digital landscape remains robust and secure against emerging threats and challenges,” said Mona Harrington, co-chair of the ICT SCRM Task Force and assistant director of CISA’s National Risk Management Center.

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SSC Launches TAP Innovation Lab to Boost Space Domain Awareness; Lt. Gen. Mike Guetlein Quoted
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SSC Launches TAP Innovation Lab to Boost Space Domain Awareness; Lt. Gen. Mike Guetlein Quoted

Space Systems Command has unveiled a new collaborative facility in Colorado Springs, Colorado, that will focus on the development of space domain awareness technologies.

The Tools Applications and Processing Lab will facilitate the U.S. Space Force’s engagement with its innovation partners to address critical SDA challenges through a technology accelerator initiative, dubbed Project Apollo, scheduled on Oct. 26, SSC said Monday.

SSC Commander Lt. Gen. Mike Guetlein said the new TAP Lab will provide government and industry partners with access to a digital sandbox to experiment on “data at all classification levels.”

The sandbox includes a software development environment and algorithm benchmarking tools and enables participants to host their own microservices and applications.

“Promising developmental capabilities will then be fast-tracked into operations, giving our warfighters a competitive advantage,” Guetlein said.

The lab will host three-month innovation cycles with partners up to four times a year as part of Project Apollo.

The first cohort of participants will focus on one or more of three challenge areas: maintain custody of launches within minutes and predict intermediate and final orbits; classify, identify and evaluate space objects within seconds; and provide semi-automated, real-time, data-centric decision aids for an operation command and control center.

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Charity Weeden Appointed Head of NASA’s Technology, Policy & Strategy Office
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Charity Weeden Appointed Head of NASA’s Technology, Policy & Strategy Office

Charity Weeden, most recently vice president for global space policy and government relations at Astroscale U.S., has been sworn in as associate administrator for NASA’s Office of Technology, Policy and Strategy.

She assumes responsibilities from Ellen Gertsen, who had been serving as acting head of OTPS since July following the departure of Bhavya Lal as associate administrator, NASA said Monday.

Prior to Astroscale, Weeden was senior director of policy at the Satellite Industry Association.

She previously served as deputy sensor manager for the Space Surveillance Network at U.S. Air Force Space Command and policy officer at North American Aerospace Defense Command and U.S. Northern Command.

The 23-year Royal Canadian Air Force veteran supported the installation of Canadian robotics systems on the International Space Station during her time as a flight support readiness manager at the Canadian Space Agency.

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White House Proposes Changes to OMB Federal Grants Guidelines, Seeks Public Comment
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White House Proposes Changes to OMB Federal Grants Guidelines, Seeks Public Comment

The Biden-Harris administration is proposing an update to the Uniform Grants Guidance, the guidelines issued by the Office of Management and Budget that govern various kinds of financial assistance from the federal government.

The draft version of the new guidance has been made available for public comment. The proposed revision aims to improve access to federal financial support by removing obstacles, lessening unnecessary compliance requirements and reducing complexity, the White House said Friday.

The suggested changes include requiring the use of plain and clear language in notices of funding opportunity to make such documents accessible to non-experts; ensuring the accessibility of such announcements to potential applicants, including underserved communities; and the provision of technical assistance prior to any award.

The revisions also call for the clarification of ambiguous terms to ensure uniformity in compliance; the reduction of prior approvals that need to be secured by awardees from federal agencies before they can spend their money; and the non-mandatory use of English in notices to increase access equitability.

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