/
NSA, CISA Issue Best Practice Guidelines for Software Bills of Materials
Published on
NSA, CISA Issue Best Practice Guidelines for Software Bills of Materials

The National Security Agency and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency led the publication of guidelines to help players in the software supply chain manage their bill of materials.

The new cybersecurity technical report was formulated by the public-private Enduring Security Framework Software Supply Chain Working Group, which are overseen by the security agencies, NSA said Thursday.

The document includes best practices in operationalizing and scaling the use of software BOMs, supply chain risk scoring and automated sharing and exchanging of SBOMs. It is expected to improve communication throughout the hierarchy of cybersecurity teams to increase software resilience from development to end use.

“Fundamentally, SBOM provides critical software transparency for improved patch and vulnerability management for customers as well as potentially mitigate supply chain risks,” said Jorge Laurel, chief of NSA’s Enduring Security Framework.

/
State Department Releases Inaugural Enterprise AI Strategy
Published on
State Department Releases Inaugural Enterprise AI Strategy

The State Department has issued an enterprise strategy to guide the responsible and ethical development, procurement and application of artificial intelligence to advance U.S. diplomacy and foreign policy.

The department said Thursday the inaugural Enterprise AI Strategy outlines four strategic goals to harness AI capabilities: leverage secure AI infrastructure; foster a culture that embraces AI technology; ensure AI is applied responsibly; and innovate.

For the first strategic goal, the State Department will integrate AI technologies into a secure and sustainable AI-enabling infrastructure to establish and scale a variety of AI applications.

Specific objectives under this goal are enabling AI technology integration, fully utilizing infrastructure for AI adoption at department scale and modernizing acquisition of AI tools.

To advance the acquisition modernization objective, the department’s information technology procurement authorities will work with other government officials to streamline the approval and procurement processes for AI tools, such as looking at the IT procurement pipeline to identify efficiencies and maintain safeguards included in approval mechanisms such as the Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program and Authorization to Operate process.

“Prior to their acquisition, AI technologies will be evaluated against security protocols and risk assessment processes. The Department’s procurement and open-source approval processes will be further developed to enable flexibility and streamlined deployment of AI,” the strategy states.

POC - 5th Annual Artificial Intelligence Summit

Register here to attend the Potomac Officers Club’s 5th Annual Artificial Intelligence Summit on March 21 and hear federal leaders and industry experts discuss the latest developments in the field.

NASA Introduces Subscription-Free Streaming Service
Published on
NASA Introduces Subscription-Free Streaming Service

NASA+, the space agency’s on-demand streaming service, is now available on the updated NASA app, which can be downloaded via Android or iOS.

NASA said Wednesday that the streaming service, which is ad-free and requires no subscription, is also accessible via Roku, Apple TV and the agency’s website.

NASA+ features original programming like documentaries, children’s shows, series and live event coverage. The NASA app itself also hosts a multimedia collection that includes images, podcasts, news and various articles.

The launch of NASA+ and the updates to the NASA app are part of the agency’s efforts to increase public accessibility and discoverability of its content. Earlier this year, the agency underwent a website redesign.

Marc Etkind, associate administrator for communications at NASA, said, “NASA’s new streaming platform and app are where the world can join us as we explore the unknown.”

He added that the digital platforms will grant everyone 24/7 access to “some of humanity’s greatest stories”.

For her part, NASA deputy administrator and Wash100 winner Pamela Melroy said, “I am excited we have created a powerful trifecta with the recently revamped NASA website, the launch of NASA+, and the updated NASA App that showcases the many benefits our data can have for all humanity.”

/
3rd Joint Polar Satellite System Spacecraft Now Operational
Published on
3rd Joint Polar Satellite System Spacecraft Now Operational

The NOAA-21 satellite is now operational, joining the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership satellite and NOAA-20 as part of the Joint Polar Satellite System.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said Wednesday that NOAA-21 will help improve the agency’s weather forecasts by providing global data for the numerical weather prediction models of the National Weather Service.

The spacecraft will also work to detect wildfires, volcanic eruptions, fog and Arctic sea ice with the use of its Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite payload.

NOAA-21 is the third of five planned satellites for JPSS. The program’s spacecraft are designed to have an operational lifespan of seven years.

The JPSS program is funded by NOAA.

/
DOE Seeks Disruptive Energy Concepts Through ARPA-E’s SPARKS Program
Published on
DOE Seeks Disruptive Energy Concepts Through ARPA-E’s SPARKS Program

The Department of Energy will support the development of innovative energy concepts that could foster the adoption of clean energy platforms, increase energy independence and improve the country’s economic and energy security through a new funding opportunity.

The Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy said Tuesday it will manage the Spurring Projects to Advance energy Research and Knowledge Swiftly, or SPARKS, program and provide up to $10 million in funding over a period of 18 months to explore new concepts that could potentially lead to transformational changes in energy technology.

The SPARKS program will support projects in the form of exploratory research or analyses that could deliver the agency information able to advance the development of focused technology initiatives.

ARPA-E provided a list of key technical categories that applicants can use to classify their proposed technologies: grid; transportation; buildings and construction; electricity generation and storage; carbon capture, sequestration and utilization; industrial efficiency and decarbonization; and other energy technologies.

/
DOD, Indian Counterpart Participate in Investor Strategy Session to Drive Defense Innovation
Published on
DOD, Indian Counterpart Participate in Investor Strategy Session to Drive Defense Innovation

The U.S. Department of Defense and India’s defense ministry took part in the India-U.S. Defense Acceleration Ecosystem’s (also known as INDUS-X) inaugural investor strategy session to discuss the need to leverage private capital in support of defense startups and innovation efforts.

Douglas Beck, director of the Defense Innovation Unit and senior adviser to the U.S. secretary of defense, joined Vivek Virmani, chief operating officer of the Innovations for Defence Excellence, or iDEX, during the INDUS-X investor session to talk about the importance of equipping the armed forces of the U.S. and India with the capabilities they need to defend the Indo-Pacific region.

During the event, DIU and iDEX launched a monthly education series to enable government and private sector leaders to meet with startups from both countries to discuss investor pitches, technology and business development and regulations.

Through the INDUS-X Gurukul Education Series, DIU and iDEX will inform startups of opportunities and programs under the defense acceleration ecosystem and other areas of interest included in the INDUS-X fact sheet and the U.S.-India initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology.

/
CBO Debuts Updated Interactive Force Structure Tool
Published on
CBO Debuts Updated Interactive Force Structure Tool

The Congressional Budget Office has released its updated online tool designed to help users see the effects of a potential increase or decline in the annual defense budget on the size and structure of the U.S. military.

The new version of the CBO’s interactive force structure tool comes with updated costs and numbers of personnel as outlined in the Department of Defense’s budget request for 2024, the agency said Wednesday.

According to the CBO, the tool provides users information on major combat units that comprise the armed forces.

The agency said users can visualize how a change to the number of special forces or ships would affect defense spending.

With the updated interactive tool, the CBO has separated the U.S. Army’s field artillery brigades from air defense brigades and the U.S. Navy’s amphibious assault ships from other amphibious vessels to enable users to analyze possible changes to the armed forces and explore policy alternatives.

HII Opens Norfolk Campus for Newport News Shipbuilding
Published on
HII Opens Norfolk Campus for Newport News Shipbuilding

HII held an event on Nov. 6 marking the opening of a new site in Norfolk, Virginia, to be used in support of its Newport News Shipbuilding business.

HII said Wednesday that the opening of the Newport News Shipbuilding Norfolk Campus was attended by company, U.S. Navy and city officials and the leadership of Fairlead, which leased the property for the new NNS site.

Though its opening took place only recently, the Newport News Shipbuilding Norfolk Campus has been in operation for several months, producing steel panels for the upcoming Gerald R. Ford-class aircraft carrier USS Enterprise.

The Norfolk campus is also expected to benefit NNS’ Newport News shipyard, freeing up space for other operations like submarine construction.

The new campus is the result of investment by HII and funding by the Navy. Program Executive Officer for Aircraft Carriers Rear Adm. Casey Moton said during the opening ceremony that the facility demonstrates “what can be accomplished when the Navy-industry team comes together.”

Les Smith, vice president for the Enterprise, Doris Miller and future aircraft carrier programs at NNS, said the new facility “is a prime example of how we’re innovating, thinking differently and improving efficiency when it comes to building the aircraft carriers our nation needs.”

/
Biden Administration Unveils ‘Better Contracting Initiative’
Published on
Biden Administration Unveils ‘Better Contracting Initiative’

The Biden administration has introduced a four-pronged strategy designed to improve the performance of federal contracts and save the government more than $10 billion annually.

The Better Contracting Initiative, or BCI, directs the Office of Management and Budget to create a centralized data management framework for sharing product prices and other market intelligence and supply chain data, the White House announced in a statement on Wednesday.

OMB is expected to publish a guide in the coming months for high priority acquisition requirements. The agency will also conduct workshops to identify and rank the needs of procurement, IT, supply chain and other branches in government offices.

Under the BCI, the General Services Administration will be authorized to lead the negotiation of IT software licensing agreements to help control price variance. GSA will also sponsor acquisition workshops and cooperate with other departments’ procurement teams to deliver similar training.

The White House noted that the initiative will foster competitive equality by giving buyers options for considering small business set-aside contracts.

/
DOD CIO Eyes DevSecOps Guidance Update; Rob Vietmeyer, Aaron Weis Quoted
Published on
DOD CIO Eyes DevSecOps Guidance Update; Rob Vietmeyer, Aaron Weis Quoted

The Department of Defense’s Office of the Chief Information Officer is considering an update to DOD’s DevSecOps guidance in light of recent cyber attacks, The Cyber Edge reported Wednesday.

“We published more than a year ago some DevSecOps guidance where we identified a set of required and preferred activities for what should be incorporated in the DevSecOps pipeline,” Rob Vietmeyer, chief software officer for the deputy CIO for information enterprise within the Office of the DOD CIO, said during a panel discussion at a Honolulu conference this week.

“We’re now re-looking at that given the some of these attacks and trying to update our guidance to help people navigate through some of these mechanisms because it is a complex environment right now,” he added.

Aaron Weis, managing director of Google Public Sector and a four-time Wash100 awardee, joined Vietmeyer during the panel discussion, citing the limitations of the risk management framework when it comes to addressing cyberthreats.

“RMF is proof positive of why this kind of mindset shift, in terms of left of boom, intercepting these bad code injections into a pipeline are so critical. And it’s never going to be addressed through RMF, right? There’s no amount of spreadsheets and checklists that are going to overtake the dynamic nature of the problem that we’re trying to solve for,” said Weis, who is also former CIO of the Department of the Navy.

1 … 463 464 465 466 467 … 2,656