Army’s Voluntary Education & Training Portal Achieves Full Deployment
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Army’s Voluntary Education & Training Portal Achieves Full Deployment

The U.S. Army’s soldier tuition and credentialing assistance portal has been fully deployed across the service branch to enable service members and Army civilians to request financial assistance for learning courses.

The Army Program Executive Office Enterprise Information Systems and the Army Credentialing and Continuing Education Services for Soldiers announced the full deployment of ArmyIgnitED a year after the Army completed the first phase of the portal’s rollout, PEO EIS said Tuesday.

The milestone follows the implementation of ArmyIgnitED’s interface with the General Fund Enterprise Business System to automate payment processing and launching of functionality for Army civilian professional development.

Additional enhancements will be added to the tuition assistance portal including an interface with the Integrated Personnel and Pay System-Army to enable rapid data access and timely responses to applications.

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NIST, IARPA Host Challenge to Detect Trojan Attacks Against AI Systems
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NIST, IARPA Host Challenge to Detect Trojan Attacks Against AI Systems

The National Institute of Standards and Technology and the Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity are collaborating on a competition to prevent malicious actors from manipulating data used to train artificial intelligence systems.

Participants in the TrojAI program will conduct research and develop technologies designed to detect Trojan malware attacks in completed AI systems, NIST said Tuesday.

The detection systems must be able to identify and track Trojans hidden in language models and other types of AI systems for the competition.

NIST will evaluate the Trojan detectors after each round and share the results with IARPA to help understand and detect malicious attacks against AI in the future.

The competition is open to anyone capable of building a Trojan detector for AI.

NavalX Highlights Adaptation, Evolution in New Redesigned Website
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NavalX Highlights Adaptation, Evolution in New Redesigned Website

The Navy’s innovation arm has launched its redesigned website USNavalX.com to streamline how users access information via simplified navigation and to reflect its ability to adapt.

“Because at NavalX, adaptation is in our DNA. It is the driving force behind our agile approach — and the solutions we seek and deliver to the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps. We know the best ideas, systems and strategies thrive from evolution and revolution,” its LinkedIn post reads.

Through evolution and with a focus on naval enterprise approach, NavalX is reportedly working to improve its support to the service branches amid rapid technological advancements and changing threats.

Its mission is to drive accelerated development and deployment of technologies relevant to addressing fleet challenges. 

The organization also aims to optimize processes to enable nontraditionals to work with it more easily and bring in new technologies from industry for a more diversified defense industrial base.

Purdue University, Naval Surface Warfare Center Strengthen Ties With New Microelectronics Initiative
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Purdue University, Naval Surface Warfare Center Strengthen Ties With New Microelectronics Initiative

Purdue University expanded its partnership with the Naval Surface Warfare Center to advance research and development efforts for defense microelectronics.

Their new initiative, dubbed Purdue@Crane, involves the Purdue Applied Research Institute, Purdue Research Foundation and NSWC Crane Division in Indiana, the university announced Tuesday.

Purdue@Crane will initially collaborate with NHanced Semiconductors and Everspin Technologies to foster innovation in secure, reliable and trusted microelectronics, as well as hypersonics and energetic materials. The initiative will begin with an annual budget of $2 million, with funding expected to reach $40 million as it continues to engage with more local companies until 2030.

Everspin President and CEO Sanjeev Aggarwal said the company is “excited to collaborate with Purdue University on the next generation of [magnetoresistive random-access memory] use cases related to artificial intelligence and high-density memory applications.”

The new endeavor is relevant to NSWC Crane’s Scalable Asymmetric Lifecycle Engagement microelectronics workforce development program. The SCALE project recently received a $19 million investment from the Department of Defense, $3.8 million of which is earmarked for Purdue.

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Bailey DeVries: SBA Ramping Up Efforts to Help Startups Advance AI Research
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Bailey DeVries: SBA Ramping Up Efforts to Help Startups Advance AI Research

Bailey DeVries, director of the Office of Investment and Innovation at the Small Business Administration, said SBA is advancing efforts to provide funding support to small companies that are conducting research in the field of artificial intelligence as part of the agency’s “customer-centric” transformation initiative, Federal News Network reported Tuesday.

“There is a big buildout in the agency to have a more customer-centric view and more customer-centric support. That means connecting the dots broadly across programs,” DeVries said during a webinar.

“That requires a lot of funding, and that’s a different world than we’ve operated in the past – and one that will create many efficiencies if we’re able to invest in those improvements and enhancements for the agency,” she added.

DeVries stated that SBA’s efforts to advance funding in AI research builds on the current administration’s focus on ensuring trust and pursuing responsible development of AI tools.

She noted that SBA and the Small Business Digital Alliance introduced a public-private partnership linking tech companies like Microsoft, Google and Meta with small firms focused on adopting AI technologies.

“Some of these companies are going to be focused on very discrete issues, very discrete markets. Some are going to be looking at broader opportunities and applications,” DeVries said.

In March, SBA and the Department of Defense unveiled the Small Business Investment Company Critical Technologies Initiative, which seeks to bolster investments in AI and other emerging technologies.

Trusted AI and Autonomy Forum

Listen to public sector leaders and technology experts weigh in on the opportunities and risks associated with generative AI and related tools at ExecutiveBiz’s Trusted Artificial Intelligence and Autonomy Forum on Sept. 12. Register here.

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David Huitema, Christopher Charles Fonzone Nominated to Government Ethics Office, DOJ Legal Counsel Office Leadership Posts
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David Huitema, Christopher Charles Fonzone Nominated to Government Ethics Office, DOJ Legal Counsel Office Leadership Posts

President Joe Biden has announced plans to nominate David Huitema, a legal adviser in the federal government, as director of the Office of Government Ethics and Christopher Charles Fonzone, general counsel at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, as assistant attorney general at the Department of Justice’s office of legal counsel.

Huitema holds a law degree from Stanford University and has been serving as assistant legal adviser for ethics and financial disclosure and alternate designated agency ethics official at the State Department since 2016, the White House said Tuesday.

He previously served as an attorney-adviser advising several bureaus at the State Department and offered legal advice on matters related to internet and international telecommunications and foreign service personnel.

Prior to ODNI, Fonzone was a partner at the Washington, D.C. office of law firm Sidley Austin.

His government career includes time as deputy assistant and deputy counsel to President Barack Obama, legal adviser to the National Security Council and special counsel to the general counsel at the Department of Defense.

Fonzone also spent time as a clerk for Justice Stephen Breyer of the U.S. Supreme Court and Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.

GSA Stands Up New Office to Advance Open Government Initiatives; Robin Carnahan Quoted
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GSA Stands Up New Office to Advance Open Government Initiatives; Robin Carnahan Quoted

The General Services Administration has established an office to support the implementation of the Biden administration’s national action plan to advance open government initiatives.

The Open Government Secretariat Program Management Office includes a permanent team to help implement the Fifth Open Government National Action Plan, which was issued in December 2022 and designed to improve the public’s access to government data, research and information, GSA said Tuesday.

GSA Administrator Robin Carnahan unveiled the new office at the Open Government Partnership Global Summit in Tallinn, Estonia, where she represented the U.S. on the OGP steering committee.

“The U.S. Government is pleased to be deepening its commitment to open government and GSA is proud to be home to a new Secretariat that will help us coordinate and drive toward our goals of empowering people to fully participate in democracy,” Carnahan said. 

“Through our upcoming work on the OGP Steering Committee and through many other efforts, we will continue to deepen relationships among civil society in the U.S. as well as globally,” she added.

The U.S. will serve on the committee for the next three years starting in October.

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House Panel Inquires About CISA Partnerships With Energy Threat Analysis Center, ARC
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House Panel Inquires About CISA Partnerships With Energy Threat Analysis Center, ARC

The House Homeland Security Committee’s cybersecurity and infrastructure protection subpanel has asked the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency about its role in the establishment of the Energy Threat Analysis Center and how it engages with ETAC.

The House panel is making the inquiry amid the lack of clarity about the future of CISA’s partnership with ETAC and the Analysis & Resilience Center for Systemic Risk, according to an Aug. 28 letter addressed to CISA Director and two-time Wash100 awardee Jen Easterly.

The subcommittee has asked CISA of any plans to absorb the risk register methodology of ARC and ETAC as a “spoke” of the agency’s Joint Cyber Defense Collaborative, how it supports cross-sector systemic risk and resilience efforts as it moves toward a sector-specific approach and how it intends to resource any expansion of JCDC’s spokes with the budget request for fiscal year 2024.

“The ARC model has proven effective and I encourage CISA to continue bolstering established partnerships. These partnerships will be crucial for the agency’s broader public-private partnership strategy, at a time when threats from adversarial nations are unrelenting,” the letter reads.

CISA has been asked to brief the House panel no later than Sept. 28.

Equus Compute Solutions & Zscaler Join Forces to Build Secure Computing Platform; Jay Lawrence Quoted
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Equus Compute Solutions & Zscaler Join Forces to Build Secure Computing Platform; Jay Lawrence Quoted

Equus Compute Solutions has teamed with zero trust-focused company Zscaler to expand its portfolio of secure computing offerings.

When incorporated into ECS’ Innovation-as-a-Service suite, Zscaler’s technology will enable ECS customers to access applications securely from any location, the company announced from City of Industry, California on Wednesday.

“This partnership with Zscaler empowers us to further enhance the security and reliability of our digital infrastructure solutions, ensuring that our clients’ data is secured against increasingly sophisticated cyber attackers,” said ECS CEO Jay Lawrence. 

Zscaler’s Zero Trust Exchange platform will serve as a building block for a strong, high-performance product able to shield itself from modern cyberthreats. Its integration aligns with the ECS’ goal, which Lawrence said is to “create an unparalleled ecosystem of high-performing technology solutions.”

Ken Urquhart, global vice president of Zscaler, said the partnership with Equus addresses the need for powerful but cost-effective hardware and associated cybersecurity needs, which make up “the two most difficult aspects that our customers face when building new solutions.”

“By integrating Zscaler’s zero-trust security solutions with Equus’s technology framework offerings, customers can create and deploy new technologies with confidence and thrive in the digital era,” he added.

To watch Uruqhart’s recent interview with Executive Mosaic’s Summer Myatt, click here.

The partnership will bring about a product that follows best security practices across both the public and private sector markets and is expected to grow the companies’ reach in the telecommunications, 5G and 6G, artificial intelligence and machine learning, government and defense markets.

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7 Projects to Receive DOE Funding for AI-based Fusion Energy Research
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7 Projects to Receive DOE Funding for AI-based Fusion Energy Research

The Department of Energy has allocated $29 million in funding to support seven projects that will harness artificial intelligence to tackle challenges in fusion energy research.

DOE said Thursday fusion and plasma science researchers from 19 institutions will employ autonomous technologies such as machine learning and AI for the effort, additionally utilizing data management techniques.

Their studies will delve into scientific discovery, diagnostic data analysis, model extraction, plasma control, extreme-scale simulation data analysis and data-driven predictions. Several of the awards will emphasize the development of data management systems and are positioned to ensure that research products are accessible via public databases.

Chosen via a competitive peer review process, the projects will span a maximum of three years, with $11 million earmarked for fiscal year 2023, subject to additional congressional appropriations.

“These awards will advance a broad set of capabilities across the Fusion Energy Sciences program, making essential capabilities available for all stakeholders,” commented Jean Paul Allain, associate director of science for FES at the DOE.

FES is a research initiative focused on facilitating the development of practical, safe and environmentally responsible fusion energy as a source of power.

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