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Donald Cravins to Step Down as Undersecretary of Commerce for Minority Business Development
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Donald Cravins to Step Down as Undersecretary of Commerce for Minority Business Development

Donald Cravins is stepping down from his role as undersecretary of the Minority Business Development Agency within the Department of Commerce.

Eric Morrissette, chief of staff to Commerce Deputy Secretary Don Graves, will serve as acting lead of the bureau, which is responsible for promoting the growth and competitiveness of minority-owned businesses in the U.S., the Commerce Department said Friday.

“I thank Under Secretary Cravins for his dedication to this vital program, which will continue to impact and help Americans across the country for years to come. The Department is committed to continuing the urgent work needed to empower minority and other underserved entrepreneurs to launch and scale their businesses,” said Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo.

Cravins was sworn in as the first-ever undersecretary of commerce for minority business development in September 2022. Under his leadership, the MBDA helped minority businesses secure over $8.2 billion in capital and contract awards from private and government customers.

DOE Funds 3 Research Projects to Support ORNL’s Quantum Efforts
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DOE Funds 3 Research Projects to Support ORNL’s Quantum Efforts

The Department of Energy has recently selected three projects to receive funding worth over $10 million to conduct research to help ensure that the Oak Ridge National Laboratory maintain dominance in quantum information science, a.k.a. QIS.

The Performance Integrated Quantum Scalable Internet project, a collaboration between ORNL and the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, the University of Arizona, the University of Texas at Austin and Arizona State University, will receive $6 million in funding over three years to develop quantum internet architecture and protocols, the laboratory said Tuesday.

ORNL will also apply its QIS expertise to support another DOE-funded project that aims create power grid testing facilities with quantum capabilities.

The Grid Research, Integration and Deployment for Quantum project will receive $3.75 million over three years from DOE’s Office of Electricity, Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management and Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security and Emergency Response.

Another effort to support ORNL’s quantum network is the Assessment of Quantum Utility EvaluateD Under Current Technologies, which will receive $1 million over four years.

ORNL additionally unveiled a roadmap outlining the laboratory’s strategy to align its quantum facilities and expertise with the DOE’s mission.

The Quantum Roadmap aims to realize the full potential of QIS by building on the laboratory’s over two decades of quantum research and development experience and the successes of its Quantum Science Center.

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Synopsys Security Chief Deirdre Hanford Chosen as CEO of Semiconductor Technology Firm Natcast
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Synopsys Security Chief Deirdre Hanford Chosen as CEO of Semiconductor Technology Firm Natcast

Synopsys Chief Security Officer Deirdre Hanford has been chosen as CEO of the National Center for the Advancement of Semiconductor Technology, or Natcast.

She brings more than three decades of microelectronics experience to Natcast, which will operate the CHIPS for America National Semiconductor Technology Center, according to the National Institute of Standards and Technology. Hanford will continue her CSO role at Synopsys while leading Natcast.

Hanford previously served as chair of the American Electronics Association and an inaugural member of the Department of Commerce’s CHIPS Act Industrial Advisory Committee. She serves in various boards of directors at organizations including Cirrus Logic, the University of California in Berkeley – College of Engineering , Purdue University and the National Defense Industrial Association.

“The NSTC is the cornerstone of the CHIPS R&D program and will be a hub for innovation that welcomes people from the entire semiconductor industry and associated supply chain. Because of her broad experience, deep knowledge, and outstanding leadership, Deirdre Hanford is an excellent choice to help us launch this critical national asset,” said Laurie Locascio, undersecretary of commerce for standards and technology and director of NIST.

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DISA Director Lt. Gen. Robert Skinner Discusses Workforce 2025 at AFCEA Event
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DISA Director Lt. Gen. Robert Skinner Discusses Workforce 2025 at AFCEA Event

Work under the Defense Information Systems Agency’s Workforce 2025 initiative involves identifying capabilities and services needed to address the strategic threat posed by China, as well as determining the expertise needed for the agency to deliver them, according to U.S. Air Force Lt. Gen. Robert Skinner.

The director of DISA, commander of the Joint Force Headquarters-Department of Defense Information Network and Wash100 awardee made the remarks during a fireside chat at the AFCEA NOVA Army IT Day, which took place on Jan. 11, DISA said Tuesday.

“In order to continue to compete, to never get into conflict, we have to be more agile, we have to be more flexible, we have to have the right velocity and a sense of urgency, as well as the right critical thinking,” Skinner told former U.S. Army deputy chief information officer Greg Garcia, who moderated the discussion.

DISA describes Workforce 2025 as “human capital investment to empower and posture the agency’s global workforce.” Unveiled in June last year, as reported by Breaking Defense, the initiative seeks to help DISA attract new talent while upskilling the personnel it already has.

Skinner said in an interview at the time that the initiative strives “to lay a foundation for employee success.” He also issued a warning, saying that focusing exclusively on the technologies to address the China threat while forgetting the people who will operate those technologies will result in stagnation and the U.S. and its allies becoming “outpaced.”

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Navy’s Task Force 59 Unveils New Group Focused on Unmanned Operations
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Navy’s Task Force 59 Unveils New Group Focused on Unmanned Operations

Task Force 59 within U.S. Naval Forces Central Command has launched a new task group that will focus on improving maritime security across the Middle East by deploying unmanned systems teamed with crewed platforms.

Lt. Luis Echeverria, a surface warfare officer, was named head of the newly created Task Force 59.1, also called The Pioneers, the Navy said Tuesday.

Capt. Colin Corridan, Task Force 59 commodore, said the new unmanned task group will work to accelerate the delivery of new technology to warfighters.

“Breaking the molds of the legacy acquisition model requires a level of connective tissue between industry partners and the end user operators, and 59.1 answers that bell. Our Sailors will be there to ensure seamless integration of new tech introduced to operators while in theater,” Corridan added.

Task Force 59 is the Navy’s first task force focused on unmanned systems and artificial intelligence. Founded in September 2021, the organization has tested, operated and upgraded over 23 different unmanned systems.

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CISA-FBI Cybersecurity Advisory Details Indicators of Compromise From Androxgh0st Malware Attacks
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CISA-FBI Cybersecurity Advisory Details Indicators of Compromise From Androxgh0st Malware Attacks

A joint advisory from the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency and FBI is warning organizations against the spread of a Python-scripted malware known as AndroxGh0st.

In a document released Tuesday, the two agencies listed tactics, techniques and procedures being followed by threat actors that deploy the virus, which targets confidential files in applications such as Microsoft Office 365 and those of Amazon Web Services.

AndroxGh0st uses a botnet to exploit vulnerable networks and file formats such as .env and simple mail transfer protocol. Aside from AWS and Microsoft, other companies that have been affected are marketing e-mail platform SendGrid and its parent company Twilio, according to the cybersecurity advisory.

CISA and FBI also listed known indicators of compromise, including uniform resource identifiers and POST request strings and attempted credential exfiltration.

The two agencies urged organizations to prioritize patching such vulnerabilities in internet-facing systems, make sure that only necessary servers have online accessibility and investigate unauthorized use of credentials listed in .env files.

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Kurt Vogel Named Associate Administrator at NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate
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Kurt Vogel Named Associate Administrator at NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate

Kurt “Spuds” Vogel, who has been serving in the U.S. government for more than 34 years, has been appointed associate administrator of the Space Technology Mission Directorate at NASA headquarters in Washington.

He succeeds James Reuter, who retired from the space agency in June, and will oversee strategic planning and executive leadership, as well as manage tech maturation and demonstration initiatives under the directorate, NASA said Tuesday.

“I am confident his leadership will help NASA continue pushing the boundaries of what’s possible with space technologies and advancing American leadership in space,” NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said of Vogel.

Vogel, a U.S. Air Force veteran, most recently served within the Office of the Administrator as director of space architectures at NASA headquarters.

Before NASA, he led research efforts in electronic warfare, space control systems, stealth technology and air-space integration at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency.

His government career includes time leading a science and technology portfolio at the Air Force Research Laboratory’s Systems Technology Office and a stint as acting chief technologist at the National Reconnaissance Office’s Survivability Assurance Office.

Prasun Desai, who has been serving as acting associate administrator at STMD, will resume his duties as deputy associate administrator for the directorate.

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SDA Issues Broad Agency Announcement for PWSA Technologies & Emerging Capabilities
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SDA Issues Broad Agency Announcement for PWSA Technologies & Emerging Capabilities

The Space Development Agency has begun seeking proposals for a broad agency announcement that seeks new concepts, systems, technologies and capabilities for the U.S. military’s future missile-tracking satellite constellation.

A notice posted Tuesday on SAM.gov states that the BAA aims to enable technology improvements for future Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture, or PWSA, tranches and capability layers to address evolving warfighter needs.

SDA is also looking to create new PWSA capability layers and mission areas to deliver mission-critical capabilities to the joint warfighting forces.

The BAA focuses on technical areas such as beyond line-of-sight data transport and warfighter communications; advanced and alternate position, navigation and timing; advanced target custody, warning, tracking and defeat; and global battle management.

PWSA is a resilient layered network of military satellites in low Earth orbit that includes a transport layer to enable military data and communications connectivity and a tracking layer for warning, tracking and targeting advanced missile threats.

POC - 2024 Space Summit

The Potomac Officers Club will host the 2024 Space Summit on March 5 to discuss how new technologies, commercial investments and adversarial threats are shaping the future of space. Register here to save your seat at the highly anticipated event.

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Mattermost’s Barry Duplantis Shares Insights on ChatOps & New USAF Award
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Mattermost’s Barry Duplantis Shares Insights on ChatOps & New USAF Award

Mattermost recently won a U.S. Air Force Small Business Innovation Research Phase II award intended to enhance low-bandwidth tactical ChatOps.

The project is intended to optimize distributed collaboration and improve warfighter efficiency, safety and accuracy, Mattermost announced from its Palo Alto, California headquarters last week.

“Effective ChatOps is crucial for maintaining decision quality and decision advantage as mission conditions evolve, especially in contested, potentially low-bandwidth environments,” Barry Duplantis, vice president and general manager of North America public sector at Mattermost, told ExecutiveGov.

This contract is a joint effort with partner goTenna, a mobile mesh networking platform. Under the award, Mattermost will develop a plugin compatible with Tactical Assault Kit, or TAK, servers and company channels and cooperate with goTenna to build transmission layer integrations to enable data movement within TAK.

While carrying out their responsibilities, the two companies will work alongside the Air Force Research Laboratory’s Information Directorate and the TAK Product Center.

Activities under the contract are intended to promote near-real-time tactical-enterprise collaboration. The Mattermost-goTenna team will be responsible for providing a proof-of-concept that uses goTenna’s mesh radios in low-bandwidth environments. When adopted, Mattermost’s plugin is expected to enable the secure coordination of mission-critical information across different sectors.

“By partnering with goTenna and working closely with AFRL and project stakeholders, we look forward to creating an innovative solution to address these tactical challenges,” Duplantis said.

In October, Mattermost collaborated with the Air Mobility Command to test its ChatOps platform during the Mobility Guardian 2023 exercise, in which 3,000 U.S. and Allied Forces personnel simultaneously participated in exercises that focused on asynchronous communication channels and collaboration platforms.

Mobility Guardian, said Duplantis, showcased the “critical value of ChatOps in supporting mission operations and enabling teams to move at the speed of the mission.”

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Jennifer Swanson Offers Updates on Army’s Unified Data Reference Architecture & Innovation Exchange Lab
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Jennifer Swanson Offers Updates on Army’s Unified Data Reference Architecture & Innovation Exchange Lab

Jennifer Swanson, deputy assistant secretary of the Army for data, engineering and software, said the U.S. Army is halfway through completing the implementation plan for a unified data reference architecture, also known as UDRA, and expects to conclude all work by March, Federal News Network reported Tuesday.

UDRA is an effort that seeks to enable the military branch to develop a data mesh across all of its programs.

“That [implementation plan] does a few things for us. Number one, it helps us to make sure that the UDRA as it stands today is what we want it to be,” Swanson said at an event on Thursday.

“Number two, it allows us to begin doing some [program of record] integration. So we want to get after being able to determine, with our current programs of record, which ones we can maybe start migrating. Maybe not to all of this, maybe we’re not going to comply with every single thing in today’s programs of record immediately. But I think we can start taking credit for some of these things this year, and the UDRA is going to help us to get after that,” she added.

The service has also launched an innovation exchange lab in partnership with Army Combat Capabilities Development Command, or DEVCOM, to assess industry capabilities.

The lab is a cloud-based offering that allows industry partners to bring platforms for UDRA and assess their compliance and will be available to all vendors once it reaches full deployment in February.

“We want to make sure before we open it up to everybody, that we have our processes straight, and that it’s going to be efficient and effective,” Swanson said. “When we do that full launch, that’s something that will be available to industry to be able to bring in your solutions and determine, ‘Are you compliant?’ Obviously, it’s a business decision, but do you want and or need to make tweaks to your solutions to be more compliant with the UDRA?”

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