NSWC Requests Experimentation Nominations for 2024 Trident Spectre Exercise
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NSWC Requests Experimentation Nominations for 2024 Trident Spectre Exercise

Naval Special Warfare Command is inviting industry, academia, government laboratories and research and development organizations to submit technology experimentation nominations for the annual Trident Spectre exercise.

The upcoming annual government exercise will aim to facilitate multi-agency collaboration and integration to share best practices and identify emerging technologies designed to meet current and future operational capability needs of the Special Operations Forces, according to a notice posted Tuesday on SAM.gov.

NSWC will host an industry day on Sept. 11 at the Nauticus Museum in Norfolk, Virginia, to discuss Trident Spectre’s priorities and objectives and share ways to maximize participants’ potential for selection.

The joint experimentation exercise is the principal technology Proving Ground for the NSWC and its SOF partners.

 Interested parties have until Oct. 31 to submit experimentation nominations.

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NIST Issues Request for Comment on Draft Revision of Cybersecurity Learning Program Guidance
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NIST Issues Request for Comment on Draft Revision of Cybersecurity Learning Program Guidance

The National Institute of Standards and Technology is seeking public feedback on a draft publication focused on creating a training program for cybersecurity and privacy.

The draft, entitled “Building a Cybersecurity and Privacy Learning Program,” is a revision of a 2003 special publication on cybersecurity training, awareness and requirements, NIST said Monday.

The goal of the document revision is to adapt to the changing landscape of information technology and consequently, the approaches to cyber defense and data privacy. The new provisions align with the Cybersecurity Enhancement Act of 2014 as well as the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2021, according to the institute.

Some of the proposed amendments are the application of the NIST Cybersecurity Framework and other relevant terminologies to training programs and the incorporation of learning programs into organization goals to better manage online risks.

 The draft is open for comment until Oct. 27.

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Sandia National Labs Collaborates With Government, Industry to Expedite Tech Testing in Space
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Sandia National Labs Collaborates With Government, Industry to Expedite Tech Testing in Space

Sandia National Laboratories is working with NASA, the National Nuclear Security Administration and Voyager Space Holdings subsidiary NanoRacks on a new rapid testing approach for supercomputers and other national security space technologies.

The project will use the International Space Station as a testing ground, hosting payloads carrying different technologies such as a high-performance computer installed on the NanoRacks External Platform, Sandia said Monday.

The team began testing Sandia’s payload, LEONIDAS, which carries Advanced Micro Devices‘ Versal microchip designed for national security satellites. The demonstration is being done at the External Platform on the Japanese external module of ISS.

Instead of spending ten years or more on traditional component testing, the new space-based approach shortens the research time to 12 to 18 months while the technology is still relevant.

Using the new process, Sandia is planning to advance other innovations under its Laboratory Directed Research and Development projects. After LEONIDAS, a payload called ASTRID will be launched to test four separate technologies: a vanadium dioxide plant for regulating satellite temperature; an experimental electromagnetic pulse protection device; an integrity box for securing satellite data; and radiation-hardened neural networks.

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PCAST Recommends 2 Measures to Foster Public Engagement on Matters of Science
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PCAST Recommends 2 Measures to Foster Public Engagement on Matters of Science

The President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology has offered two recommendations to promote public engagement among federal research and development agencies, science and technology professionals and communities.

The recommendations suggest issuing a call for federal agencies to make public engagement and science and technology communications a key component of their strategy and mission and creating a new office to support agencies in their continuing efforts to build participatory engagement and S&T communications, the White House said Tuesday.

The General Services Administration’s 18F and the Office of Management and Budget’s U.S. Digital Service could be used as models for the proposed office, which should be composed of professionals with a range of expertise who can team up or be deployed to agencies, according to PCAST.

PCAST said the proposed actions are aligned with the current administration’s initiatives that direct agencies to improve collaboration and engagement with communities.

PCAST presented the recommendations through a letter addressed to President Biden.

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Dwight Deneal Named Vice Chair of Federal OSDBU Directors Interagency Council
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Dwight Deneal Named Vice Chair of Federal OSDBU Directors Interagency Council

Dwight Deneal, director of small business programs at the Defense Logistics Agency, has been appointed vice chairman of the Federal Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization Directors Interagency Council.

He will serve through fiscal 2024 as co-lead of the OSDBU Council, which comprises small business program officials from the Defense Department and federal agencies who advocate for utilizing small businesses as prime and subcontractors to meet government requirements, DLA said Tuesday.

Deneal highlighted the importance of collaboration to advance whole-of-government missions and support smaller vendors. He has proposed a shared outreach initiative with the departments of Veterans Affairs and Health and Human Services to facilitate and strengthen partnerships between medical vendors and federal supply chain experts.

DOD elements could also conduct targeted outreach to support legacy weapons systems, according to Deneal.

Deneal oversees advocacy and outreach for DLA’s small business programs, develops and implements policies and procedures for small business functions and leads the execution of the small business contracting activities.

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FBI, International Partners Take Down ‘Qakbot’ Botnet Infrastructure; Christopher Wray Quoted
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FBI, International Partners Take Down ‘Qakbot’ Botnet Infrastructure; Christopher Wray Quoted

The FBI and its partners in France, Germany, Romania, Latvia, the U.K. and the Netherlands dismantled a botnet infrastructure, dubbed Qakbot, that cybercriminals used to perform financial fraud, ransomware and various criminal activities. 

“This botnet provided cybercriminals like these with a command-and-control infrastructure consisting of hundreds of thousands of computers used to carry out attacks against individuals and businesses all around the globe,” FBI Director Christopher Wray said in a video posted Tuesday.

Wray noted that victims of the botnet network included a medical device maker on the West Coast, a Midwest-based critical infrastructure government contractor and financial institutions on the East Coast.

According to the FBI, the Qakbot malware used spam emails containing malicious links to infect computers.

The bureau said it identified more than 700,000 compromised computers around the globe and disrupted the operation of the botnet by redirecting Qakbot traffic to FBI-operated servers that prompted the infected devices to download an uninstaller file, triggering the devices to remove the malware and disconnect from the botnet infrastructure.

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15 Small Businesses to Further Develop Homeland Security Tools in DHS SBIR Program’s 2nd Phase
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15 Small Businesses to Further Develop Homeland Security Tools in DHS SBIR Program’s 2nd Phase

Fifteen small businesses secured Department of Homeland Security grants worth nearly $15 million combined to carry out prototyping work in 10 topic areas, including an artificial intelligence-based distress alerting system, under the second phase of DHS’ Small Business Innovation Research  program.

The SBIR Phase II awards will facilitate tech development and demonstration activity over two years, DHS’ science and directorate said Tuesday.

Each awardee gains the chance to secure industry or government funding sources to productize tools resulting from the second phase.

Contractors will build platforms intended to support automated AI distress alerts and monitoring, broadband push-to-talk interoperability, airport checkpoint screening for limited mobility passengers, mass fatality tracking, semiconductor-based spectroscopy and detection of counterfeit microelectronics, biological hazards, aerosolized chemical threats, high-consequence toxins and animal diseases.

The awardees are:

  • AnalyticalAI
  • Caelum Research
  • CapeSym
  • Caspia Technologies
  • Catalyst Communications Technologies
  • Lynntech
  • Makel Engineering
  • N5 Sensors
  • Nanohmics
  • Novateur Research Solutions
  • Radiation Monitoring Devices
  • Spectral Labs
  • TDA Research
  • Vadum
  • Yotta Navigation
Shyu Says DOD Will Select Rapid Defense Experimentation Reserve Technologies for Deployment
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Shyu Says DOD Will Select Rapid Defense Experimentation Reserve Technologies for Deployment

Heidi Shyu, under secretary of defense for research and engineering, said the Department of Defense will soon select the first Rapid Defense Experimentation Reserve experiments to be funded and deployed to the warfighter, Breaking Defense reported Tuesday.

Shyu, a three-time Wash100 awardee, shared that members of the Defense Management Acquisition Group will meet in the fall to discuss and examine a list of RDER projects that are mature and ready for deployment.

Funding for the selected projects will depend on the budget appropriation for the current year and if the Pentagon has the available resources for it, Shyu said.

DOD has requested $687 million for the RDER initiative in fiscal year 2024, nearly double compared to the budget request for the prior year.

RDER was designed to facilitate prototyping and experimentation to support information advantage, joint fires, contested logistics and other joint warfighting concepts.

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RTX Secures DOD Funding to Develop & Test Multi-Mission Radar; Tom Laliberty Quoted
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RTX Secures DOD Funding to Develop & Test Multi-Mission Radar; Tom Laliberty Quoted

Raytheon, an RTX business, has received the first federal contracts for its GhostEye MR multi-mission radar, providing $7 million in funding for the development and assessment of the technology.

Issued by the U.S. Department of Defense and Air Force, these awards will help advance the radar’s development and facilitate an operational assessment later this year, RTX announced from its Arlington, Virginia headquarters on Wednesday.

“This government support confirms the growing relevance and demand for the capabilities of GhostEye MR, as nations around the globe look to bolster their air defense,” said Tom Laliberty, who serves as president of Land & Air Defense Systems at Raytheon.

Built to integrate with the National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System, this advanced medium-range sensor was designed and developed by Raytheon through internal research and development investments. When combined, GhostEye MR extends NASAMS’ range and altitude coverage, enhancing its defended-area capabilities.

Laliberty said that by teaming with the DOD and Air Force as well as Norwegian aerospace company Kongsberg, Raytheon will demonstrate the technology’s array of capabilities against various emerging threats.

NASAMS was successfully tested in an air base air defense experiment in Andøya, Norway, last September. During the evaluation, the weapon was able to engage and intercept multiple challenging aerial threats using Raytheon missile types and Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace’s Fire Distribution Center. The testing was conducted by the Air Force Research Laboratory’s Strategic Developmental Planning & Experimentation office.

In the next operational assessment, which will take place at White Sands Missile Range, evaluators will expand on capabilities shown during the previous test by linking GhostEye MR with NASAMS’ FDC using the Air Force’s relevant command and control. In this demonstration, the GhostEye MR rader will deliver surveillance cues while integrating with NASAMS so its operational performance can be assessed.

CSA, Nonprofit Make-A-Wish Collaborate on Operation Dream Maker; Amy Bleken Quoted
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CSA, Nonprofit Make-A-Wish Collaborate on Operation Dream Maker; Amy Bleken Quoted

Client Solution Architects has partnered with nonprofit organization Make-A-Wish to help fulfill the requests and needs of children of military veterans and active or reserve duty service members.

The company said Thursday its collaboration with Make-A-Wish Mid-Atlantic on Operation Dream Maker aligns with the community-centric vision of CSA and reflects the values of its workforce, the majority of whom are veterans.

“Corporate responsibility is about understanding the role we play in society and the impact we can make on the lives around us,” remarked CSA CEO Amy Bleken. “This partnership is our way of giving back to the military families who give so much to us and the country we love.”

CSA exceeded its goal for 2023, granting three wishes instead of just two after having raised over $45,000 through an employee-driven campaign.

“We are building bridges of empathy, gratitude and support, and we do this through the beautiful wishes we help grant and the dreams that come true. That’s our commitment. That’s our responsibility,” the chief executive added.

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