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DOD Principal Deputy CIO Leslie Beavers Urges Increased Industry-Government Alliance Against Cyber Threats
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DOD Principal Deputy CIO Leslie Beavers Urges Increased Industry-Government Alliance Against Cyber Threats

Leslie Beavers, principal deputy chief information officer of the Department of Defense, is calling for increased collaboration between DOD and the private sector to address cybersecurity threats.

In an event involving private and government sector representatives, Beavers said that cybersecurity challenges are a “whole of government” issue that can only be solved with everyone’s participation.

She highlighted the initiatives DOD has begun to strengthen defense against internet-based attacks, including their zero trust framework. The strategy comprises four high-level goals: zero trust enablement, technology acceleration, cultural adoption and security and defense of their information systems.

Beavers said they are also ramping up user experience modernization and recruiting more talent to man their cybersecurity operations. She emphasized that all of their approaches will need industry partnerships in order to be effective.

“The Department of Defense, as large as it is, is heavily reliant on civilian infrastructure and companies as well as other government organizations,” Beavers said. “It’s a journey that we have to go on together.”

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Denis McDonough: VA Launches Trustworthy AI Framework
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Denis McDonough: VA Launches Trustworthy AI Framework

Denis McDonough, secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs, said the VA has publicly introduced a Trustworthy AI Framework that will serve as a foundation for the department to design, build, procure and use AI systems in a way that promotes veteran trust and confidence.

“This framework will help us build AI that is safe, secure, unbiased, transparent, accountable, and effective. All of which is to say, building trustworthy AI to complete the tasks that it does best, so VA’s people can do the work that they do best,” McDonough said during his speech at an event Thursday.

The VA secretary noted that the framework integrates into a single structure all of the White House’s AI work, including an executive order that fosters support for underserved communities and the Blueprint for an AI Bill of Rights.

According to McDonough, VA has become the first federal agency to unveil such a framework and is exploring ways on how to make better veteran-centric decisions while advancing collaboration with other federal agencies and eliminating redundant tasks.

Trusted AI and Autonomy Forum

Listen to public sector leaders and technology experts as they talk about 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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Biden Taps Michael Whitaker for FAA Administrator Post
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Biden Taps Michael Whitaker for FAA Administrator Post

President Joe Biden has nominated Michael Whitaker, chief operating officer of Hyundai Motor Group subsidiary Supernal, to serve as head of the Federal Aviation Administration.

Whitaker spent three years as deputy administrator at FAA, where he helped lead the move of the country’s air traffic control system to a satellite-based surveillance technology called Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast, the White House said Thursday.

His more than 30-year career in the aviation industry included time as group CEO at India-based travel conglomerate InterGlobe Enterprises, senior vice president at United Airlines and assistant general counsel of international and regulatory affairs at Trans World Airlines.

Whitaker is a private pilot who sits on the board of the Flight Safety Foundation.

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Lockheed Martin-University of Iowa Team Tests AI Use in Air-to-Ground Mission
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Lockheed Martin-University of Iowa Team Tests AI Use in Air-to-Ground Mission

Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works unit and pilots from the University of Iowa’s Operator Performance Laboratory have successfully tested the use of artificial intelligence agents in carrying out an electronic attack task.

Represented by two piloted L-29 aircraft, the AI agents were able to provide jamming support in a simulated air-to-ground mission, Lockheed Martin announced from Iowa City, Iowa on Wednesday.

Joe Villani, vice president of Lockheed Martin’s 21st Century Security Demonstrations & Prototypes unit, said the initiative is a “terrific example” of applying AI and unmanned aerial systems to realize the Department of Defense’s Joint All Domain Operations vision.

During the program, known as Enhanced Collaborative High-Frequency Orientation System, the L-29 aircraft were flown by OPL pilots who followed directions in the form of heading, altitude and speed cues from the AI agents.

Trained with advanced deep multi-agent reinforcement learning methods, the AI agents became capable of using emergent collaborative tactics with minimal reward shaping and an emphasis on mission completion. The assessment centered sim-to-real transfer to train the AI agents in simulated environments and carry that understanding into use on real aircraft.

On the first day of the test, the agents aligned between the fighter and target within a tight tolerance, preventing the radar from getting a track on the fighter. Over the three-day period, the team was able to complete every test card ahead of schedule.

Tom Schnell, founder and director of the OPL, said the test was an “exceptional example of industry and academia working together on a cutting-edge project.”

Skunk Works and OPL aim to evaluate AI in an end-to-end Suppression and Destruction of Enemy Air Defenses mission prior to the end of 2023. Information gathered from these tests is intended to drive future AI and automation development for upcoming programs, including the U.S. Air Force’s upcoming Collaborative Combat Aircraft, and current crewed-uncrewed teaming development.

DOE Earmarks $112M Over 3 Years for Biopreparedness Research Projects
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DOE Earmarks $112M Over 3 Years for Biopreparedness Research Projects

Ten research projects will receive a total of $112.4 million over three years as part of the Department of Energy’s Biopreparedness Research Virtual Environment initiative.

This year’s awardees are slated to concentrate their studies on pathogen and anti-pathogen materials, the combined use of X-ray and in-silico technology for biopreparedness, data-driven population health surveillance and neutron protein crystallography, DOE announced Thursday.

The projects will be led by DOE’s national laboratories, including Los Alamos, Pacific Northwest, Lawrence Berkeley, Brookhaven, Oak Ridge and SLAC National Acceleratory Laboratory. They will collaborate with other research institutions and universities, including minority serving institutions and historically black colleges.

“These advances will complement research efforts associated with other federal agencies and will be broadly applicable to understanding plant pathogens of crops that are central to DOE’s bioenergy program, as well as other biological systems,” said Asmeret Asefaw Berhe, director of the DOE’s Office of Science.

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NASA Targets October Mission Launch for Metal-Rich Asteroid Psyche Exploration
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NASA Targets October Mission Launch for Metal-Rich Asteroid Psyche Exploration

A spacecraft bound for the asteroid Psyche between Mars and Jupiter is on track to launch on Oct. 5 at the Kennedy Space Center as part of NASA’s Discovery Program.

The Psyche spacecraft has passed final thruster tests, and components including its high-gain antenna, software and science instruments are ready for the mission, the space agency announced Thursday.

Psyche is a metal asteroid with an apparent nickel-iron core that could help scientists understand the formation of planets and the solar system.

The mission includes the transportation of Deep Space Optical Communications, a demonstration of high-data-rate laser technology that could be utilized in NASA missions moving forward. The Psyche spacecraft will orbit the asteroid for 26 months to gather data and imagery that could provide clues on its composition and history.

Arizona State University is leading the program, while NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which is managed by Caltech, will be responsible for system engineering, integration and testing, mission operations and overall management of the Psyche mission.

The vehicle’s solar electric propulsion chassis was built by Maxar Technologies and launch services will be provided by SpaceX through its Falcon Heavy rocket.

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House Lawmakers Raise Concerns on SEC’s New Cybersecurity Disclosure Rules
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House Lawmakers Raise Concerns on SEC’s New Cybersecurity Disclosure Rules

Reps. Andrew Garbarino, R-N.Y.; Mark Green, R-Tenn.; and Zach Nunn, R-Iowa, have voiced concerns about the Securities and Exchange Commission’s new final rule to require public companies to disclose their cyber risk management policies and procedures and report cybersecurity incidents.

In a letter sent to SEC Chair Gary Gensler, the lawmakers said the cybersecurity disclosure rules are duplicative and contradict the congressionally mandated, bipartisan Cyber Incident Reporting for Critical Infrastructure Act of 2022, the House Committee on Homeland Security said Tuesday.

According to the lawmakers, the SEC must work with the Department of Homeland Security Cyber Incident Reporting Council to “coordinate, deconflict, and harmonize federal incident reporting requirements.”

They also request the commission to conduct an analysis of how the new rules will interact with CIRCIA and affect SEC’s other cyber incident disclosure requirements.

“Failing to do so will only jeopardize companies’ confidential reporting strategies and publicly divulge vulnerabilities to our Nation’s critical infrastructure,” the letter reads.

In July, the SEC adopted the rules to require public companies to disclose material aspects of a cyber incident’s nature, scope and timing within four business days and report the possible material impact on their financial condition and operations.

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Senate Confirms Philip Jefferson as Federal Reserve Board Vice Chair; Lisa Cook & Adriana Kugler as Governors
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Senate Confirms Philip Jefferson as Federal Reserve Board Vice Chair; Lisa Cook & Adriana Kugler as Governors

The Senate confirmed on a bipartisan basis the nomination of Philip Jefferson for vice chair of the Federal Reserve System’s Board of Governors, where he has been serving as member since May 2022.

In addition to Jefferson, President Joe Biden welcomed the confirmation of Lisa Cook and Adriana Kugler to serve as Federal Reserve Board members.

Jefferson, as fed governor, was filling an unexpired term ending January 31, 2036. He was previously an economist at the Federal Reserve Board before chairing the Department of Economics at Swarthmore College.

His stint with the academe also includes time as vice president for academic affairs and dean of faculty and the Paul B. Freeland Professor of Economics at Davidson College.

Cook, on the other hand, was given an additional full 14-year term as Federal Reserve governor. Prior to the Senate’s confirmation, she was expected to fill an unexpired term ending Jan. 31, 2024. The economist brings to the board experience as a professor of economics and international relations at Michigan State University, deputy director for Africa Research at the Center for International Development at Harvard University and National Fellow at Stanford University.

Kugler, U.S. executive director at the World Bank Group, is set to fill the last open seat at the Federal Reserve Board. Her career includes time as chief economist at the Department of Labor under the Obama Administration, chair of the Business and Economics Statistics Section of the American Statistical Association and member of the Board on Science, Technology and Economic Policy of the National Academies of Sciences. She is also on leave as professor of public policy and economics at Georgetown University.

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6 Software Vendors Commit to Adopt CISA’s K-12 Tech Cybersecurity Principles; Jen Easterly Quoted
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6 Software Vendors Commit to Adopt CISA’s K-12 Tech Cybersecurity Principles; Jen Easterly Quoted

Six software providers to the K-12 education sector have voluntarily pledged to incorporate Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency principles into their product development processes.

Classlink, Clever, D2L, GG4L, Instructure and PowerSchool signed commitments to establish road maps to adopt the agency’s three-point Secure by Design framework, CISA said Tuesday.

These educational technology platform manufacturers agreed on taking ownership of customer security outcomes, accepting transparency and accountability for software vulnerabilities and prioritizing leadership in technology security.

“We need to address K-12 cybersecurity issues at its foundation by ensuring schools and administrators have access to technology and software that is safe and secure right out of the box,” said Jen Easterly, director of CISA and two-time Wash100 winner.

Radha Iyengar Plumb: DOD Utilizing Acquisition Authorities to Advance Warfighting Capability Deployment
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Radha Iyengar Plumb: DOD Utilizing Acquisition Authorities to Advance Warfighting Capability Deployment

Radha Iyengar Plumb, deputy undersecretary of defense for acquisition and sustainment, said the Department of Defense is utilizing its acquisition tools and authorities to advance the delivery of capabilities to the warfighter and stay ahead of China’s whole-of-nation approach, DOD reported Thursday.

“To counter China’s whole-of-nation approach, what we need to do is what only the American system can do, which is let industry iterate and develop while we in the government create the conditions to rapidly scale those key technologies — that’s the secret sauce,” Plumb said.

She highlighted the Competitive Advantage Pathfinders initiative, which aims to overcome bureaucratic and cultural barriers to delivering capability at scale to warfighters.

“We identify high-tech-ready capabilities that meet a warfighter[‘s] need, and then, we see where the sticking points are when we try to just rapidly push it to scale,” Plumb said. “We develop a solution for that problem and keep going and solve the next issue and the next issue and the next issue.”

DOD is also working to improve the integration of emerging technologies to address current and future requirements of the joint force by setting up an acquisition integration interoperability team within the acquisition and sustainment office to align service-specific systems acquisition strategies.

Moreover, the Pentagon is building its acquisition workforce through programs like the Defense Civilian Training Course.

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