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Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution to Continue Running Ocean Observatories Initiative Following $220M NSF Award
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Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution to Continue Running Ocean Observatories Initiative Following $220M NSF Award

A group of organizations under the leadership of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution has been awarded $220 million by the National Science Foundation for the continued operation of the Ocean Observatories Initiative, a collection of instruments that work to monitor ocean processes.

According to the NSF, the WHOI-led group will use the new funds to enhance OOI’s cybersecurity and hire additional staff.

The group, whose members include the University of Washington and Oregon State University, will also use the money to finance the relocation of the Pioneer Array, one of OOI’s two arrays that work to monitor the coastal environment. The Pioneer Array is currently positioned off the coast of New England.

Lisa Clough, who heads the ocean sciences division at the NSF, described the function of OOI as “directly monitoring critical organs of the Earth” and underscored the necessity of such surveillance in light of fossil fuel use and its effect on the oceans.

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Independent Review Board Recommends Budget, Organizational Structure Tweaks for Mars Sample Return Mission
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Independent Review Board Recommends Budget, Organizational Structure Tweaks for Mars Sample Return Mission

NASA has released to the public an independent review board’s report on the Mars Sample Return mission, and is preparing to take action on some of the panel’s recommendations.

The agency said Thursday that it built a team to respond to the findings, which cited concerns about the project’s cost and the efficiency of its proposed sample collection process.

One of the IRB’s recommendations was to optimize the collection of Mars sample materials that will be loaded onto NASA’s Perseverance rover. The mission should be discerning in selecting samples of high scientific value and should consider the health of the rover in gathering the specimens to be studied in Earth, according to the report.

The board also provided suggestions on the overall organizational structure of the project, such as the establishment of an integrated Mars exploration program office with a planning and control group at NASA’s headquarters.

NASA’s team plans to respond to the recommendations by the second quarter of the agency’s 2024 fiscal year.

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FCC OKs Rules to Allocate Radio Spectrum for Commercial Space Launches; Jessica Rosenworcel Quoted
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FCC OKs Rules to Allocate Radio Spectrum for Commercial Space Launches; Jessica Rosenworcel Quoted

The Federal Communications Commission has passed new rules meant to provide commercial space launch operators access to spectrum resources needed for communications during satellite launches and science exploration missions.

The FCC rules will expand allocation in the 2025 to 2110 MHz band to support ground-to-launch vehicle telecommand and free up the entire 2200 to 2290 MHz band for launch telemetry, the commission said Thursday.

With the new policy, a non-exclusive licensing framework and technical rules will be established to provide commercial launch providers with the predictability they need to carry out their operations.

FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said allocating airwaves for commercial space launches “will make our process simpler and more open to new entrants.”

“It will better facilitate coordination with our federal partners through the use of a frequency coordinator,” added Rosenworcel, who first introduced the spectrum rules in late July.

According to the FCC, 79 commercial space launches occurred in 2022, up from nine launches in 2015.

The move marks the latest effort in advancing the commission’s Space Innovation agenda.

White House Asks Agencies to Account for Climate Change Impacts in Federal Procurement
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White House Asks Agencies to Account for Climate Change Impacts in Federal Procurement

The White House has directed agencies to calculate the costs of climate change impacts by using the social cost of greenhouse gases or SC-GHG metric in federal procurement processes as part of the implementation of an interagency working group recommendation to address the climate crisis.

High-impact procurements, including the purchase of large energy-consuming systems, could serve as pilots that could enable federal agencies to integrate SC-GHG, the White House said Thursday.

According to the Biden administration, the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council agencies have solicited public feedback on plans to incorporate SC-GHG values in local and international procurement decisions.

The president has also required agencies to account for SC-GHG in budget development and implementation and environmental reviews in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act.

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Melissa Dalton Nominated for Under Secretary of the Air Force Role
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Melissa Dalton Nominated for Under Secretary of the Air Force Role

Melissa Dalton, assistant secretary of defense for homeland defense and hemispheric affairs at the Department of Defense, was nominated by President Joe Biden to become the under secretary of the U.S. Air Force.

In her current role, Dalton provides the DOD secretary and other senior defense leaders with informed recommendations on defense continuity and mission assurance; homeland defense and defense support of civil authorities; and Arctic and global resilience. She also guides U.S. defense and security policy for Canada, Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean and South America.

She was principal deputy assistant secretary of defense for strategy, plans and capabilities for over a year before taking on her present designation. She held that previous role for over a year, advising defense leaders on national security, defense strategy and other key areas.

Dalton’s career also includes time as a senior fellow and deputy director of the Center for Strategic and International Studies International Security Program and Director of the Cooperative Defense Project.

Additionally, she spent a decade as a civil servant in the DOD during the Bush-Cheney and Obama-Biden administrations.

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CISA, FBI Release Joint Advisory on Mitigating Snatch Ransomware Attacks
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CISA, FBI Release Joint Advisory on Mitigating Snatch Ransomware Attacks

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency and the FBI have released a joint cybersecurity advisory warning organizations against a ransomware variant that targets the critical infrastructure sector.

The CSA outlines indicators of compromise and tactics, techniques and procedures associated with the Snatch ransomware variant identified through recent FBI investigations, CISA said Wednesday.

Snatch is a ransomware-as-a-service operation that uses data exfiltration and double extortion to target a wide range of critical infrastructure sectors, including the defense industrial base.

According to the agencies, Snatch operators have changed their tactics based on current trends in the cybercriminal space and the successes of other ransomware operations.

The FBI and CISA recommended that organizations review the CSA and implement best practices to mitigate Snatch ransomware attacks.

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DOD IG Report Calls for In-Depth Review of Military Services’ Spare Parts Forecasting Process
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DOD IG Report Calls for In-Depth Review of Military Services’ Spare Parts Forecasting Process

The Department of Defense’s Office of Inspector General has recommended that the DOD undersecretary for acquisition and sustainment direct the U.S. Army and other service branches to perform an in-depth assessment of their processes for making spare parts forecasts that they submit to the Defense Logistics Agency.

Such reviews should include information on how the services can improve the spare parts forecasting process and a plan of action containing milestones and areas for improvement, DOD OIG said Thursday.

The recommendation was made after an OIG audit found that the Army overstated its forecasts for spare parts by over $200 million and ordered another $148 million worth of parts that it did not forecast in fiscal year 2021.

The audit sought to assess whether the Army submitted to DLA accurate spare parts estimates for its depot maintenance programs.

According to the report, the Army’s average spare parts forecast accuracy rate was only 20 percent in FY 2021.

An analysis of DLA data on spare parts forecasts showed that other service branches overstated by $767 million their estimates for some spare parts and ordered $355 million in additional spare parts they did not forecast.

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Gen. Randy George Sworn in as Army Chief of Staff
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Gen. Randy George Sworn in as Army Chief of Staff

Gen. Randy George has been sworn in as chief of staff of the U.S. Army after being confirmed by a vote in the Senate.

Army Secretary Christine Wormuth said in a statement published Thursday that George is a “battle-tested soldier and seasoned leader who has been a critically important champion for the Army as Vice Chief of Staff and as Acting Chief.”

President Biden nominated George in April to succeed retired Gen. James McConville as the military branch’s next chief.

Before serving as vice chief of staff of the Army, George served as the senior military assistant to the secretary of defense and commander of I Corps at Joint Base Lewis McChord in Washington.

He also served as director of force management for the Army G-3/5/7 and deputy director for regional operations and force management in the J-3.

His military career includes time as deputy commanding general for maneuver of the 4th Infantry Division, executive assistant to the head of U.S. Central Command and executive officer to the Army’s 33rd vice chief of staff.

Gen. Paul Nakasone Highlights USCYBERCOM, NSA Priorities for Cybersecurity
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Gen. Paul Nakasone Highlights USCYBERCOM, NSA Priorities for Cybersecurity

Gen. Paul Nakasone, director of the National Security Agency and commander of the U.S. Cyber Command, said addressing global threats from China and Russia and protecting critical systems and infrastructure from cyber threats are among the leading priorities of his two organizations.

The 2023 Wash100 awardee shared during a conference in Washington that in the future he intends to focus on the competition with China, the need for persistent public-private partnerships and the development of the next-generation workforce, NSA said Thursday.

According to Nakasone, cybersecurity has become a national security issue due to the prevalence of different threat vectors over the past years.

“But what have we seen since 2018? We’ve seen supply chain, we’ve seen zero days, we’ve seen ransomware, we’ve seen a number of different actors that have changed and really provided an inflection point for all of us to say, ‘Hey, this is a national security issue, and we’ve got to treat it differently,'” Nakasone said.

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Carahsoft Teams With Applied Insight to Deliver Cloud Software to Federal Government; Craig Abod Quoted
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Carahsoft Teams With Applied Insight to Deliver Cloud Software to Federal Government; Craig Abod Quoted

Carahsoft has joined forces with cloud and technology services provider Applied Insight to make the latter’s offerings more widely available to the U.S. government.

As Applied Insight’s Master Government Aggregator, Carahsoft will open a pathway for its partner to more easily deliver its Altitude and SHIFT software products to federal organizations, the Reston, Virginia-based enterprise announced on Tuesday.

Craig Abod, president of Carahsoft and a nine-time Wash100 Award recipient, said the incorporation of Applied Insight’s technologies into its portfolio will help the company support federal clients as they adapt to ever-changing cybersecurity standards and move to the cloud to meet government-wide mandates.

“Through collaboration with Applied Insight and our reseller partners, we provide our customers with the solutions they need to keep the country’s digital assets secure,” he added.

Applied Insight’s technologies are created for use in secure classified environments. Altitude, a cloud infrastructure platform, is designed to provide customers with an efficient way to move systems and software to the cloud. The tool uses built-in security and automated governance systems to regulate access and provide visibility to support the migration process.

A high-side emulation software, SHIFT offers its users a way to accelerate the development of software in the cloud to boost classified systems used for intelligence and national security purposes. Its capabilities enable developers who work with non-sensitive systems to produce software and deploy it on the high-side, which can help agencies tackle the shortage of cleared developers.

Under the agreement, these tools will be made available through Carahsoft’s reseller partners, National Cooperative Purchasing Alliance and OMNIA Partners contracts.

“This is an important step for Applied Insight in helping more Government agencies harness the power of our cloud products that have been developed and proven in extremely challenging national security environments,” said Adam Gruber, chief technology officer and general manager of products at Applied Insight.

He added that the company looks forward to expanding its provision of scalable, automated cloud operations to the U.S. government through its partnership with Carahsoft.

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