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CSIS Forms Task Force to Assess CISA’s Federal Cyber Risk Management Mission
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CSIS Forms Task Force to Assess CISA’s Federal Cyber Risk Management Mission

The Center for Strategic and International Studies has formed a task force to assess the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency’s progress in delivering cyber services across the federal civilian executive branch.

The CSIS Task Force on CIA’s Evolving .gov Mission will stress test the agency’s current programs against possible threat scenarios to assess whether additional or different services might be required to help FCEBs manage their cyber risk, the Washington, D.C.-based policy think tank said Monday.

Suzanne Spaulding, senior adviser for homeland security at CSIS, and Emily Harding, deputy director of the CSIS International Security Program, have been appointed co-chairs of the task force.

Benjamin Jensen, senior fellow for future war, gaming and strategy at CSIS, will serve as executive director.

Other task force members are Marene Allison, former chief information security officer at Johnson & Johnson; Malcolm Harkins, chief security & trust officer at Epiphany Systems; Phyllis Schneck, vice president and chief information security officer at Northrop Grumman; and David Simon, former chief counsel for cybersecurity and national security at the U.S. Cyberspace Solarium Commission.

The task force and supporting CSIS research team will publish a public report in October.

DLA Drafts Strategy to Address Supply Chain Security Vulnerabilities
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DLA Drafts Strategy to Address Supply Chain Security Vulnerabilities

The Defense Logistics Agency is developing a new strategy to protect U.S. troops and federal partners against disruptions caused by security vulnerabilities in the Department of Defense supply chain.

DLA said Monday it is developing and refining protective measures covering DLA systems and data; suppliers with access to controlled unclassified information, export control data and other DLA data; critical supplier operations; and other suppliers and systems involved in the DOD supply chain, DLA said Monday.

Peter Battaglia, director of DLA Logistics Operations’ Mission Assurance Directorate, said additional measures are needed to safeguard DLA’s technical quality data shared with defense suppliers.

“Say we’re providing our logistics data to one of the contract service suppliers that we operate with. We’re determining measures we can take to ensure they’re not going to lose our data, be it through malicious data breaches or inappropriate internal management,” he said.

The forthcoming strategy will also cover behavior-based security monitoring and cybersecurity expectations for suppliers that provide fuel and other critical items to the U.S. military.

Battaglia expects the strategy to be shared with major subordinate commands for feedback later this year.

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Nisha Morris Named NSA Chief of Strategic Communications; Gen. Paul Nakasone Quoted
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Nisha Morris Named NSA Chief of Strategic Communications; Gen. Paul Nakasone Quoted

Nisha Morris, a marketing and communications executive, has been appointed chief of strategic communications and senior executive adviser to the board of directors at the National Security Agency.

She will manage NSA’s overall communication vision and strategy and lead a global team of communications professionals to build public trust in the agency, NSA said Monday.

Morris brings to the role industry experience in brand promotion, crisis management, integrated communications, organizational transformation and digital marketing.

Before joining NSA, Morris was vice president of marketing and communications at City of Hope and led the medical institute’s $1 billion initiative to develop a cancer center and care network in Orange County, California.

She also oversaw communication, public relations and social media strategies of Providence St. Joseph Health and held PR roles at Dell Technologies and Smith Micro Software.

“Nisha’s background, breadth of experience and leadership will be integral as we highlight our mission, vision and values across interagency, industry, government, defense, academia and the American public,” said Gen. Paul Nakasone, director of NSA and a seven-time Wash100 Award recipient.

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CISA’s Eric Goldstein: Fundamental Cybersecurity Practices Can Help Organizations Reduce Intrusion Risk
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CISA’s Eric Goldstein: Fundamental Cybersecurity Practices Can Help Organizations Reduce Intrusion Risk

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency is urging organizations to begin implementing Cross-Sector Cybersecurity Performance Goals in compliance with the Biden administration’s policy to improve IT protection and defense of the country’s critical infrastructure.

Organizations in government and industry alike can start with simple and straightforward practices, such as changing default passwords, in order to incrementally achieve CPGs, Eric Goldstein, CISA’s executive assistant director for cybersecurity, wrote in a blog post on Friday.

Voluntary CPGs, which are guided by the Cybersecurity Framework, were launched in December based on different entities’ sectors and sizes. CISA designed the goals according to an organization’s priority to ensure that implementation would be cost-effective.

According to the agency, critical infrastructure entities should accomplish essential CPGs first, before moving on to other items in the performance goals. These include adding phishing-resistant multifactor authentication; separating user accounts from administrator-level privileges; and creating and maintaining incident response plans.

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DOD Divides CTO Duties Among New Assistant Defense Secretaries; Heidi Shyu Quoted
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DOD Divides CTO Duties Among New Assistant Defense Secretaries; Heidi Shyu Quoted

The Department of Defense appointed three assistant secretaries and eight deputy assistant secretaries, who will take on the responsibilities previously assumed by the deputy chief technology officer.

DOD said Monday the new acting assistant defense secretaries are Steven Wax for science and technology, Maynard Holliday for critical technologies and Thomas Browning for mission capabilities.

Wax will retain his current role as principal deputy assistant secretary of defense for science and technology while performing his new duties. He will oversee three deputy assistant secretaries: Jagadeesh Pamulapati for S&T foundations, Kevin Geiss for S&T futures, and Robert Irie for S&T program protection.

Under Holliday’s supervision, Michael Holthe will serve as both acting DASD for applied technology and DASD for enabling technology.

Browning will be supported by Marcia Holmes, principal DASD for mission capabilities, as well as three other deputies. Paul Zablocky will handle multi-domain joint operations, Alex Lovett will focus on prototypes and experiments and Elmer Roman will be responsible for mission integration.

“The establishment of these roles within Research & Engineering better positions our team to execute upon our mission of preserving our nation’s technological edge, now and into the future,” said Heidi Shyu, undersecretary of defense for research and engineering.

“We thank our partners in Congress and across the DOD for getting us to this point,” added Shyu, a three-time Wash100 Award winner.

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Mark Munsell Illuminates NGA’s Artificial Intelligence Adoption Process
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Mark Munsell Illuminates NGA’s Artificial Intelligence Adoption Process

Mark Munsell, director of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency’s data and digital innovation directorate, said NGA is advancing the adoption of automation and artificial intelligence to deal with large volumes of imagery and the geospatial information it collects.

Munsell told Federal News Network in an interview published Monday that NGA is looking to improve the accuracy of detecting ground-based objects with the help of AI.

“We’re looking to improve the positive identification of these objects. We’re looking to improve the geolocation of these objects, that’s very important. And we’re looking to do it faster,” he told FNN.

“So all three of those things, sort of an enduring need, an enduring capability development cycle that we’re on to make that better,” Munsell added.

During the conversation, he talked about responsible AI and a certification program launched by the agency for developers of AI tools.

“So when we certify developers of the technology, we want to ensure that they’re developing it correctly. And we want to assure that the quality of the technology models are validated,” Munsell noted.

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 the ExecutiveBiz Trusted Artificial Intelligence and Autonomy Forum on Sept. 12. Click here to register.

Edge Autonomy Capitalizes on Northern Alabama Tech Sector With New Location; John Purvis Quoted
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Edge Autonomy Capitalizes on Northern Alabama Tech Sector With New Location; John Purvis Quoted

Unmanned technology purveyor Edge Autonomy has opened its fourth location, as of this month, in Huntsville, Alabama.

With the establishment of the new facility, the company is looking to ramp up its production capabilities as well as tap into the reportedly plentiful opportunities available in the unmanned aerial vehicle market in Alabama, the San Luis Obispo, California-headquartered company said Tuesday.

John Purvis, CEO of Edge Autonomy, voiced the anticipation of the company to make an impact in Huntsville and explained that it is a nexus point for some critical Edge customers. He also depicted northern Alabama as a region with a “fast-growing tech sector,” positioning it as “one of the best locations to attract and retain the highly skilled manufacturing, technical, and engineering employees who will contribute to our mission.”

A key component in the location strategy is the proximity of Redstone Arsenal, the U.S. Army garrison that serves the Department of Defense, NASA and the Department of Justice. Purvis says Redstone is a go-to authority on uncrewed aircraft and a significant client of Edge Autonomy, so a nearby production facility will be of prime use. In neighboring Redstone, Purvis feels customer service and responsiveness will be optimized.

The new office will be populated by technical, administrative and production staff and siphon talent from the surrounding areas. Alabamans are seemingly excited about this development: Congressman Dale Strong said in a statement that the opening of the facility will be mutually beneficial for both locals and the company.

“They are doing crucial work to support the warfighter with the most innovative capabilities…The company and I share the same belief, that innovation – no matter how small – creates a better world and a better Alabama!” Strong stated.

Earlier this year, Edge Autonomy brought on a new chief technology officer with Allen Gardner in January and installed Steve Adlich as its chief strategy officer in March.

In the wake of a merger with Jennings Aeronautics, the former UAV Factory rebranded as Edge Autonomy in Feb. 2022.

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US Army & Air Force Test MITRE Drone Activity Detection App
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US Army & Air Force Test MITRE Drone Activity Detection App

The U.S. Air Forces Central and U.S. Army Central led an operational capability test of MITRE‘s CARPE Dronvm smartphone application for detecting suspicious drone activity.

The app was tested in a 50-kilometer flight from McEntire Joint National Guard Base to Poinsett Weapons Range in South Carolina, the USAF reported on July 18.

CARPE Dronvm is designed to alert users, and enable them to report, about the presence of suspicious counter-unmanned aerial systems.

MITRE flew a drone to be tracked through the app by soldiers stationed at multiple points between the two bases. Their reports were monitored through the program’s situational awareness map by AFCENT and MITRE personnel, who were located at a mock command center at the drone’s destination point at Poinsett Range.

Army Maj. Travis Valley, USARCENT Task Force 39 operations officer, said the live test was the largest conducted to date.

“Carpe Dronvm has the potential to provide real time, crowd-sourced data about small, unmanned aerial systems to military decisions makers around the globe. Using CD, we can increase our detection capabilities and our ability to protect service members on the future battlefield,” Valley added.

US Army & Air Force Test MITRE Drone Activity Detection App

On Aug. 1, top Army officials and GovCon industry leaders will discuss the service branch’s modernization priorities during the Potomac Officers Club’s 2023 Army Summit. Visit the POC events page to see all the confirmed speakers and to register for this important forum.

DOE Casts Net for Industry Collaborators in HPC-Powered Tech Manufacturing Efforts
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DOE Casts Net for Industry Collaborators in HPC-Powered Tech Manufacturing Efforts

The Department of Energy is on the hunt for industry partners that will be allowed to utilize high-performance computing capabilities at national laboratories to create energy efficient technologies.

Selected teams will work as part of the HPC or Energy Innovation initiative and advance modeling, simulation and data analysis using supercomputers to support manufacturing and materials projects, DOE’s Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory said.

HPC4EI encompasses the HPC4Manufacturing  and HPC4Materials Programs, with HPC4Mfg being funded using the department’s Advanced Materials and Manufacturing Technologies Office and Industrial Efficiency and Decarbonization Office. HPC4Mtls, on the other hand, receives funding through the Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management.

U.S. manufacturers, universities, institutes and other non-profit organizations are encouraged to join the solicitation.

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NASA’s Starling CubeSats Enter In-Orbit Commissioning Phase
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NASA’s Starling CubeSats Enter In-Orbit Commissioning Phase

NASA’s Starling satellites have started in-orbit commissioning activities in preparation for their mission to demonstrate technologies for autonomous navigation, networking, decision-making and planning and execution.

The four 6U-sized small satellites have made initial contact with ground operators after reaching low Earth orbit and are set to undergo three commissioning stages: spacecraft bus commissioning, payload commissioning and propulsion system commissioning, NASA said Friday.

Three of the CubeSats have accomplished the first commission stage ahead of schedule while the Starling mission team is in the process of establishing two-way communications with the fourth spacecraft.

The multi-satellite mission launched aboard Rocket Lab’s Electron launch vehicle from Launch Complex 1 in New Zealand to test autonomous new technologies for autonomous swarm positioning and maneuvering in space.

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