The Commodity Futures Trading Commission created two task forces for environmental fraud as well as cybersecurity and emerging technologies in the derivatives market.

CFTC’s Division of Enforcement delegated in-house lawyers and investigators who will serve as litigators and subject matter experts to address issues relevant to IT and environment-related misconduct, the commission said Thursday.

The Cybersecurity and Emerging Technologies Task Force will investigate the potential exploitation of artificial intelligence, machine learning and other emerging technologies to violate CFTC regulations and the Commodity Exchange Act. The team will be responsible for overseeing registrants’ use of such tools, particularly in the protection of consumer information.

The Environmental Fraud Task Force will examine and prosecute, if necessary, violations in derivatives and spot markets focused on addressing climate change. The team will look into misleading claims about the benefits of carbon credit purchasing, as well as environment, social and governance strategies.

“We must be dynamic and proactive in protecting derivatives markets against evolving threats,” CFTC Chairman Rostin Behnam stated. “Recent events that directly impacted derivatives markets highlight the concerns that cybersecurity breaches raise in our markets. Meanwhile, as more firms tout their environmental credentials and as voluntary carbon markets grow, there exists the potential for fraud and manipulation.”

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency has launched a new initiative aimed at developing preventive treatments to prevent bloodstream infections in warfighters who suffer trauma from burns, gunshot or blast wounds.

DARPA said Thursday the Synthetic Hemo-technologIEs that Locate & Disinfect program aims to develop novel therapies that can be administered as combat casualty care post-trauma to protect soldiers from infections caused by fungal and bacterial pathogens.

Therapies developed under SHIELD are expected to “bind, clear, and defeat any fungi and bacteria in a pathogen-agnostic, or broad-spectrum manner before they can become a health risk.”

The countermeasures must also be non-toxic, durable, broadly deployable and effective against existing and emerging bacterial and fungal threats.

SHIELD is divided into three phases, with the first focusing on proof-of-concept studies for safety and efficacy in in vitro studies.

The second phase will validate findings with either bacterial or fungal infections in animal models, while the final phase will aim to increase survival in models exposed to both bacterial and fungal pathogens simultaneously.

The U.S. National Science Foundation and the National Science and Technology Council of Taiwan have partnered to co-finance six projects focused on advancing the semiconductor industry.

Total funding amounted to $6 million, which will be used to facilitate partnerships between American and Taiwanese researchers and support research and development activities relating to semiconductor chip design and fabrication, NSF said Thursday.

NSF’s Advanced Chip Engineering Design and Fabrication program and NSTC’s Department of Engineering and Technologies will support the projects, which are listed as follows along with the institutions managing them:

• 240-GHz Energy-efficient CMOS MIMO Radar – University of California, Berkeley
• Co-design of Novel Electronic-photonic Systems for Energy-efficient Coherent Optical Interconnects – Texas A&M University
• On-chip CMOS-MEMS Infrared Spectroscopy Systems – University of California, Davis
• Real-time Optimization of Transceiver Systems – Virginia Tech
• Runtime Reconfigurable Array Technology for AI/ML – UCLA
• Ultrafast, low-power AI chip with a new class of MRAM for learning and inference at edge – Stanford University

The collaboration aligns with the Memorandum of Understanding and Implementing Arrangement for Cooperation in Advanced Semiconductor Chip Design and Fabrication between the two nations.

Textron Systems has delivered the Landing Craft Air Cushion 107 to the U.S. Navy in New Orleans.

The service branch on Wednesday accepted the ship-to-shore connector after it passed acceptance trials performed by the U.S. Navy Board of Inspection and Survey.

The LCAC 100 class is in line to replace legacy hovercraft used to carry payloads for the U.S. Army and Marine Corps. The new versions have a payload capacity of 60 to 75 tons and are built to transport equipment, cargo and weapon systems. They can also perform over-the-beach transit of assault element personnel.

Textron is under contract to produce 12 more units of the SSC LCACs.

“Delivery of LCAC 107 will immediately benefit the Navy and Marine Corps team as it provides capability around the globe,” said Capt. Jason Grabelle, manager of Amphibious Assault and Connectors Programs under the U.S. Navy’s Program Executive Office Ships. “SSC provides the fleet with agility and speed to assist with current and future mission requirements,” he added.

Lockheed Martin has taken three small businesses under its wing as part of its Next Generation Interceptor program.

Through the initiative, which falls under the Department of Defense’s Mentor-Protégé Program, the enterprise is working alongside Marotta Controls, Space Information Labs and Valley Tech Systems across several contracts to upgrade their capabilities and bolster the defense industrial base, Lockheed Martin announced from Huntsville, Alabama on Thursday.

“The Mentor-Protégé Program allows us to reduce barriers for small businesses; when small business wins, we all win,” said Sarah Reeves, vice president of NGI at Lockheed Martin.

She added that the company’s belief in the program’s strength is what drove it to mentor three different small businesses through NGI.

The initiative includes three potential two-year contracts awarded to Lockheed Martin by the Missile Defense Agency, under which it will collaborate with its mentees to help mature advanced engineering and technology capabilities, including model-based engineering and the digital thread.

Family-owned Marotta Controls focuses on subsystems for the aerospace and defense sectors.

Patrick Marotta, who serves as president and CEO of the Montville, New Jersey-based contractor, said that Marotta Controls is “privileged” to enter the Mentor-Protégé Program.

“As a small business, Marotta Controls understands the importance of support from the premiere defense contractor. We look forward to our continued growth as an agile partner delivering on our mission to support the warfighter and our nation’s defense,” he said.

A woman-owned business, SIL designs, manufactures and environmentally qualifies Li-Ion Intelli-Pack Batteries, AFTU and Space Based Range flight units for multi aerospace platforms.

“SIL is honored to be selected by Lockheed Martin through the Mentor-Protégé Program to increase our capability to produce and deliver various critical technologies for national security programs,” said Edmund Burke, president and founder of the Santa Maria, California-headquartered company.

Aerospace propulsion-focused small business VTS is based in Folsom, California and Reno, Nevada.

“Valley Tech Systems is excited to be selected by Lockheed Martin as a protégé under the DoD Mentor Protégé Program,” said Phil Csik, program manager at VTS.

“Lockheed Martin’s mentorship will add depth and robustness to our engineering, manufacturing, supply chain and mission assurance processes— enabling VTS to accelerate the application of our advanced controllable solid propulsion technology to enhance homeland defense and protect our warfighters,” Csik said.

When completed, NGI will be a part of the MDA’s Ground-based Midcourse Defense Weapon System. Lockheed Martin has already partnered with these three small businesses as subcontractors to develop, mature and field hardware for the NGI initiative using contemporary technologies created within the DOD’s Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer Programs.

David McKeown, senior information security officer and deputy chief information officer at the Department of Defense, recently met with Executive Mosaic CEO Jim Garrettson to accept his 2023 Wash100 Award.

Since its establishment 10 years ago, the annual Wash100 Award has stood as the government contracting industry’s most prestigious recognition. To choose each distinguished class of recipients, the award puts its nominees through a scrutinizing selection process in which their past accomplishments and potential for future success are considered.

A first-time Wash100 winner, McKeown was honored for his tireless efforts to drive cybersecurity improvements within the DOD. Last year, McKeown’s push for cybersecurity included advancing the department’s progress with its Zero Trust Strategy and Roadmap and enhancing the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification program. Click here to read his full profile.

This year, McKeown has been outspoken about the importance of cybersecurity. In March, he discussed pathways within the DOD’s zero trust journey and the benefits of commercial cloud at ExecutiveBiz’s Cloud Security Forum.

Earlier this month, he spoke about the department’s cryptography modernization efforts — which play a role in the DOD’s overarching cybersecurity strategy — at the Potomac Officers Club’s 2023 Cyber Summit.

Executive Mosaic congratulates McKeown for his 2023 Wash100 Award win and is excited to witness the fruits of his continued efforts.