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Gina Raimondo: US Meets Commitments for EU-US Data Privacy Framework Implementation
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Gina Raimondo: US Meets Commitments for EU-US Data Privacy Framework Implementation

U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo has announced that the U.S. satisfied its commitments to executing the European Union-U.S. Data Privacy Framework. Her statement comes after U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland moved to designate the EU and three additional countries that comprise the European Economic Area as “qualifying states” for implementing the redress mechanism under an executive order that seeks to improve safeguards for U.S. signals intelligence activities.

“This represents the culmination of months of significant collaboration between the United States and the EU and reflects our shared commitment to facilitating data flows between our respective jurisdictions while protecting individual rights and personal data,” Raimondo said in the issuance, published Monday.

The U.S. intelligence agency also moved to implement procedures and policies in accordance with the executive order on SIGINT activities.

Raimondo said the designation will take effect once the EU adopts an adequacy decision for the framework.

In December, the European Commission released its draft adequacy decision on the framework, which aims to promote and ensure safe transfers of personal data from the EU to U.S. companies.

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Deltek Projects Federal IT Spending Will Hit $137.5B in FY 2027
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Deltek Projects Federal IT Spending Will Hit $137.5B in FY 2027

A new Deltek report forecasts the federal government’s spending on information technology products and services supplied by contractors to increase from $116.4 billion in fiscal year 2023 to $137.5 billion in FY 2027.

Deltek said Friday it expects the federal IT market to continue to see moderate growth as agencies invest in IT platforms and work to address the current administration’s technology mandates and priorities.

Federal agencies will continue to prioritize investments in cloud, big data, artificial intelligence, health IT, cyber, 5G and other critical technology areas and advance the adoption of DevOps, DevSecOps, microservices and application programming interfaces in software development and modernization initiatives, according to the company’s Federal IT Market, 2023-2027 report.

The analysis shows that zero trust policies, cloud security, software supply chain security, vulnerability and incident response and cyber data collection and sharing are prompting agencies to further invest in cybersecurity platforms.

Federal adoption of enterprise-scale analytics tools will continue to rise in the next five years, according to the report.

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DOD’s Foreign Entities List Seeks to Safeguard Department-Funded Research; Heidi Shyu Quoted
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DOD’s Foreign Entities List Seeks to Safeguard Department-Funded Research; Heidi Shyu Quoted

The Department of Defense has released a list of foreign entities that have been found to be involved in activities and practices that could pose a threat to economic or national security by increasing the chances of DOD-funded research and development initiatives at higher education institutions being misappropriated.

DOD said Friday the publication of the list was in compliance with Section 1286 of the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2019.

“Protecting and maintaining the integrity of our research enterprise is integral to national security,” Heidi Shyu, undersecretary of defense for research and engineering, said in a statement published Friday.

“The publication of these foreign entities underscores our commitment to ensuring the responsible use of federal research funding and safeguarding our critical technologies from exploitation or compromise,” added Shyu, a 2023 Wash100 awardee.

In early June, Shyu signed a policy that directs fundamental research projects selected by DOD for award to undergo an evaluation for potential conflicts of interest and conflicts of commitment related to foreign influence.

The Policy for Risk-Based Security Reviews of Fundamental Research, which was signed in compliance with a national security memorandum, comes with a guide to help the department’s program managers review proposed research projects for potential foreign influence.

CFTC Forms Task Forces to Defend Derivatives Markets Against Cyberthreats, Environmental Fraud
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CFTC Forms Task Forces to Defend Derivatives Markets Against Cyberthreats, Environmental Fraud

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.”

New DARPA Program Seeks to Protect Soldiers From Blood Infections
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New DARPA Program Seeks to Protect Soldiers From Blood Infections

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.

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DIU Solicits Commercial Tech for Novel Responsible Space Delivery Program
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DIU Solicits Commercial Tech for Novel Responsible Space Delivery Program

The Defense Innovation Unit is seeking commercial platforms that could help facilitate the delivery of cargo through, from and to space as part of the Novel Responsive Space Delivery program.

DIU said selected companies will develop prototypes of autonomous delivery systems that could be used to transport payloads from Earth to a trajectory or mission-designed orbit and facilitate the return of cargo from space to the Earth and through space from one orbit to another.

The program will kick off with a commercialization analysis, mission planning and nonrecurring engineering phase focused on government and commercial applications.

DIU said it expects the succeeding phases to include larger payloads and suborbital delivery of cargo for on-demand needs and addition of autonomous distribution for “last mile” delivery, among others.

The agency wants commercial platforms that could demonstrate flight-ready hardware within 90 days of award, are designed for autonomous operations and could help minimize the release of orbital debris, among other requirements.

Responses are due July 17.

US & Taiwan Join Forces to Fund Semiconductor R&D Projects
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US & Taiwan Join Forces to Fund Semiconductor R&D Projects

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.

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US Cyber Command Working to Expand Information-Sharing Initiative With Industry
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US Cyber Command Working to Expand Information-Sharing Initiative With Industry

U.S. Cyber Command is expanding its collaborative program that enables it to exchange cyber threat intelligence with industry partners to support national security efforts.

Under Advisement was launched by the command’s Cyber National Mission Force as a two-way information-sharing initiative to get a better picture of the threat landscape and enhance government and commercial systems’ defenses against cyberattacks, USCYBERCOM said Thursday.

The program seeks to double the number of private sector partnerships in 2023 to improve transparency and broaden its reach across all industry sectors.

Members of the Under Advisement team gather information from industry partners via chat applications and invite-only industry forum.

“We are able to enrich industry data with our expertise and unique insights, and share that back with trusted private sector partners—who then can better defend their networks at home, while we pursue malicious cyber actors abroad,” said U.S. Army Maj. Gen. William Hartman, commander of CNMF.

Textron Systems Hands Over Landing Craft Air Cushion 107 to US Navy
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Textron Systems Hands Over Landing Craft Air Cushion 107 to US Navy

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.

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Study Uncovers Hundreds of Internet-Linked Devices on Federal Networks
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Study Uncovers Hundreds of Internet-Linked Devices on Federal Networks

A study by security company Censys has found hundreds of internet-exposed devices on federal systems that could be exploited by cyberthreat actors.

Censys researchers discovered over 13,000 distinct hosts, including firewalls, virtual private networks and routers, across more than 100 autonomous systems related to over 50 federal civilian executive branch organizations and sub-organizations as part of its analysis of attack surfaces, the company said Monday.

The findings from the study came after the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency released in early June a binding operational directive, BOD 23-02, that requires FCEB agencies to initiate steps to mitigate risks from internet-connected interfaces.

The researchers also identified several instances of exposed managed file transfer tools, such as GoAnywhere MFT and MOVEit transfer, and more than 150 instances of end-of-life software on federal systems that could be targeted by cyber hackers.

The study notes that FCEB agencies have 14 days to initiate measures in compliance with the CISA directive by either securing the identified devices under a zero trust architecture or removing them from the public internet.

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