Iridium Introduces Certus Aircraft Connectivity Offering; Matt Desch Quoted
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Iridium Introduces Certus Aircraft Connectivity Offering; Matt Desch Quoted

Iridium Communications has released Iridium Certus — a new aviation commercial service offering a secure cockpit domain with consistent voice and data capabilities.

This launch makes Iridium Connected available for commercial transport aircraft, business aviation, helicopters, private aircraft and uncrewed aircraft systems with compact, cost-effective and high-coverage equipment, the McLean, Virginia-based company announced on Monday.

Matt Desch, CEO of Iridium and a nine-time Wash100 Award winner, said that in a “period of unprecedented growth” for the aviation industry, reliable connectivity is “crucial” for passenger and cockpit communications. He said that due to its Size, Weight and Power, or SWaP, and the reliability of Iridium’s global network, Iridium Certus “perfectly fits” these communications applications.

Iridium Certus is tailorable to device-specific SWaP needs both up and down to fit a wide variety of aircraft and operational demands and meet customer mission requirements. It offers operators the ability to gather real-time data from the cockpit to enhance decision-making and boost operational efficiency.

The technology utilizes L-band satellite frequencies to enable cockpit communications and harmonizes with Ka/Ku band services. Its capabilities allow it to function as a primary service for small to mid-size business jet cabins, and Iridium’s low-earth orbit satellite constellation provides weather-resilient L-band connectivity and worldwide coverage.

“With our upgraded constellation, we have significantly improved and expanded our offerings, delivering air traffic control services, weather and critical information to cockpits worldwide more affordably than ever before,” said Desch.

John Peterson, executive director of aviation at Iridium, noted that the organization’s first-generation voice and data offerings are installed on more than 60,000 aircraft.

“As the preferred solution for a wide range of aviation applications, from drones to airliners, Iridium Certus is ready to support the industry’s evolving connectivity needs,” he said.

Partners of Iridium are working to launch multi-tier Iridium Certus products compatible with other in-flight connectivity systems. Currently, Iridium Certus 100 and Certus 700 are undergoing the safety certification process. Flight trials are anticipated to begin by late 2023, while approvals are expected in 2024.

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CIA Director & Wash100 Winner William Burns to Join White House Cabinet
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CIA Director & Wash100 Winner William Burns to Join White House Cabinet

CIA Director and Wash100 Award winner William Burns has been appointed to the White House Cabinet.

In a statement issued Friday, President Joe Biden acknowledged the impact of Burns’ leadership on the country’s approach to competition with China, as well as the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

“Bill has always given me clear, straightforward analysis that prioritizes the safety and security of the American people, reflecting the integral role the CIA plays in our national security decision-making at this critical time,” Biden said. “He leads with dignity and represents the very best of America, and I look forward to continuing to work with him in the years ahead.”

Burns is a repeatedly decorated veteran of the intelligence community, with three Presidential Distinguished Service Awards under his belt. His career has taken him from the National Security Council, where he was special assistant to the president, to the U.S. Embassies in Jordan and in Moscow, Russia.

He worked in various roles at the Department of State before ascending to the post of the agency’s deputy secretary. In 2014, he retired from the State Department U.S. Foreign Service, and in 2021 became the first career diplomat to be named CIA director.

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NSA, CYBERCOM Nominee Lt. Gen. Timothy Haugh on FISA Section 720 Surveillance Authority, Dual-Hat Arrangement
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NSA, CYBERCOM Nominee Lt. Gen. Timothy Haugh on FISA Section 720 Surveillance Authority, Dual-Hat Arrangement

U.S. Air Force Lt. Gen. Timothy Haugh, the White House’s nominee for the role of commander of U.S. Cyber Command and director of the National Security Agency, said he recognizes the importance of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act in offering foreign intelligence to meet national priorities.

“In my experience, intelligence derived from Section 702 has been critical in counterterrorism, cybersecurity, counterintelligence, countering international drug trafficking, and strategic competition,” he said in response to advance policy questions by the Senate Armed Services Committee.

FISA’s Section 702 is set to expire by the end of 2023.

Haugh, current deputy commander of CYBERCOM, said that if confirmed, he would work with Congress to ensure that surveillance operations authorized under Section 702 are carried out in accordance with the constitution and laws.

He stated that any injury, death or damage to property caused by cyber operations would be considered an act of war in the cyber domain that would drive a country to defend itself against such threats.

“Ultimately, whether an act in cyberspace warrants a U.S. response in self-defense is a determination for our civilian leadership,” he added.

Haugh said he believes the dual-hatted duties currently assigned to Gen. Paul Naksone should be maintained because it improves the effectiveness of CYBERCOM and NSA.

“The signals intelligence and cyber operating environments substantially overlap. Eliminating the dual hat would reduce relevant visibility and understanding across both mission sets, increasing risk to intelligence sources and operational activities,” he noted.

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Biden to Nominate Adm. Samuel Paparo as INDOPACOM Lead & Vice Adm. Stephen Koehler as Pacific Fleet Commander
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Biden to Nominate Adm. Samuel Paparo as INDOPACOM Lead & Vice Adm. Stephen Koehler as Pacific Fleet Commander

President Joe Biden has expressed his intent to nominate Adm. Samuel Paparo to lead U.S. Indo-Pacific Command and Vice Adm. Stephen “Web” Koehler as the next commander of U.S. Pacific Fleet.

Paparo currently serves as head of the U.S. Pacific Fleet.

He was commander of U.S. Naval Forces Central Command, U.S. 5th Fleet and Combined Maritime Forces before assuming command of the Pacific Fleet in May 2021.

The U.S. naval aviator served as executive assistant to commander of U.S. Fleet Forces Command and to the 31st Chief of Naval Operations and as director of operations, J3, within U.S. Central Command.

Koehler is director for strategy, plans and policy for the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

He previously served as commander of the U.S. Third Fleet, director for operations at U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, director of fleet training at U.S. Fleet Forces Command and deputy commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet.

FedRAMP Requires 3PAO Assessment Teams to Complete A2LA Requirements
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FedRAMP Requires 3PAO Assessment Teams to Complete A2LA Requirements

The Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program is requiring third party assessment organization personnel, including senior and junior assessors and penetration testers, to comply with the specific requirements set by the American Association for Laboratory Accreditation.

Starting on Oct. 1, FedRAMP and A2LA will review assessment reports to ensure that accredited 3PAO personnel are competent and qualified to evaluate documents from cloud service providers, FedRAMP said Thursday.

Personnel qualification requirements under the R311 policy cover training, years of experience, certification qualifications and technical proficiency activities.

FedRAMP noted that a 3PAO with a team consisting of both qualified and unqualified personnel will not be permitted to perform inspections of CSP documents.

NRO, NSF & NGA Agree to Extend Public Access to Arctic Digital Elevation Models
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NRO, NSF & NGA Agree to Extend Public Access to Arctic Digital Elevation Models

The National Reconnaissance Office has modified a 10-year Electro-Optical Commercial Layer contract it awarded to Maxar Technologies last year in order to give the U.S. government long-term access to digital elevation models of the Arctic and Antarctic regions.

The changes support NRO’s agreement with the National Science Foundation and the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency to continue allowing public access to 3D models, which are vital in climate change research, NSF said Thursday.

The recently finalized pact among the three organizations is positioned to enable NGA to share the imaging simulations with NSF’s university partners, which will update the NSF’s ArcticDEM and Reference Elevation Model of Antarctica projects until 2032.

Researchers will be gain access o the digital simulations on NGA’s website, as well as the NSF Polar Geospatial Center site operated by the University of Minnesota.

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Army Previews Information Network Support Requirement
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Army Previews Information Network Support Requirement

The U.S. Army is conducting market research to explore potential industry sources of cybersecurity and operations support for its portion of the Department of Defense Information Network.

In a notice posted Thursday on SAM.gov, the military branch listed its internet technology service requirements to manage and maintain the DoDIN-Army infrastructure.

Basic services listed in the notice include system sustainment and security engineering, process development, information technology project management and network monitoring and compliance.

The branch is looking to procure contractor support through the issuance of a task order with one base year, plus four option years, under an existing contract vehicle.

Interested vendors can submit questions and comments regarding the sources sought notice until Aug. 2.

Army Previews Information Network Support Requirement

If you want insight into the Army’s tech priorities and programs, join us at the Potomac Officers Club’s 8th Annual Army Summit on Aug. 1 at the Hilton-McLean in Virginia. Click here to see all confirmed event speakers and to register for this important forum.

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Investigations Reveal OpenAI Supports Licenses for Advanced AI Tech Development
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Investigations Reveal OpenAI Supports Licenses for Advanced AI Tech Development

OpenAI said in a draft internal policy document that the company backs the concept of requiring government licenses for developers seeking to build advanced artificial intelligence platforms and is willing to be more transparent on the data it uses to train DALL-E and other image generators, Bloomberg reported Thursday.

“We commit to working with the US government and policy makers around the world to support development of licensing requirements for future generations of the most highly capable foundation models,” the draft memo reads.

Sources said OpenAI, Microsoft and Alphabet’s Google are expected on Friday to express their commitment to responsible AI development and deployment.

OpenAI also noted in the document that it is performing a survey on watermarking and that it is willing to host external red teaming activities.

The draft memo came a week after the Federal Trade Commission launched an inquiry into the San Francisco-based company.

FTC sent a 20-page letter to OpenAI asking the ChatGPT maker about its security practices and how it handles personal data and trains AI models, according to a report by The New York Times.

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Navy to Help DOD Meet Computational Needs With ‘Blueback’ Supercomputer
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Navy to Help DOD Meet Computational Needs With ‘Blueback’ Supercomputer

The Navy DOD Supercomputing Resource Center will install at its facility at Stennis Space Center in Mississippi a new high-performance computing system that offers 17.7 petaFLOPS of computing performance, DVIDS reported Thursday.

Blueback is an HPE Cray EX4000 system expected to enter service in 2024 to support the computational needs of DOD’s science and technology, acquisition engineering and test and evaluation communities.

The supercomputer will replace three older HPC systems and comes with 128 AMD MI300A accelerator processing units, 24 NVIDIA L40 general purchase graphics processing units, 256,512 total compute cores and 20 petabytes of usable Cray ClusterStor E1000 Lustre storage.

DOD used a segment of its fiscal year 2023 funding to make an investment in Blueback as part of the department’s High Performance Computing Modernization Program.

In April, Navy DSRC deployed its Nautilus supercomputer and updated its HPE Cray EX HPC platform, dubbed Narwhal.

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Electrosoft Books $38M BEP Contract for Cybersecurity Services; Sarbari Gupta Quoted
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Electrosoft Books $38M BEP Contract for Cybersecurity Services; Sarbari Gupta Quoted

Electrosoft Services, Inc. has received a contract from Department of the Treasury‘s Bureau of Engraving and Printing for cybersecurity assistance.

Under the potential five-year, $37.8 million award, Electrosoft will support the bureau’s Office of Critical Infrastructure and Information Technology Security with security program management and analytical and technical cybersecurity work, the Reston, Virginia-based organization announced on Tuesday.

Sarbari Gupta, CEO of Electrosoft, said that in the current climate of constant cyberthreats, government agencies must “relentlessly monitor, detect and respond to dynamic cyberattacks,” while remaining compliant with shifting regulations and guidelines.

“We are honored to support the BEP OCIITS mission and assist with strengthening the agency’s cybersecurity posture,” said Gupta.

Electrosoft’s contracting responsibilities include security assessment and authorization, audit and compliance, information system security officer support and cyber engineering. The firm will also build and operate a 24/7 security operations center to assess and handle potential cyber incidents within OCIITS’ IT ecosystem.

BEP’s function is to produce notes – reaching 8 billion annually – and important security documents in secure U.S. printing facilities. These activities are reliant on computer-based systems.

Services provided by Electrosoft will help BEP reach compliance with significant laws and regulations, such as the Federal Information Security Management Act, the Office of Management and Budget Circular A130, Department of the Treasury security policy and BEP IT security policy and procedures, among others.

Last month, Electrosoft won a $4.5 million contract also for cybersecurity services from the International Trade Administration within the Department of Commerce. Under the one-year award, which was issued as part of a five-year prime contract, the company is creating, maintaining and analyzing information system security and privacy documentation while providing security training.

Days earlier, Electrosoft booked a $5.4 million recompete award from the Defense Logistics Agency to support the Information Operations (J6) Program Executive Officer (J62) with systems security and engineering services.

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