DOJ to Merge Cryptocurrency Enforcement, Anti-Computer Crime Units in Cybersecurity Push
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DOJ to Merge Cryptocurrency Enforcement, Anti-Computer Crime Units in Cybersecurity Push

The Department of Justice has moved to consolidate National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team functions into the Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section under DOJ’s criminal division.

Nicole Argentieri, principal deputy assistant attorney general for the criminal arm, said in her remarks at the Center for Strategic and International Studies that the combined office will prioritize initiatives to combat ransomware.

“The National Cybersecurity Strategy highlights ransomware as not only an important concern, but as a threat to national security,” Argentieri noted.

She added NCET will continue to investigate and pursue cases against criminal activities in the cryptocurrency area and collaborate with other agency partners to prevent the use of digital assets in finance-related crimes such as money laundering.

Argentieri also announced that NCET Deputy Director Claudia Quiroz will lead the team on an interim basis and replace Eun Young Choi, the group’s inaugural director. Quiroz is a long-time assistant U.S. attorney from the Northern District of California and has been one of the original deputy directors of NCET since its inception.

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Pentagon, Intelligence Community to Share Secret Cloud Services; Ryan McArthur Quoted
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Pentagon, Intelligence Community to Share Secret Cloud Services; Ryan McArthur Quoted

The Department of Defense and the Intelligence Community will share classified cloud services under a memorandum of agreement as part of efforts to advance Combined Joint All-Domain Command and Control. They plan to procure such services through DOD’s Joint Warfighting Cloud Capability contract, Federal News Network reported Thursday.

In December 2022, DOD awarded Amazon Web Services, Google, Microsoft and Oracle spots on the JWCC contract, which will enable the department to directly purchase enterprisewide cloud service offerings from commercial service providers across all classification levels and security domains.

Ryan McArthur, JWCC program manager at the Defense Information Systems Agency, said authorization is one of the areas that needs to be addressed as DOD and IC intend to share secret cloud services.

“What we’re working through between TS [top secret] and secret is who should own authorizations from a TS and secret perspective. Right now, we’ve done reciprocity on the AWS [Amazon Web Services] side,” McArthur said.

“We’re actually working through agreements of who should have authorization if DoD transitions to having full authorization on the secret side, and I see maintaining full TS. But those are just in the beginning stages,” he added.

US, Panama to Form Partnership on Semiconductor Supply Chain Diversification
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US, Panama to Form Partnership on Semiconductor Supply Chain Diversification

The U.S. is partnering with the government of Panama to explore ways to build a secure and diverse global semiconductor supply chain under the International Technology Security and Innovation Fund.

The State Department said Thursday the U.S. government will review Panama’s semiconductor sector, regulations, infrastructure and workforce to inform potential future collaboration funded by the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022.

ITSI Fund allocates $500 million over five years to implement new programs to support the global ICT and semiconductor supply chains.

For the semiconductor sector, the initiative will back programs that aim to secure critical material inputs, strengthen international policy coordination, expand and diversify downstream capacity in the Indo-Pacific and the Americas and protect national security.

2023 Microelectronics Forum

ExecutiveBiz will host the 2023 Microelectronics Forum on July 25 to discuss with semiconductor experts, government officials and industry leaders the future of the U.S. microelectronics sector. Click here to register and see the list of confirmed speakers for the forum.

USAF Transitions Vice Commander Titles to Deputy Commander; Gen. Charles Brown Quoted
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USAF Transitions Vice Commander Titles to Deputy Commander; Gen. Charles Brown Quoted

The U.S. Air Force will redesignate the duty titles of vice commander to deputy commander in an effort to standardize terminology used across all units under the service branch.

The changes, which take effect on Aug. 1, will make the initials CD as the official symbol for deputy commanders in active duty, U.S. Air National Guard, and Air Force Reserve, according to a memo issued Thursday.

The transfer of titles from vice to deputy commander was previously ordered by the Secretary of the Air Force for major commands in 2017. The latest decision does not change the duties of officers with redesignated titles.

“As global challenges continue to evolve and the importance of joint operations increases, we must ensure we are best aligned to meet these challenges with a clear, unambiguous structure,” said Gen. Charles Brown, chief of staff of the USAF.

State Department Requests Information on Consular Affairs Queue Management Modernization
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State Department Requests Information on Consular Affairs Queue Management Modernization

The State Department is fielding information on potential industry sources capable of providing operations, maintenance and technical support services to help the Bureau of Consular Affairs develop and deploy a modernized queue management system.

The Consular Affairs Queue Management program aims to upgrade technology systems that support customer experience at CA’s passport agencies and embassy and consulate waiting areas worldwide, according to a notice posted Monday on SAM.gov.

CA/CST is planning to deploy an upgraded version of the Q-Flow enterprise queue management software to 230 overseas posts, two domestic visa processing centers and 29 domestic passport agencies.

Under CAQM, the selected contractor will provide Q-Flow hardware, software and technical support services and consolidate the bureau’s operational environment under a unified technology framework to ensure the interoperability of modernized and legacy consular systems.

Responses to the request for information are due Aug. 1.

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Argonne National Lab, JD Power Team Up to Study EV Market Landscape
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Argonne National Lab, JD Power Team Up to Study EV Market Landscape

The Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory has partnered with analytics firm J.D. Power to gain access to data sets about the electric vehicle market.

In a new agreement announced Monday, Argonne will analyze information from J.D. Power in order to gain understanding about drivers’ interest, adoption patterns and challenges and battery charging experience related to EVs.

The Michigan-based company will lend its proprietary EV Index to Argonne, which will provide its analysis to DOE, amid the increasing demand for EVs and charging stations across the country.

“Combined with Argonne’s technical data and analysis, J.D. Power’s data on EV-related consumer behavior will help Argonne and DOE advance the understanding of the current EV user and charging landscape,” said Claus Daniel, associate laboratory director for advanced energy technologies at Argonne.

“This understanding will support decision-making that moves the nation closer to its clean transportation and climate goals.”

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ONCD Seeks Public Input on Cybersecurity Regulatory Harmonization
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ONCD Seeks Public Input on Cybersecurity Regulatory Harmonization

The White House Office of the National Cyber Director is soliciting public comments as it seeks to determine opportunities and challenges to harmonizing cybersecurity regulations for critical infrastructure and explore a framework for regulatory reciprocity.

The request for information supports one of the 69 federal initiatives under the National Cybersecurity Strategy Implementation Plan, the White House said Wednesday.

ONCD wants respondents to provide examples of conflicting, mutually exclusive or inconsistent regulations affecting cybersecurity that apply to the operational technology and information technology infrastructure of the same regulated entity.

Interested stakeholders have been asked to respond to several questions related to the use of common guidelines, existing standards or frameworks, third-party frameworks and tiered regulation.

ONCD is also asking the public to provide examples of cybersecurity oversight by multiple regulators of the same entity and describe whether the oversight involved IT or OT infrastructure.

Responses to the RFI are due Sept. 15.

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DCS, Odyssey Team to Provide Program Lifecycle Assistance to Air Force Center
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DCS, Odyssey Team to Provide Program Lifecycle Assistance to Air Force Center

DCS will help Odyssey Systems Consulting Group provide advisory and assistance services to the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center under a subcontract.

The professional services firm said Wednesday it will assist the Odyssey team in supporting the development, production, testing, fielding, modernization and sustainment of the AFLCMC Digital Directorate segment in support of the Air Force Material Command mission.

Work will be performed in different locations across the U.S. and its territories.

AFLCMC/HB consists of more than 130 programs for the U.S. Air Force and international allies. The programs involve enhancement efforts at every stage of the life cycle, including engineering change proposals, technology refreshes and upgrades.

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GSA Publishes Guide to Public Key Infrastructure Shared Service Providers Program
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GSA Publishes Guide to Public Key Infrastructure Shared Service Providers Program

The General Services Administration has released a guide for its Public Key Infrastructure Shared Service Providers Program.

The document provides step-by-step instructions and eligibility information for digital services providers looking to certify their PKIs, which are used to protect sensitive and confidential data, GSA said Wednesday.

The PKI SSP Program was launched earlier this month to boost vendors’ credentials in competing for digital exchange contracts. The guide, which was created by GSA’s Identity Assurance and Trusted Access Division, will help vendors secure and maintain federal certification for their PKI services.

The program guide is divided into three sections. The first covers management and acquisition controls in accordance with the Identity, Credentialing and Access Management memorandum issued by the Office of Management and Budget.

Section 2 details the application and membership maintenance process, while section 3 is a list of services that an SSP should offer to federal agencies. This includes personal identity verification cards, digital signatures and key management services.

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NSWC Dahlgren Division Reaches $1B Milestone in OTA Awards
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NSWC Dahlgren Division Reaches $1B Milestone in OTA Awards

Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren Division has awarded $1 billion in total worth of other transactional authority agreements since it used the contracting vehicle in 2019 to enable rapid acquisition and development of prototype technologies.

NSWCDD’s OTA vehicle has 22 technology areas that support the Department of Defense’s capability requirements in cyber, big data analytics, artificial intelligence, unmanned systems and other functions, Naval Sea Systems Command reported Wednesday.

“Faced with the compounding problem of needing to accelerate weapon systems development, increase flight testing complexity and cadence and modernize range test and evaluation assets, the DOD has begun to increasingly rely on the utility, timeliness and flexibility of Other Transaction Authority (OTA) contracts,” said Cindy Montrief, OTA program lead at NSWCDD.

In June 2019, NSWCDD issued an OTA agreement with an industry consortium to advance naval surface technology innovation.

The Naval Surface Technology and Innovation Consortium OTA comprises 956 members representing 46 states.

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