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CISA, US Cyber Command Collaborate on Defending Critical Infrastructure
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CISA, US Cyber Command Collaborate on Defending Critical Infrastructure

Officials from the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency and U.S. Cyber Command gathered at the ongoing RSA Conference in San Francisco and highlighted the importance of collaboration and partnership to safeguard the U.S. critical infrastructure sector from cyberattacks.

Eric Goldstein, executive assistant director for cybersecurity at CISA, said the agency works with USCYBERCOM’s Cyber National Mission Force to share information, insights and expertise to build a collective defense against emerging cyberthreats.

“Our work with CNMF enables us to not only more effectively defend our nation’s critical infrastructure from cyberattacks but also clearly demonstrate to our adversaries that there is a price to pay if you decide to attack American infrastructure,” Goldstein said.

U.S. Army Maj. Gen. William Hartman, commander of CNMF, said the force shares threat intelligence from operations relevant to CISA’s mission, while the agency provides information from domestic cyber incidents to support the Department of Defense.

The officials said the partnership disrupted an Iranian targeting of an election reporting website prior to the 2020 elections. CNMF notified CISA that an Iranian actor had access to the website. The agency then took action to mitigate the threat.

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Hitachi Vantara Federal Makes Multiple Leadership Appointments to Expand Public Sector Market Presence
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Hitachi Vantara Federal Makes Multiple Leadership Appointments to Expand Public Sector Market Presence

Hitachi Vantara Federal has selected three new leaders to further company expansion within the public sector market.

New appointees include Chris Garner, Melissa Hardt and Wendy Noker, who will serve as director of federal integrator sales, director of marketing and director of channel and alliances, respectively, Hitachi Vantara Federal announced from its Reston, Virginia headquarters on Wednesday.

“I am excited to welcome Chris, Melissa, and Wendy to the team. As we continue to embody excellence in comprehensive data management solutions for federal agencies, these three executives will help us drive revenue growth, strengthen partner relationships, and elevate our market presence,” said Mark Serway, president and CEO of Hitachi Vantara Federal.

He said that with their combined information technology, sales, marketing and strategic planning experience, the company newcomers will “undoubtedly play a key role” in propelling Hitachi Vantara Federal toward its next phase of success.

“We look forward to seeing the impact they will make as we move forward in our mission to support the Federal government’s data management needs,” said Serway.

Garner’s business expertise primarily centers information technology and sales, with a focus on creating and implementing strategic, value-driven IT products for both public and private sector markets. Most recently, he served as senior director of Proofpoint’s federal arm.

In his new position, Garner will contribute his experience in identifying and fostering relationships with systems integrator partners to drive revenue growth for Hitachi Vantara Federal.

Prior to joining the organization, Hardt served as chief owner and operator of Red Panda Marketing and vice president of demand generation at Bizzabo. Earlier in her career, she held marketing positions at Splunk, Oracle and SAP.

At Hitachi Vantara Federal, Hardt will leverage her extensive industry knowledge to oversee all marketing initiatives and revenue generating activities within the areas of customers, resellers, distributors and strategic alliances.

As director of channel and alliances, Noker will drive the design, management and execution of the company’s Channel, Distribution and Alliance Partner Programs. She will also be responsible for strategy spanning deal registration, sales engagement, partner training and partner enablement.

Noker previously held strategic planning and execution-focused technology industry roles at a number of companies, including VMware, Riverbed Technology and Qumulo.

All three appointees will report to Phil Fuster, chief revenue officer of Hitachi Vantara Federal.

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Frank Calvelli Assesses Performance of Space Acquisition Programs Through Scorecard
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Frank Calvelli Assesses Performance of Space Acquisition Programs Through Scorecard

Frank Calvelli, assistant secretary of the Air Force for space acquisitions and integration, has concluded and submitted to Air Force Secretary and 2023 Wash100 awardee Frank Kendall his first “scorecard” on the performance of Space Force acquisition programs, Breaking Defense reported Tuesday.

A senior official with the Space Force told the publication the scorecard includes five acquisition programs that are in the “red” category or are struggling to meet the service’s requirements.

“The intent of the report was to provide a portfolio-level overview on Space Force programs and track year-over-year changes in the number of programs meeting their cost, schedule, and technical performance commitments,” Calvelli said in a statement to the website.

“Looking at the data, there is more work to be done to meet the desired cost and schedule results, and we continue to drive program management discipline in line with my nine acquisition tenets and simple formula for going fast in space acquisition,” he added.

In October, Calvelli released a memo outlining nine “space acquisition tenets” meant to transform the way the service procures space systems. These tenets include advancing the development of smaller satellites, getting the acquisition strategy correct and awarding contracts with realistic cost and schedule targets.

POC - 2023 Industrial Space Defense Summit

Calvelli will deliver a keynote speech at the Potomac Officers Club’s 2023 Industrial Space Defense Summit on Thursday, April 27. Click here to register for the upcoming event at Hilton-McLean.

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NIST Releases Strategy Paper for National Semiconductor Technology Center
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NIST Releases Strategy Paper for National Semiconductor Technology Center

The National Institute of Standards and Technology has issued a paper detailing its strategy and vision for a national center that seeks to strengthen U.S. leadership and competitiveness in semiconductor research, engineering, design and manufacturing in accordance with the CHIPS and Science Act.

The strategy paper outlines the three goals of the National Semiconductor Technology Center. The first is extending U.S. leadership in semiconductor technology through tech design and prototyping efforts, NIST said Tuesday.

The other two goals are reducing the time and cost of transitioning design concepts to commercialization and building and sustaining a semiconductor workforce development ecosystem.

“The NSTC will be an ambitious public-private consortium where government, industry, customers, suppliers, educational institutions, entrepreneurs, and investors will come together to innovate, connect, and solve problems,” said Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo.

The center will help facilitate access to process technologies and emerging materials, chiplet stockpile, design tools and digital assets and provide incubation support for startups and opportunity to take part in technical exchange, road mapping, industry grand challenges and workforce training programs.

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John Sherman Directs DOD Components & Services to Review Access Control, UAM Implementation
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John Sherman Directs DOD Components & Services to Review Access Control, UAM Implementation

John Sherman, chief information officer of the Department of Defense and a 2023 Wash100 awardee, has issued a memorandum directing DOD component agencies to assess their compliance with several measures for handling and protecting classified national security information.

CIOs at military services and component agencies should report to the department’s CIO through the CyberScope tool their implementation of least privilege and access control security controls, auditing capabilities and deployment of user activity monitoring by May 26, according to the memo signed by Sherman on Monday.

The directive also requires the services and components to report their compliance with cybersecurity controls outlined in Committee on National Security Systems Instruction 1253.

Sherman said his office will work with the undersecretary of defense for intelligence and security and the intelligence community CIO to guide the implementation of the measures on platforms that host sensitive compartmented information data.

The move came a week after DOD Secretary and 2023 Wash100 inductee Lloyd Austin issued a memo requiring component agencies to immediately assess their compliance with the department’s procedures and standards for safeguarding classified national security data.

POC - 4th Annual CIO Summit

Sherman will serve as one of the keynote speakers at the Potomac Officers Club’s 4th Annual CIO Summit on May 16. Click here to register for the upcoming event and hear government and industry CIOs as they share their insights on emerging technologies and efforts to address IT challenges facing their organizations.

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McAleese Report Highlights Key Takeaways from US Military Posture Hearings
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McAleese Report Highlights Key Takeaways from US Military Posture Hearings

Consulting firm McAleese & Associates has issued a report outlining key takeaways from recent congressional hearings on the posture of the U.S. military.

At a Senate panel hearing, officials with the U.S. Air Force called for the prioritization of the nuclear triad recapitalization and requested a two-year rapid acquisition authority to allow early front-end determination of requirements and technology maturation prior to congressional new start authorization, Jim McAleese, founder and principal at McAleese & Associates, reported.

It was disclosed at the hearing that the U.S. Space Force expects to have an offensive space capability by 2026.

Gen. Chance Saltzman, chief of space operations, said the availability of such an on-orbit capability would enable the U.S. to “compete in full-spectrum operations.”

U.S. Army leaders highlighted the need to expand production capacity for munitions and execute multidomain operations through people, modernization and readiness.

They also cited how Project Convergence helps drive Joint All-Domain Command and Control sensor-to-shooter evolution, according to McAleese, who is a member of Executive Mosaic’s GovCon Expert program and a three-time Wash100 winner.

At a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on April 18, Adm. Michael Gilday, chief of naval operations, made a plea to broaden the use of the Defense Production Act Title III authority to expand the country’s industrial capacity in shipbuilding and munitions and strengthen force structure of the U.S. Navy and the U.S. Marine Corps “to protect approaches from-the-sea, to keep the United States Economy humming, and to deny that to any adversary.”

The Marine Corps also stressed the need to have at least 31 amphibious warships in support of Marine expeditionary units.

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NIST Solicits Public Comment on Draft Roadmap for Identity & Access Management
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NIST Solicits Public Comment on Draft Roadmap for Identity & Access Management

The National Institute of Standards and Technology is seeking public comment on its draft roadmap for identity and access management.

The request for comment invites feedback on any objectives, activities, research or guidance that can be added to the NIST IAM program, which aims to protect digital data and the rights of their owners, the institute said Friday.

NIST is looking to evolve its guidelines, standards and resources for IAM, a critical element of cybersecurity. Through its IAM program, the agency already studies the impact of new and emerging technologies on existing standards and IAM implementation. It has also made recommendations to address cybersecurity challenges in identity management within organizations.

The agency is interested in external opinion on the strategic objectives it should be prioritizing, as well as supplementary output that can accompany its planned roadmap.

The institute will accept responses until June 1, and publish all relevant submissions on the IAM program web page.

Cyber will take center stage on June 8, at the Potomac Officers Club’s 2023 Cyber Summit. Register and join in this vital conversation.

POC - 2023 Cyber Summit
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NSF Hosts Workshop on Future of Wireless Communication Network
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NSF Hosts Workshop on Future of Wireless Communication Network

The National Science Foundation has hosted a meeting with leaders from the government, industry and academia to discuss how to promote open, interoperable, reliable and secure approaches to implementing the sixth generation of broadband communication technologies.

Topics discussed during the workshop, titled “6G: Open and Resilient by Design,” include trusted technology, open and interoperable innovation, privacy protection, globally connectedness, electromagnetic spectrum, novel materials and manufacturing, standards and international collaborations.

Anne Neuberger, deputy national security adviser for cyber and emerging technologies, said the Biden administration is committed to boosting technology innovation, particularly in foundational industries like telecommunications.

“Today’s discussions lay the groundwork to ensure the United States, and our allies and partners, lead in 6G by bringing together academia, industry, and policymakers to discuss related transformative technologies, R&D, and standards,” the previous Wash100 awardee shared.

Sethuraman Panchanathan, director of NSF, highlighted the importance of collaboration and sharing of ideas, resources and best practices to achieving progress in this area.

“By bringing together like-minded governments and agencies, industries, researchers, and entrepreneurs— truly the best and the brightest— to share their perspectives and ideas will no doubt supercharge our progress at speed and scale,” Panchanathan commented.

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GSA Committed to Providing Efficient Government Technology Services, Says Robin Carnahan
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GSA Committed to Providing Efficient Government Technology Services, Says Robin Carnahan

Robin Carnahan, administrator of the General Services Administration, said the agency is committed to helping government agencies deliver services to the public by ensuring that their technology and websites work for the benefit of the American people.

“We believe government technology should be developed for the public benefit, not private gain, and that individuals – not corporations – should control access to their own sensitive information,” Carnahan wrote in a commentary FedScoop published Monday.

According to the official, GSA’s Technology Transformation Services, which leads the digital transformation across the government, works to help federal agencies make their services more accessible, secure and efficient.

“Above all, we believe that accessible, equitable, and secure digital infrastructure – developed for the public by an accountable government – is vital to delivering the services Americans need, when they need them,” she added.

Moreover, Carnahan said that GSA is committed to taking responsibility and owning up to mistakes “when we fail to meet the high standards taxpayers expect and deserve.”

The agency spent the last year working to eliminate misrepresentations within Login.gov, a secure sign-on service provided by TTS, to boost customer trust and transparency.

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Gartner Reveals Top Tech Trends in ‘Post-Digital’ Government Era
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Gartner Reveals Top Tech Trends in ‘Post-Digital’ Government Era

Research and consulting firm Gartner has identified the top 10 technology trends to watch for 2023 in terms of shaping government modernization, insights and transformation.

The Stamford, Connecticut-based company said last week chief information officers must be aware of such trends to accelerate changes in preparation for a post-digital government.

CIOs should consider the impact of adaptive security, cloud-based legacy modernization and sovereign clouds in terms of modernization, per the company’s recommendations.

Under the insights area, public sector leaders should anticipate the effects of hyperautomation, artificial intelligence for decision-making, data sharing as a program and composable government applications.

In the transformation arena, total experience, digital identity ecosystems and case-management-as-a-service are the trends CIOs should anticipate this year.

According to Gartner, over 75 percent of governments will use hyperscale cloud service providers to run more than half of their workloads.

Gartner also forecasts that services developed on low-code application platforms will replace over 35 percent of government legacy applications.

Gartner Reveals Top Tech Trends in 'Post-Digital' Government Era

The Potomac Officers Club will hold its 4th Annual CIO Summit on May 16 at Hilton-McLean in Virginia. Sign up for the event to gain insight from government and industry leaders.

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