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CISA Names Chris Hughes, Michelle Hook as Cyber Innovation Fellows
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CISA Names Chris Hughes, Michelle Hook as Cyber Innovation Fellows

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency has welcomed industry cybersecurity professionals Chris Hughes and Michelle Hook as inaugural CISA Cyber Innovation Fellows.

CISA established the Cyber Innovation Fellows Initiative in 2022 to bring in cyber experts from the private sector and allow them to work with the agency’s technical teams to help advance cyber defense efforts, CISA Director Jen Easterly wrote in a blog post published Monday.

Hughes, chief information security officer at Aquia, will serve as a cloud and application security expert within CISA’s cybersecurity division and will help develop test automation, design security into the software supply chain and evaluate and mature other cyber capabilities for the agency.

Hook, head of cyberthreat intelligence at CLS International Bank, will advise CISA on the development of a cyberthreat intelligence strategy, roadmap, vision and implementation plan. As part of the cybersecurity division, she will also support outreach and engagement initiatives and facilitate industry partnerships.

CISA expects more Fellows to join in the coming months to start their part-time work in the areas of cyber operations planning, zero trust, cloud security, risk analysis and software bill of materials development, 2023 Wash100 awardee Easterly reported.

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SOSi Wins Spot on $995M USAFE-AFAFRICA Award; Julian Setian Quoted
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SOSi Wins Spot on $995M USAFE-AFAFRICA Award; Julian Setian Quoted

SOSi has secured a spot on a $995 million contract from the U.S. Air Forces in Europe and Air Forces Africa.

As an awardee, SOSi will compete for task orders under the indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity advisory and assistance services-focused contract, the Reston, Virginia-based enterprise announced on Tuesday.

“As the prime contractor supporting USAFE’s Mission Partner Environment requirements and the U.S. Army’s largest provider of intelligence analytic services in Europe, we are proud to expand our support to critical DoD intelligence, cyber and engineering missions across Europe and Africa,” said Julian Setian, CEO of SOSi and a two-time Wash100 Award winner.

Task orders included in the contract will support a variety of training, engineering and intelligence demands in Europe and Africa.

This award follows SOSi’s October 2022 win of two $31.3 million task orders under a $385 million Air Force and Defense Information Systems Agency contract, for which the enterprise is currently delivering architecture and engineering services to USAFE and AFAFRICA.

Earlier, SOSi won a $17.5 million contract from the U.S. Central Command to maintain secure facilities at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Florida and Al Udeid Airbase in Doha, Qatar.

Cubic to Offer Five-Year Manufacturer Warranty on New DTECH Core Devices; Anthony Verna Quoted
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Cubic to Offer Five-Year Manufacturer Warranty on New DTECH Core Devices; Anthony Verna Quoted

Cubic‘s mission and performance solutions division will begin issuing a standard five-year warranty on new core devices developed by its DTECH Mission Solutions unit for military, first responder and commercial applications.

“No matter the mission, the platform needs to survive and be reliable. The new warranty is based on a proven track record of high reliability for all DTECH families of systems to include M3-SE, M3X, Vocality and XD,” Anthony Verna, senior vice president and general manager of the DTECH business unit, remarked in a statement published Monday.

DTECH devices work to allow users to analyze and combine mission-critical data at the tactical edge in any environmental conditions.

The software-defined storage technologies provide computing and networking capabilities and optimize size, weight and power to support low-footprint locations.

The small form factor enclaves can be operated directly in a transit case or a backpack, reducing network setup and teardown.

“Cubic’s DTECH Edge Compute and Networking platforms are trusted, scalable and intuitive technologies built for a decisive advantage,” Verna said.

GAO Report Urges Congress to Develop Plan for Fiscal Sustainability
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GAO Report Urges Congress to Develop Plan for Fiscal Sustainability

The Government Accountability Office reiterated its recommendation that Congress create a sustainable fiscal plan in order to prevent public debt from surpassing gross domestic product.

The government watchdog on Monday released its annual fiscal health report, which showed a $1.4 trillion federal budget deficit in fiscal year 2022, the fourth largest in U.S. history.

Federal debt held by the American public in 2022 totaled $24.2 trillion, $2 trillion higher than the previous year. It is projected to be equivalent to 105 percent of the GDP in 10 years, and more than 200 percent of the GDP by 2051.

GAO urged Congress to adhere to its recommended fiscal plan components to address fiscal sustainability. The agency called for improvements in rules and debt-to-GDP targets, as well as a regular assessment of primary deficit drivers.

Lawmakers should also develop alternatives to debt limit approaches, such as giving the Department of the Treasury authorization to propose borrowing limit changes, GAO said. 

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Lauren Knausenberger Says USAF Is Planning Additional Zero Trust Implementation Roadmaps
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Lauren Knausenberger Says USAF Is Planning Additional Zero Trust Implementation Roadmaps

Lauren Knausenberger, chief information officer for the Department of the Air Force and a 2023 Wash100 awardee, shared that the service branch is planning to publish more implementation roadmaps to guide its adoption of zero trust network infrastructure, Defense One reported Monday.

Speaking during a Billington Cybersecurity webinar on Thursday, Knausenberger said the Air Force seeks to publish about one roadmap per month or every other month, including one that will focus on software-defined wide area networks.

The Air Force released in February a one-page zero trust implementation roadmap that outlines quarterly plans and priorities in seven service functions for fiscal years 2023 through 2025 and beyond.

The service branch also unveiled another roadmap for identity, credential and access management.

In November 2022, the Department of Defense released its Zero Trust Strategy and Roadmap, which envisions the full implementation of a department-wide zero trust cybersecurity framework by fiscal year 2027.

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GSA Requests Information on Spectrum Warfare Rapid Technology Augmentation Support Requirement
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GSA Requests Information on Spectrum Warfare Rapid Technology Augmentation Support Requirement

The General Services Administration’s Federal Acquisition Service is seeking information on a single-award indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract to provide rapid technology augmentation support to the Air Force Research Laboratory.

The contract focuses on analysis and assessment, development and deployment and support and sustainment lines of efforts to support comprehensive rapid technology integration at AFRL Spectrum Warfare Division, according to a notice posted Friday on SAM.gov.

AFRL/RYW oversees the integration of commercial and government off-the-shelf technologies for air platforms designed to counter electromagnetic threats in contested and denied environments.

The IDIQ will consist of a one-year base period of performance, four option years and a six-month extension.

GSA anticipates issuing a request for proposals in the third quarter of 2023.

Responses to the request for information are due May 22.

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Air Force’s AI-Powered Toolkit Designated as System of Record for Condition-Based Maintenance
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Air Force’s AI-Powered Toolkit Designated as System of Record for Condition-Based Maintenance

The U.S. Air Force has designated the Rapid Sustainment Office’s artificial intelligence-powered Predictive Analytics and Decision Assistant as the service branch’s system of record for Condition Based Maintenance Plus and predictive maintenance.

PANDA, developed by RSO and enterprise AI software provider C3 AI, maximizes the use of standard equipment and technologies to capture, analyze, store and disseminate CBM+ predictive maintenance data to optimize fleet maintenance and increase aircraft availability, the Air Force said Saturday.

The CBM+ toolkit routinely generates over 30,000 predictive maintenance recommendations and alerts from various aircraft sensors to detect equipment failure.

It has expanded the maintenance operations of 16 aircraft fleets across the nine major Air Force commands.

“Alignment to one technology solution unites the sustainment enterprise to one tool and brings focus, dedication, and prioritization of resources to PANDA allowing for further expansion, optimization, and impact to mission readiness,” said Chris Damani, chief of the RSO CBM+ Program Office.

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CDC Director Rochelle Walensky to Leave Office in June
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CDC Director Rochelle Walensky to Leave Office in June

Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, will step down at the end of June after more than two years in service.

The agency announced Friday that Walensky submitted a letter of resignation—the same day that the World Health Organization declared the end of the COVID-19 global health emergency.

Walensky was instrumental in restoring public health normalcy after two years of the COVID pandemic. She launched a series of reforms under the Moving Forward campaign, working to improve communications and response missions within the agency.

During her term, the CDC invested in infrastructure modernization, creating the Center for Forecasting and Outbreak Analytics, digitalizing information systems, and increasing the public health workforce.

“As Director of the CDC, she led a complex organization on the front lines of a once-in-a-generation pandemic with honesty and integrity,” President Joe Biden remarked. “Dr. Walensky leaves CDC a stronger institution, better positioned to confront health threats and protect Americans.”

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Laura Stanton Offers Update on GSA’s Ascend Cloud BPA
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Laura Stanton Offers Update on GSA’s Ascend Cloud BPA

Laura Stanton, assistant commissioner for the Office of Information Technology Category at the General Services Administration’s Federal Acquisition Service, said GSA has issued several requests for information and is still in the market research phase with the Ascend blanket purchase agreement for cloud products and services.

Stanton noted at a May 2 conference that GSA is finalizing the performance work statement for Pool 1 for platform and infrastructure as a service with a plan to release a draft request for quote in the summer, according to a post published Friday on the agency’s new cloud and software community forum.

GSA also intends to host an industry day and will ask industry to provide comments on the draft RFQ.

Stanton said the agency has asked agencies about their needs with respect to Ascend and has conducted an analysis of alternatives research.

GSA also announced the launch of the new cloud and software community forum to provide agencies and industry updates on Ascend and other information on the agency’s cloud portfolio.

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Gen. Kenneth Wilsbach Nominated as Air Combat Commander
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Gen. Kenneth Wilsbach Nominated as Air Combat Commander

Gen. Kenneth Wilsbach, commander of the U.S. Pacific Air Forces, has been nominated by President Joe Biden to lead the Air Combat Command.

Wilsbach is also the commander of the Air Component Command and Indo-Pacific Command at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and Wash100 honoree announced Thursday.

The general has flown more than 5,000 hours and 71 combat missions since 1985. He was an Air Force instructor pilot for 11 years before becoming an aide-de-camp to the commander-in-chief of the Pacific Command.

His later assignments include being deputy commander of U.S. Forces South Korea, and commander of the United Nations Command and Combined Forces Command.

As leader of PACAF, Wilsbach is responsible for more than 46,000 Airmen stationed in Alaska, Guam, Hawaii, Japan and South Korea.

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