/
John Sherman Directs DOD Components & Services to Review Access Control, UAM Implementation
Published on
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.

/
McAleese Report Highlights Key Takeaways from US Military Posture Hearings
Published on
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.

/
NIST Solicits Public Comment on Draft Roadmap for Identity & Access Management
Published on
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
/
NSF Hosts Workshop on Future of Wireless Communication Network
Published on
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.

/
GSA Committed to Providing Efficient Government Technology Services, Says Robin Carnahan
Published on
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.

/
Gartner Reveals Top Tech Trends in ‘Post-Digital’ Government Era
Published on
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.

/
Brig. Gen. Wayne Barker to Head Army Intelligence & Electronic Warfare Office
Published on
Brig. Gen. Wayne Barker to Head Army Intelligence & Electronic Warfare Office

Brig. Gen. Wayne Barker, deputy program executive officer for intelligence, electronic warfare and sensors at the U.S. Army since July 2021, has been tapped to head the Program Executive Office for IEW&S at Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland, the White House announced Monday.

As deputy PEO, Barker oversaw the development, acquisition and fielding of new warfighting capabilities in electronic warfare, intelligence, navigation and timing, biometrics and target acquisition.

He will take over responsibilities from Mark Kitz, who assumed leadership at the PEO IEW&S in May 2021.

Barker previously served as the chief of staff to the assistant secretary of the Army for acquisition, logistics and technology. 

Before that, he was also the assistant PEO for enterprise information systems and led the integration of the Army’s Enterprise Resource Planning systems.

His military career additionally includes time as project manager for soldier warrior at PEO Soldier.

/
GAO: Space Force Should Formalize Procedure for Acquiring Commercial Space Situational Awareness Data
Published on
GAO: Space Force Should Formalize Procedure for Acquiring Commercial Space Situational Awareness Data

The U.S. Space Force should establish a process for identifying and evaluating the applicability of commercially provided data on its space situational awareness operations, the Government Accountability Office stated.

The government watchdog on Monday released findings from its study on 10 SSA companies and how their data can affect space object monitoring by USSF and the Department of Defense.

The research stemmed from a report by the House Armed Services Committee, which revealed challenges in DOD’s SSA capabilities as well as the status of the Space Force’s Unified Data Library. GAO analyzed the agency’s documents, interviewed their officials and chose 10 out of 50 SSA service providers.

GAO found that the Space Force has only conducted a few training sessions and studies to support its acquisition process for space situational awareness information. The agency’s SSA staff also did not regularly use the UDL since it was not integrated into daily operational systems, according to the report.

GAO called on the Secretary of the Air Force to lead the creation of an assessment process for commercial SSA capabilities and their compatibility with USSF needs. The accountability office also urged the utilization of the UDL in comprehensive data access and management for government SSA systems.

DOD has reportedly accepted the recommendations.

/
QinetiQ Lands US Army Contract for Research, Technology & Integration Support; Shawn Purvis Quoted
Published on
QinetiQ Lands US Army Contract for Research, Technology & Integration Support; Shawn Purvis Quoted

QinetiQ U.S. has booked a new contract from the U.S. Army’s C5ISR Center Research and Technology Integration Directorate.

Under the $12 million award, QinetiQ will provide an array of research, technology and integration support services to help the Army tackle various challenges using new technology strategies, the enterprise announced from Lorton, Virginia on Tuesday.

Shawn Purvis, president and CEO of QinetiQ U.S. and a three-time Wash100 Award recipient, noted the company’s long history of working with the Army and said that they are honored to partner with the C5ISR RTI Directorate.

She added that QinetiQ’s contracting activities will drive interaction with key Army stakeholders and aid the service branch in multiple high-visibility demonstrations.

The contract charges the company with assisting the directorate with identifying, prototyping and testing potential technical approaches in the areas of Electro-Optic Infrared modeling, tactical lasers, displays, optics, signal and image processing and counter-explosive hazards.

QinetiQ is also responsible for mechanical, electrical, electronics, design and systems engineering to support the directorate as it integrates C5ISR hardware, software, firmware, equipment and systems into both ground and airborne platforms as well as federal facilities and sites.

The C5ISR RTI Directorate is located in Fort Belvoir, Virginia, and concentrates its efforts on progressing network, cyber, electro-optic infrared, knowledge management, power and energy and radio frequency technology.

/
ECS President John Heneghan Reveals Innovation Areas of the Future in New Video
Published on
ECS President John Heneghan Reveals Innovation Areas of the Future in New Video

In a new video interview with Executive Mosaic, ECS President John Heneghan shared his thoughts on artificial intelligence adoption within the federal landscape and revealed the emerging technology areas he’s seeing as essential to innovation in the United States.

Data and AI are enabling information dominance and “truly transformative change,” according to Heneghan, but the really revolutionary breakthroughs and advancements will be the results of combined technologies.

“Cybersecurity, aided by AI, is helping us change the game in terms of protecting our nation’s most vital assets and really staying in front of an ever-changing threat landscape,” said Heneghan, a 2023 Wash100 Award winner, in conversation with Executive Mosaic’s Summer Myatt.

(Vote for John Heneghan and your other favorite Wash100 recipients in the 2023 popular vote contest right now at Wash100.com!)

“If you look further out, I think combining AI and predictive analytics with extended reality, immersive 3D, neural interfaces, cognitive automation systems — this is going to help us tackle mission challenges including better citizen engagement, therapy for veterans and others, and mission training and preparedness activities,” he added.

And even further beyond those innovations, in the long-term Heneghan foresees major developments in quantum computing.

“The advancements and application of quantum computing is another exciting area that’s really emerging. We’re just starting to investigate that, and we really believe there are going to be powerful solutions to previously unthinkable mission challenges. It will help us modernize our data on cyber challenges as well,” Heneghan said.

Watch John Heneghan’s full video interview here. Don’t forget to follow Executive Mosaic on LinkedIn and subscribe to our YouTube channel to stay abreast of the latest developments in the GovCon landscape.

1 … 569 570 571 572 573 … 2,619