Executive Mosaic Marks Heidi Shyu & Kay Sears 2023 Wash100 Inductions with Engrossing Profiles
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Executive Mosaic Marks Heidi Shyu & Kay Sears 2023 Wash100 Inductions with Engrossing Profiles

Heidi Shyu of the U.S. Department of Defense and Kay Sears of Boeing are two of the more impressive figures in the government contracting ecosphere. In celebration of their noteworthy careers and instrumental role in shaping the future of the federal landscape, they were both recognized with the 2023 Wash100 Award. GovCon Wire and ExecutiveBiz, the sister publications of ExecutiveGov, spotlighted Shyu and Sears’ work and praiseworthy achievements today.

Now entering its second decade of life, the Wash100 Award is EM’s annual compilation of the best and brightest in government contracting. Recipients of the storied award include game-changing CEOs, four-star generals and industry-leading technology experts, among others. Vetted by a highly discerning review board, they all must exhibit top-shelf leadership, vision, innovation and reliability.

Now that the Wash100 class of 2023 is announced, a race for the audience favorite is underway. Cast 10 votes for your most beloved candidates at Wash100.com now!

Undersecretary of Defense for Research and Engineering Shyu was awarded her third total Wash100 — and second consecutive — for her aggressive efforts to accelerate the technology pipeline, setting up task forces and reorganizing her office’s structure to best accommodate an efficient prototype-to-battlefield chain of production.

Shyu wears several hats, acting as the chief technology officer for the entire DOD enterprise and overseeing the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, the Defense Innovation Unit, the Missile Defense Agency and the DOD Laboratory and Engineering Center. Her skillful juggling of these duties, along with her forward-thinking activities, made her a no-brainer for this year’s prize. Read Shyu’s full profile at GovCon Wire here.

Boeing Vice President and General Manager of the Space, Intelligence and Weapon Systems Sector Sears caught the eye of the EM voting body with her extraordinary government-serving hardware production. She came to Boeing in 2022 after long stints at Lockheed Martin and Intelsat, where she also conducted space business for the U.S. military. It was during her time at Intelsat that Sears won her first Wash100 Award, in 2016.

Learn more about Sears’ career and contributions in her ExecutiveBiz profile here.

The time is now to vote for your favorite Wash100 candidates in the 2023 popular vote contest. Head to Wash100.com today to join in the fun.

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Space ISAC Establishes Cislunar Affinity Group to Improve Government-Industry Ties for Exploration
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Space ISAC Establishes Cislunar Affinity Group to Improve Government-Industry Ties for Exploration

The Space Information Sharing and Analysis Center has launched the Cislunar Affinity Group, a cooperative environment for existing and prospective stakeholders in the exploration of cislunar space.

Space ISAC said Tuesday that it intends to work with government and industry representatives through the newly established group to bridge the gap between the two sectors in regard to cislunar exploration.

“There are many actors, while not yet actively involved, that are expressing interest and recognizing that they will have a role to play in cislunar space and the return to the Moon,” said Gabrielle Hedrick, senior aerospace engineer at MITRE, who spearheaded the program.

Founding companies of Space ISAC come from the defense and tech industries, as well as several research and academic organizations. SES, MITRE, Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Booz Allen Hamilton, Deloitte, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, L3Harris and Parsons Corporation are all part of the consortium. 

Other member organizations are Microsoft, Purdue University, the Space Dynamics Laboratory, Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, and The Aerospace Corporation.

The Cislunar Affinity Group will discuss matters such as physical and cybersecurity, coordination and collaborative decision making and the government’s role cislunar.

“We also intend to raise awareness on the need for solutions in cislunar space in communities not traditionally turned towards cislunar, like cybersecurity and the information sharing of vulnerabilities, incidents, and threats,” Hendrick said.

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Army Approves Prototype Requirement for Electric Light Reconnaissance Vehicle
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Army Approves Prototype Requirement for Electric Light Reconnaissance Vehicle

Timothy Goddette, deputy assistant secretary of the U.S. Army for sustainment, said the service branch is moving forward with plans to acquire Electric Light Reconnaissance Vehicle prototypes as part of its efforts to adopt electric vehicles, Breaking Defense reported Tuesday.

“There is money for prototyping and working the early stages of the program, the requirement was approved,” Goddette said.

Goddette noted that the procured vehicles may not be fully electric and that the standards range “from hybrid through electric, depending on where the technology is.”

Funding for the eLRV prototyping requirement has been included in the upcoming fiscal 2024 budget request and deliveries are expected to begin in 2025, said Goddette.

Results from the prototype testing will inform the Army’s decision to proceed with the program.

New Presidential Waiver Expected to Accelerate DOD’s Supply Chain Resiliency Efforts
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New Presidential Waiver Expected to Accelerate DOD’s Supply Chain Resiliency Efforts

President Joe Biden signed a waiver to expand the Department of Defense’s authority in accelerating projects to strengthen defense-critical supply chains.

The presidential waiver of statutory requirements was signed on Tuesday to enable the use of the Defense Production Act Title III incentives and remove certain spending limitations, DOD said.

President Biden’s February 2021 executive order on America’s supply chains disclosed critical supply chain vulnerabilities such as insufficient manufacturing capacity, short-term returns and misaligned incentives. The supply chains mentioned in the EO will be covered under the waiver.

The new waiver is expected to help DOD make longer-term investments in workforce development, electronics, minerals and materials, kinetic capabilities, and power and energy storage.

“This authorization allows the Department of Defense to act with urgency and efficiency in shoring up America’s supply chains and strengthening our national security,” said Anthony Di Stasio, director of the DOD Manufacturing Capability Expansion and Investment Prioritization Office.

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Jake Sullivan: White House Backs Reauthorization of FISA Section 702 Intelligence Collection Authority
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Jake Sullivan: White House Backs Reauthorization of FISA Section 702 Intelligence Collection Authority

National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan has stated that the White House supports the reauthorization of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.

In a statement published Tuesday, Sullivan said that FISA Section 702 serves as an important intelligence collection authority that enables U.S. intelligence, defense and law enforcement agencies to respond to threats posed by China, Russia, cyberthreat actors, terrorists and those that target U.S. critical infrastructure.

“I have asked Principal Deputy National Security Advisor Jon Finer to coordinate the reauthorization effort for the White House, in close partnership with the Department of Justice, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, and other federal partners, as we engage constructively with the Congress to preserve this essential tool for protecting the United States,” he added.

The reauthorization of FISA Section 702 is also supported by Attorney General Merrick Garland and Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines, who penned a letter to congressional leadership calling for the reauthorization of Title VII of FISA, particularly Section 702, before it expires on Dec. 31.

Garland and Haines, a three-time Wash100 awardee, said the authority allows the U.S. government to gather foreign intelligence data from hackers, terrorists and other targets while requiring the intelligence community and Department of Justice to comply with civil liberties and privacy standards.

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Deirdre Mulligan Named OSTP Deputy Chief Technology Officer for Policy
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Deirdre Mulligan Named OSTP Deputy Chief Technology Officer for Policy

Deirdre Mulligan, a professor at the University of California, Berkeley, has been appointed deputy U.S. chief technology officer for policy at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.

In this role, Mulligan will serve as a principal adviser to the National Artificial Intelligence Initiative Office, which coordinates AI research, development and planning activities across the federal government, UC Berkely said Monday.

Mulligan said she would bring her knowledge of “internet policy issues to assist the Biden Administration in advancing the privacy and equity priorities set out in the Blueprint for an AI Bill of Rights.”

The professor, who is on leave from UC Berkeley, has worked on research projects exploring the challenges posed by the use of AI by the federal government and the responsible AI practices employed by technology companies.

“Protecting the values we care about in our increasingly automated society requires interdisciplinary approaches,” Mulligan said.

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NIST Unveils CHIPS for America Funding Opportunity for Commercial Semiconductor Production Facilities
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NIST Unveils CHIPS for America Funding Opportunity for Commercial Semiconductor Production Facilities

The Department of Commerce has launched the first funding opportunity for incentives to reinstate U.S. leadership in semiconductor manufacturing, further economic and national security priorities and create well-paid jobs across the industry under the CHIPS for America program.

On Tuesday, the department’s National Institute of Standards announced that it is accepting proposals for projects to build, modernize or expand commercial facilities for manufacturing current-generation, mature-node and leading-edge semiconductors, including front-end wafer fabrication and back-end packaging.

In the statement, NIST called on potential applicants to submit statements of interest so the CHIPS Program Office is able to assess interest in the program and prepare for application review.

Applications should address six program priority areas: economic and national security, commercial viability, financial strength, project technical feasibility and readiness, workforce development and broader impacts.

The opportunity will provide direct funding through grants and cooperative agreements, federal loans or federal guarantees of third-party loans and falls under the CHIPS and Science Act, under which the Commerce Department is overseeing $50 billion in funds to strengthen the U.S. semiconductor industry.

In late spring, the department intends to issue a new funding opportunity for materials and manufacturing equipment facilities and in the fall, it aims to announce an additional opportunity for research and development facilities.

Rancher Government Solutions Releases Carbide Supply Chain Security Offering; Lynne Chamberlain Quoted
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Rancher Government Solutions Releases Carbide Supply Chain Security Offering; Lynne Chamberlain Quoted

Rancher Government Solutions has released Rancher Government Carbide, a supply chain security-focused add-on service to the Rancher suite.

The offering is intended to streamline Kubernetes security management by delivering a standardized method for users to certify that their software is protected, the Reston, Virginia-based company announced on Wednesday.

Lynne Chamberlain, president and CEO of Rancher Government Solutions, said the criticality of software in daily operations has made the balance between security and innovation “essential.” She explained that Carbide was developed to simplify Kubernetes management by assisting users with validating that their software is in line with federal security mandates.

To ensure supply chain security, Carbide verifies provenance back to a trusted entity using a centralized secure container registry for end users, which is validated by a secured signing key. Its pipeline leverages tools for vulnerability scanning and generating software bills of materials, or SBOMs.

Carbide, which includes airgap documentation and edge capabilities, supports Rancher MCM 2.6 & RKE2, the first Kubernetes management platform and distribution with Defense Information Systems Agency-certified Security Technical Implementation Guides.

The offering also includes the STIGATRON tool, which automatically scans downstream clusters from the centralized Rancher Manager and compares them to the STIG cluster to validate that they are secure, allowing for automated compliance with federal security requirements.

“At Rancher Government Solutions, we know securing the software supply chain is mission-critical to our federal customers, particularly given the increased frequency of attacks,” said Brandon Gulla, vice president and chief technology officer of Rancher Government Solutions.

“We built Carbide to provide security validation capabilities directly to our customers and give them a clear, easy way to confidently answer difficult questions about the security posture of their Kubernetes environments,” he said.

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Julie Su Nominated to Serve as Next Labor Secretary
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Julie Su Nominated to Serve as Next Labor Secretary

President Biden intends to nominate Julie Su, deputy secretary of the Department of Labor, as the next labor secretary, succeeding Martin Walsh, who is stepping down from the position after two years of service.

Su received Senate confirmation to serve as the deputy secretary of labor in July 2021 and has since supported the Biden administration’s vision to develop an inclusive economy, the White House said Tuesday.

Biden called Su a “champion for workers” who has played a crucial role in providing job opportunities in critical sectors.

“She helped avert a national rail shutdown, improved access to good jobs free from discrimination through my Good Jobs Initiative, and is ensuring that the jobs we create in critical sectors like semiconductor manufacturing, broadband and healthcare are good-paying, stable and accessible jobs for all,” said Biden.

Prior to joining the Biden administration, Su served as secretary of California’s Labor and Workforce Development Agency.

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DOJ Investigating ‘Major’ Security Breach at U.S. Marshals Service; SpyCloud’s Joel Bagnal Quoted
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DOJ Investigating ‘Major’ Security Breach at U.S. Marshals Service; SpyCloud’s Joel Bagnal Quoted

A U.S. Marshals Service system that hosts sensitive information was breached on Feb. 17, prompting the Department of Justice to start a forensic investigation, NBC News reported Tuesday.

Drew Wade, a spokesperson for USMS, said the agency “discovered a ransomware and data exfiltration event affecting a stand-alone USMS system,” which was then disconnected from the network.

The affected system, said Wade, contains sensitive law enforcement information, such as administrative information, returns from legal process and the personal information of USMS investigations, third parties and select employees.

He noted that senior officials briefed on the matter determined that the breach constituted a “major incident.”

Joel Bagnal, director of federal at SpyCloud, said that “the real impact of an attack like this is the malicious use of data that the attackers collected,” Nextgov reported Tuesday.

He told the publication in a statement that he recommends individuals work to mitigate further damage by resetting passwords and invalidating sessions for important workforce applications that could be compromised.

“This enables security teams to quickly remediate much more than the infected device, re-securing affected applications and closing entry points for additional ransomware attacks,” Bagnal added.

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