/
FEBC Agencies Get Access to CISA’s Beta Mobile App Vetting Service
Published on
FEBC Agencies Get Access to CISA’s Beta Mobile App Vetting Service

Jim Sheire, branch chief for the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency’s Cybersecurity Shared Services Office, said CISA provided federal civilian executive branch agencies with free access to its beta Mobile App Vetting service to help counter risks posed by mobile applications.

The MAV service achieved authorization to operate on Feb. 8 and is now used by 18 FCEB agencies to identify mobile app vulnerabilities and create a risk-based approach to selecting secure government-developed or third-party apps, Sheire wrote in a blog post published Thursday.

In early 2022, Customs and Border Protection employed MAV as part of its efforts to enhance app-vetting capability across the agency.

CBP uses the vetting service to test mobile apps for security concerns before installing them on personnel’s smartphones and tablets.

“A standout example of this is when CBP undertook vetting efforts for a third-party COVID-19 contact-tracing app. Here, MAV was able to detect several issues inherent to software’s iOS version. This discovery prompted CBP to cancel the app’s deployment, which consequently protected the security and integrity its mobile devices,” Sheire said.

According to Sheire, more federal agencies will gain access to MAV’s capabilities in the coming months.

/
GSA Issues Update on Errant Emails, Outage Involving SAM.gov
Published on
GSA Issues Update on Errant Emails, Outage Involving SAM.gov

The General Services Administration disclosed that the System for Award Management website experienced two separate issues on Wednesday. The first involved an errant email message from SAM.gov to some entity administrators informing them that their entity registration had been updated.

GSA said Thursday the emails were accidentally generated by the website and appeared to be related to a software issue.

The agency advised entity administrators to ignore the messages and said that it is working to investigate and address the issue, which they said does not appear to be a phishing attempt, malicious behavior, hack, security breach or a scam.

The other issue the SAM website experienced is an outage, which GSA said is not linked to the errant emails.

/
SSC, NASA Prepare to Launch 8 Space Experiments to ISS
Published on
SSC, NASA Prepare to Launch 8 Space Experiments to ISS

Space Systems Command and NASA are preparing to launch eight experimental payloads to the International Space Station for the Department of Defense’s Space Test Program.

STP-Houston 9 will launch into space as part of SpaceX’s 27th commercial resupply mission to ISS, which will host the eight experiments for one year, SSC said Thursday.

The payload will launch aboard SpaceX’s Cargo Dragon spacecraft and liftoff from Kennedy Space Center in Florida on March 14.

Upon docking to the ISS, the STP-H9 payload will be robotically transferred to its external hosting site, the Japanese External Facility, where it will gather data to support the DOD experiments.

“This mission marks another milestone in the valuable partnership between SSC and DOD’s Space Test Program and NASA and continues the STP’s 58-year history of providing access to space for emerging DOD technologies,” said Lt. Col. Jonathan Shea, SSC director of the DOD STP.

The space mission is developed in partnership with the Naval Research Laboratory, the Air Force Research Laboratory, the U.S. Air Force Academy and the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.

/
Wichita State University Awarded Position on $100M Program to Modernize Army’s Ground Vehicle Manufacturing
Published on
Wichita State University Awarded Position on $100M Program to Modernize Army’s Ground Vehicle Manufacturing

Wichita State University has been chosen as the main recipient of a five-year, $100 million award to modernize and maintain the U.S. Army’s ground vehicles and their components.

WSU announced Thursday that its National Institute for Aviation Research will be part of the Modernization of Integrated Technology for Ground Systems program, which includes nine sub-recipient universities.

MINT-GS combines basic and applied research to develop advanced manufacturing processes for ground vehicles and parts. It explores innovations in rapid material qualification and digital twin development to digitalize production.

The contracting activity is the Advanced Materials and Manufacturing Center of the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Ground Vehicle Systems Center. The branch selected NIAR in hopes of utilizing its expertise in advanced materials development, as well as in rapid qualification of metallic additive manufacturing.

/
John Sherman Talks DOD’s Cybersecurity, Software Modernization Efforts at House Hearing
Published on
John Sherman Talks DOD’s Cybersecurity, Software Modernization Efforts at House Hearing

John Sherman, chief information officer of the Department of Defense and a 2023 Wash100 awardee, on Thursday appeared before the House Armed Services Committee’s cyber, innovative technologies and information systems subpanel to discuss the DOD’s cybersecurity initiatives and digital modernization efforts.

Sherman told lawmakers that the DOD initiated efforts to further advance zero trust adoption, including the establishment of a zero trust portfolio management office and release of the ZT strategy and implementation roadmap. 

He noted that the department will launch a series of zero trust pilot scenarios in mid-2023 and is working with the National Security Agency to come up with a native zero trust cloud, which will serve as a government-owned private cloud.

When it comes to the second iteration of the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification, Sherman said the Pentagon is working to codify the CMMC 2.0 program through the rulemaking process to update the Code of Federal Regulations’ Title 32.

During the address, he also offered updates on DOD’s software modernization efforts.

“The Department is preparing to release the Software Modernization Implementation Plan that identifies key FY 2023 and FY 2024 activities, milestones, and responsibilities for driving process improvements and new capabilities to achieve the Software Modernization Strategy goals,” Sherman told subcommittee members.

Sherman’s prepared remarks additionally touched on the department’s new cyber workforce strategy; identity credential and access management efforts; cryptographic modernization initiative; cloud and data center optimization; fourth estate network optimization; defense business systems modernization; warfighting command, control and communications; electromagnetic spectrum; spectrum sharing; 5G; and enterprise satellite communications modernization efforts.

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 POC event to hear government and industry CIOs as they share their insights on emerging technologies and efforts to address IT challenges facing their organizations.

Biden Administration’s Proposed 2024 Budget Includes $842B for Defense, $21B for CHIPS Act
Published on
Biden Administration’s Proposed 2024 Budget Includes $842B for Defense, $21B for CHIPS Act

The Office of Management and Budget has detailed President Joe Biden’s plans for the 2024 national budget, including $842 billion for the implementation of the National Defense Strategy. 

The Biden administration also allocated more than $24 billion for climate resilience, $4.5 billion for clean energy infrastructure, and nearly $21 billion for activities under the CHIPS and Science Act, according to the OMB fact sheet released Thursday.

Secretary of Defense and Wash100 awardee Lloyd Austin joined the president in submitting the budget. He noted that the requested defense funding, which was $26 billion more than what was granted in 2023, will help address threats from China and secure record pay increases for military and civilian employees.

OMB highlighted proposed discretionary spending for the CHIPS and Science Act, which includes $1.2 billion for the National Science Foundation’s Directorate for Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships.

The administration followed through on its commitment to addressing climate change, requesting a historic $16.5 billion for climate science and clean energy research and development.

/
Unanet ERP Offering Selected by Planate Management Group to Streamline Processes and Support Growth
Published on
Unanet ERP Offering Selected by Planate Management Group to Streamline Processes and Support Growth

Planate Management Group has selected Unanet’s government contracting enterprise resource planning offering to support its anticipated domestic and international growth in the next year.

The service-disabled, veteran-owned small business chose Unanet’s ERP tool to replace its legacy, off-the-shelf accounting software with a product intended to integrate processes, minimize difficulties with data access and reduce project backlog, Unanet announced from Dulles, Virginia on Wednesday.

“Planate is poised for growth, and we decided we need an accounting and operations solution that will grow and scale with us, from a tech partner we’re confident will support us on our journey,” commented Stephen Lipman, the company’s chief financial officer.

Following a rigorous search for a new ERP software, Planate selected Unanet for its high ratings, customer service and training offerings. With Unanet, Planate aims to boost profitability by streamlining its separate time entry capture, accounting and project management programs so they are connected and able to more easily work together.

“We were impressed with the investments Unanet has made in its analytics and strategic reporting capabilities over the last several years, and with their customer service. Knowing that Unanet is going to be there through a complex implementation and training process, and for the long haul, is important to us,” Lipman said.

According to Unanet, government contractors are adopting its technologies primarily for growth management. The company’s Gauge Report, which identifies trends, best practices and business challenges in the GovCon industry, found that approximately 30 percent of small businesses in the field consider organic growth the most notable contributor to their financial difficulties.

In September of last year, McHenry Management Group, a growing systems and maintenance engineering enterprise, selected Unanet’s GovCon ERP platform to replace its former system to assist its project managers with financial decision-making.

Currently, over 2,000 contractors use Unanet ERP GovCon and the organization’s Unanet CRM program to balance accessibility and functionality to support expansion and scaling.

Unanet ERP Offering Selected by Planate Management Group to Streamline Processes and Support Growth

Unanet is sponsoring GovCon Wire’s 3rd Annual AF IT Modernization and Transformation Forum, which will connect prominent information technology experts to consider the priorities and challenges shaping the future of Air Force IT on March 21. To learn more and register to attend, please visit GovCon Wire’s events page.

/
Kathleen Hicks Signs Pentagon’s Multiyear Cyber Workforce Strategy
Published on
Kathleen Hicks Signs Pentagon’s Multiyear Cyber Workforce Strategy

Kathleen Hicks, deputy secretary at the Department of Defense and a 2023 Wash100 awardee, signed a multiyear strategy in February that establishes the principles for how DOD will develop a workforce that could help carry out the department’s cybersecurity missions.

The 2023-2027 DOD Cyber Workforce Strategy will identify and classify cyber workforce challenges using four human capital pillars: identification, recruitment, development and retention, DOD said Thursday.

The execution of the strategy seeks to accomplish four goals and the first two are implementing consistent capability evaluation and analysis processes to stay ahead of force needs and developing an enterprise-wide talent management program to better align force capabilities with future and existing requirements.

The other two goals are facilitating a cultural shift to optimize department-wide personnel management activities and promoting collaboration and partnerships to improve capability development, operational effectiveness and career-broadening experiences.

An implementation plan will be circulated by the department that outlines a list of activities to meet the goals of the strategy and key performance indicators for use in assessing the impact of the activities outlined in the strategy.

The department’s chief information officer developed the strategy in collaboration with the other component heads within the office of the secretary of defense, Joint Chiefs of Staff, U.S. Cyber Command and service branches to align cyber-linked human capital efforts with the 2022 National Defense Strategy.

/
Private Sector Leaders Bill Monet & Bob Genter Held Up in Recognition of 2023 Wash100 Award Wins
Published on
Private Sector Leaders Bill Monet & Bob Genter Held Up in Recognition of 2023 Wash100 Award Wins

On Friday, Executive Mosaic highlighted the tremendous achievements of 2023 Wash100 Award winners Bill Monet and Bob Genter, two private sector executives who have shown success in growing the reach of their organizations through contract awards.

The 10th anniversary Wash100 class represents the highly acclaimed award’s continued commitment to recognizing the most consequential figures in the vast government contracting space. Monet and Genter are prime examples of the leadership prowess the annual award seeks out during its selection process.

A four-time Wash100 Award winner, Monet, who currently serves as president and CEO of Akima, continued to drive the company’s presence further into the federal market last year.

Under Monet’s guidance, Akima’s infrastructure and logistics business arms as well as its subsidiaries Compass Point and RiverTech were selected for various awards throughout 2022. In December, Akima’s accomplishments culminated in a $333.9 million contract win with partner Amentum. To read Monet’s full profile, click here.

Genter, president of SAIC’s defense and civilian sector, earned his first Wash100 Award for his strong leadership in expanding SAIC’s defense and civilian business.

As a result of Genter’s impressive efforts to strengthen SAIC’s relationship with the defense community, the enterprise won a $200 million task order from the U.S. Army and later, a $757 million contract to support the Army Enterprise Service Desk. Genter’s work additionally secured SAIC awards from the Navy and other federal organizations. Click here to read his full profile.

In a spirited celebration of the incredible 2023 Wash100 class, Executive Mosaic is letting you choose your favorite winner in the annual Wash100 popular vote contest! To cast a vote for Bill Monet and Bob Genter and your other favorite honorees, please visit Wash100.com.

/
NIST Seeks Public Input on Draft Adversarial Machine Learning Report
Published on
NIST Seeks Public Input on Draft Adversarial Machine Learning Report

The National Institute of Standards and Technology has started soliciting public comments on an initial draft report on the terminology in the field of adversarial machine learning and taxonomy of mitigations and attacks.

NIST said Wednesday the terminology and the taxonomy seek to inform future practice guides and other standards for evaluating and managing the security of artificial intelligence systems through the establishment of a common language.

The agency is seeking insights on the latest attacks that threaten the current landscape of AI models, latest mitigations that are likely to withstand the test of time and new terminology that needs standardization.

Interested stakeholders could also share about the latest trends in AI technologies that intend to transform the industry or society, potential vulnerabilities related to such technologies and possible mitigations that could be developed to address such vulnerabilities.

Comments are due Sept. 30.

1 … 641 642 643 644 645 … 2,658