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Former NSA Official Teresa Shea Added to Cigent Board of Directors; John Benkert Quoted
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Former NSA Official Teresa Shea Added to Cigent Board of Directors; John Benkert Quoted

Teresa Shea, an experienced government and private sector official specializing in intelligence and cybersecurity, has been appointed to the board of directors of Cigent Technology.

The Fort Myers, Florida-based security program maker said Wednesday that it hopes to utilize Shea’s extensive knowledge culled from decades spent at organizations such as the National Security Agency, Raytheon Intelligence & Space and In-Q-Tel.

Cigent CEO John Benkert, who also worked at NSA, praised Shea’s command of said subject matter and explained that the incoming executive has been a proponent of Cigent’s offerings for years and assisted the organization establish partnerships with several government customers.

“She will provide valuable guidance as we work to develop new relationships with government agencies and fulfill our mission of ending ransomware attacks and data theft, as well as compliance for business and government,” Benkert added.

At NSA, Shea held roles of increasing responsibility, climbing the ladder to ultimately hold the position of signals intelligence director. After closing out her over three-decade NSA tenure, Shea transitioned to the private sector to work at strategic investment organization In-Q-Tel as its executive vice president of technology, helping to lead the company’s objective to invest in innovative start-ups that avail the U.S. Intelligence Community.

Following her stint at In-Q-Tel, Shea was vice president of cyber offense defense experts-CODEX for Raytheon Intelligence & Space. In the past, she has served as an advisor on the boards of MITRE Corporation and the Virginia Tech Hume Center and currently presides on the Electrical and Computer Engineering School Board at Georgia Institute of Technology, the school from which she holds her bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering.

Shea is poised to share her understanding gleaned from working in both government and industry with Cigent as the company works to aid government agencies, especially the Department of Defense, with the safeguarding of its data and information. The executive reportedly sees a future for the company with private sector clients as well.

DOE Opens Application for $250M Clean Energy Loan Program; Jennifer Granholm Quoted
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DOE Opens Application for $250M Clean Energy Loan Program; Jennifer Granholm Quoted

The Department of Energy has begun accepting applications for a new program that seeks to help U.S. states and territories put in place revolving loan funds for energy efficiency and initiate clean energy upgrade projects.

DOE said Tuesday the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law has allocated $250 million in formula funding through the Energy Efficiency Revolving Loan Fund Capitalization Grant Program to improve the energy efficiency of existing commercial and residential buildings.

40 percent of the funding is allocated to all state energy offices and the remaining 60 percent is distributed to a group of priority states.

According to DOE, states can allot one-quarter of the funding for grants and technical assistance to small businesses and low-income homeowners as well as prioritize loan applications from disadvantaged communities.

“By expanding access to energy efficiency upgrades for American families and small to medium-sized businesses, we will generate energy savings and deliver cleaner air, helping states and historically underserved communities experience the broad benefits of energy efficiency,” commented Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm.

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NASA’s SLS Rocket With Boeing-Made Core Stage Launches as Part of Artemis I Mission
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NASA’s SLS Rocket With Boeing-Made Core Stage Launches as Part of Artemis I Mission

A NASA rocket equipped with a Boeing-built core stage took off Wednesday from a launch complex at Kennedy Space Center in Florida to send the unmanned Orion spacecraft, built by Lockheed Martin, on a maiden flight around the moon as part of the Artemis I mission.

Artemis I is an uncrewed flight test designed to assess the performance of the Space Launch System rocket and the capabilities of Orion, Boeing said Wednesday.

The core stage separated from the rocket’s upper stage less than 10 minutes after launch and demonstrated several functions, such as igniting the engines, actuating the hydraulic system and fueling both tanks.

The 212-foot-long core stage is composed of an engine section with four RS-25 engines, liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen tanks and intertank section that links the two fuel tanks.

A team at Boeing is developing the core stages at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. Core Stage-2 will be used to launch the first manned Artemis mission, while CS-3 is expected to support the mission meant to land astronauts on the lunar surface.

Jim Chilton, senior vice president of Boeing’s space and launch division, said the launch reflects the availability of a “super-heavy lift launch capability” and that the company is ready to support NASA and its international partners in supporting manned missions to explore deep space.

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Johns Hopkins APL Unveils Cislunar Security National Technical Vision
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Johns Hopkins APL Unveils Cislunar Security National Technical Vision

The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory has issued a 75-page report outlining its technical vision for advancing security in cislunar space, which comprises the region between the moon and the Earth’s geosynchronous orbit.

The report titled Cislunar Security National Technical Vision tackles national needs in cislunar policy and strategy and discusses technological capabilities needed to ensure stability, transparency and safety in the cislunar region, such as space situational awareness; communications; position, navigation and timing; and reconstitution of space-based capabilities, APL said Monday.

“Our goal is to make a critical contribution in pushing forward the national dialogue around the policy and technology development for cislunar security,” said Steve Parr, a program manager at APL’s space exploration sector and section author and co-editor of the technical vision.

The report offers recommendations for advancing technological developments. To make cislunar PNT service a reality, the document recommends that the Department of Defense should allocate funds to take part in trade studies with NASA to come up with an architecture that meets the needs of the two agencies, leverage the Space Development Agency to rapidly develop capabilities and innovate existing technologies.

Parr and his colleagues created the technical vision by analyzing findings from discussions during the first two Cislunar Security conferences held in 2020 and 2021 and identifying three comprehensive needs for cislunar security: the need for international norms of behavior in cislunar space and lunar surface; need for enhanced space situational awareness; and ability to address norm violations.

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GAO: DOD Should Designate Entity to Oversee Cyber Incident Reporting
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GAO: DOD Should Designate Entity to Oversee Cyber Incident Reporting

The Government Accountability Office has recommended that the Department of Defense assign responsibility for ensuring cyber incident reporting and document when individuals affected by a breach of personally identifiable information were notified.

Although DOD has reduced the number of cyber incidents, GAO found weaknesses in reporting such incidents, including incomplete data and failure to notify leaders of critical incidents, and that the department did not designate an entity that should oversee cyber incident reporting, according to a report published Monday.

“Until DOD assigns such responsibility, DOD does not have assurance that its leadership has an accurate picture of the department’s cybersecurity posture,” the GAO report reads.

The congressional watchdog said the Pentagon should also improve sharing of cyber incident information related to the defense industrial base and include detailed procedures for determining and informing leaders of critical cyber events in guidance.

According to GAO, DOD has come up with a process for managing all cyber incidents and another one for critical incidents but has not fully conducted either of these two methods.

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Eric Goldstein: 3 Security Advisory Systems Can Help Advance Vulnerability Management Practices
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Eric Goldstein: 3 Security Advisory Systems Can Help Advance Vulnerability Management Practices

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency is working with government and private sector entities to advance and automate vulnerability management in all kinds of U.S. organizations, said Eric Goldstein, CISA’s executive assistant director for cybersecurity.

In a blog post published Monday, Goldstein mentioned the Common Security Advisory Framework, the Vulnerability Exploitability eXchange security advisory, and Stakeholder Specific Vulnerability Categorization system as some elements of its strategy to help improve defenses against software and hardware weaknesses.

Goldstein recommended the expanded use of CSAF, a standard that enables machine-readable representation of information in security advisories. He said the framework will not only automate but also significantly shorten the time it takes to understand the impact of a newly identified vulnerability, formulate remediation processes and communicate the flaw to end users.

VEX, another form of security advisory, can detect if a particular product is affected by a system weakness. Goldstein suggested that vendors can help streamline vulnerability investigations by issuing VEX advisories that indicate whether an organization is at risk.

CISA is encouraging organizations to use SSVC as a guide for prioritizing a known system flaw and its corresponding remediation procedure. The agency created an SSVC webpage containing a decision tree, published a guide and set up a calculator to assist institutions in prioritization.

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GSA Creates Technology Law Unit as Part of Service Modernization Initiatives
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GSA Creates Technology Law Unit as Part of Service Modernization Initiatives

The General Services Administration has established a technology law division that will provide legal support to the agency’s tech-focused components.

GSA said Thursday the new unit within the Office of the General Counsel is part of its initiatives to streamline, modernize and digitize customer services.

The division is looking to fill various roles including associate general counsel for technology law and assistant general counsel.

“The associate general counsel for technology law will work closely with the most senior leaders across the agency to provide advice and counsel in a developing, but critically important area of public law,” GSA General Counsel Arpit Garg explained. “And the assistant general counsel will provide direct support to our technology-focused components—a great opportunity for a more junior attorney to join our growing team.”

The positions are posted on USAJobs and are open until Dec. 9.

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Defense Logistics Agency Set to Complete Implementation of G-Invoicing System
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Defense Logistics Agency Set to Complete Implementation of G-Invoicing System

The Defense Logistics Agency is working toward completing the implementation of a web-based government invoicing platform in compliance with the Department of the Treasury’s requirement to standardize intragovernmental buy and sell transactions.

DLA has set an April 2024 deadline for its full implementation of the G-Invoicing program to automate the process of receiving payment for goods and services from federal trading partners, the Pentagon reported Monday.

Max Walens, branch chief of DLA G-Invoicing’s General Terms and Conditions Center of Excellence, said the program will require a signed general terms and conditions agreement from trading partners, replacing manual request documents including the DD Form 448.

Treasury had required that federal government agencies implement G-Invoicing by Oct. 1, but challenges facing DLA has pushed back the agency’s transition to the new business process.

Walens noted that the implementation will require significant changes across the organization and will need new software to ensure seamless flow of financial information to the G-Invoicing system.

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Space Systems Command Selects 7 Finalists in ‘Fight Tonight’ Competition
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Space Systems Command Selects 7 Finalists in ‘Fight Tonight’ Competition

Space Systems Command has selected seven innovation teams to compete in the final round of its inaugural Fight Tonight competition, which aims to develop new approaches to building more resilient space systems by 2026.

SSC said Monday that up to $8 million in funding will be awarded to the winning teams to bring their ideas to completion over a period of one to four years.

Out of the more than 80 innovation ideas submitted by SSC personnel, 21 were selected to be presented to a panel of judges led by Lt. Gen. Michael Guetlein, commander of SSC, and U.S. Space Force Maj. Gen. DeAnna Burt, special assistant to the vice chief of space operations.

Each proposal was evaluated based on its feasibility, innovativeness, impact on warfighters and impact on the 2026 fight.

“China and Russia are proving their capabilities and intentions to disrupt our satellites in space and our way of life on earth. The time to act is now. That’s the mindset and driver behind this competition: What would we need if we had to Fight Tonight,” asserted Capt. Darrell Dancy, an acquisitions program manager and lead action officer of Fight Tonight.

SSC will announce the winning ideas at the 2nd Annual Space Force Ball on Nov. 18.

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Annual ISOA Summit to Examine Current, Future Stability Operations Issues
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Annual ISOA Summit to Examine Current, Future Stability Operations Issues

The International Stability Operations Association will hold its annual summit, Partnering for Global Security: New Era Conflicts and Alliances, at the McLean, Virginia Hilton hotel on Nov. 17 and 18.

To examine global issues in stability operations, this year’s event will consider the areas of security and cybersecurity, logistics, health care, refugees, legal affairs, small business needs and additional contracting support opportunities from organizations involved in stability operations worldwide.

With over 350 attendees, the event hosts leaders spanning the U.S. government and military, contracting, small businesses, non-governmental organizations and academia.

During this year’s summit, speakers from across the industry will discuss mission-critical needs regarding Ukraine, the U.S. Indo-Pacific Region Command, the middle east and Africa.

Keynote speakers featured include Lieutenant General Scott Spellmon, commanding general of the Army Corps of Engineers, John Tenaglia, director of defense pricing and contracting for the Department of Defense, and General Stephen Townsend, former commander of the U.S. Africa Command and retired Army general.

Other notable participants are three-time Wash100 Award recipient and KBR President Byron Bright and fellow Wash100 Award winner Terry Ryan, CEO of Constellis. The two executives will be participating in a panel discussion moderated by ISOA President and Executive Director Howie Lind, which will tackle topics such as current issues facing government contractors and the effects of events in Ukraine and the Pacific region.

Additional panels held throughout the day will address various issues facing stability organizations including strategic competition, contingency contracting, future threats and more.

As the ISOA’s most prominent event, the summit serves as a key point of connection for the stability community as it brings policymakers, industry leaders, implementers and experts together as ISOA strives to promote strategic engagement for both the public and private sectors worldwide.

For more information about the summit, be sure to visit the ISOA website.

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