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Bill to Strengthen VA Cybersecurity Signed Into Law
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Bill to Strengthen VA Cybersecurity Signed Into Law

President Joe Biden has signed into law a bipartisan bill that would direct the Department of Veterans Affairs to secure an independent cybersecurity evaluation of its critical information systems.

In March, Reps. Frank Mrvan, D-Ind.; Nancy Mace, R-S.C.; Susie Lee, D-Nev.; and Andrew Garbarino, R-N.Y; proposed the Strengthening VA Cybersecurity Act of 2022, which will require VA to create a timeline and budget to address any weaknesses identified during the assessment.

The measure also directs the VA secretary to submit a detailed report and implementation plan to Congress within 120 days of the assessment’s release and requires the Government Accountability Office to review VA’s plan and assess whether the timelines and cost estimates are realistic.

According to a report by the Congressional Budget Office, VA will be required to select a contractor to perform cybersecurity assessments and measure the effectiveness of the department’s information security procedures under the legislation.

CBO has estimated that implementing the SVAC Act of 2022 would cost $15 million over a period of five years. The figure includes contractor payment, software and hardware needed to detect cyber vulnerabilities in the department’s networks and devices.

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White House Unveils 5th Open Government National Action Plan
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White House Unveils 5th Open Government National Action Plan

The White House has issued a new action plan that includes commitments to advancing transparency, public participation and accountability across the federal government.

Created through months of engagement with civil society organizations and the public, the Fifth Open Government National Action Plan addresses five areas of improvement, the White House said Wednesday.

As stated in the plan, these categories consist of expanding public access to government data, research and information, increasing civic space to engage the public, transforming government service delivery, countering corruption and ensuring government integrity and accountability to the public and ensuring equal justice under the law.

Specific commitments outlined in the action plan include ensuring transparency in federal procurement through Made in America waivers, developing open innovation techniques to engage the public in federal procurement policy making and strengthening agency procurement forecasts to achieve stronger transparency in future contract opportunities.

The action plan aligns with the administration’s goals of advancing equity and inclusion of communities that have experienced exclusion, marginalization and discrimination.

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Montgomery ‘Blair’ Kirk Named Operations Director for NRO Vandenberg
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Montgomery ‘Blair’ Kirk Named Operations Director for NRO Vandenberg

Montgomery “Blair” Kirk, program manager for the Joint Staff’s Deputy Directorate for Global Operations, J-39, has been appointed director of operations for the National Reconnaissance Office Vandenberg in California, he announced in a LinkedIn post on Wednesday.

He will rejoin the NRO’s office of space launch in the summer of 2023.

Kirk previously held the roles of executive officer for the special programs directorate at the U.S. Space Force and chief of systems integration and test at the U.S. Air Force.

Prior to his return to the military branch, he spent four years at the NRO, where he served as deputy chief for the advanced programs branch and later served as launch integration and operations chief.

Earlier in his career, Kirk was deputy commander of satellite command and control operations and a space flight test engineer for the Air Force.

NRO Vandenberg provides operations, security, safety, integration and communications support for NRO payloads launched from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.

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OMB, NARA Issue New Memo to Agencies on Electronic Records Transition
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OMB, NARA Issue New Memo to Agencies on Electronic Records Transition

The Office of Management and Budget and the National Archives and Records Administration have released a joint memorandum setting June 30, 2024, as the new deadline for federal agencies to manage all permanent records in an electronic format.

OMB and NARA extended the deadline to give agencies additional time to complete their move to an electronic environment that may have been delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the agencies said Friday.

By the end of June 2024, agencies must convert their temporary records into an electronic format and transfer their permanent files to NARA in electronic formats with appropriate metadata.

After that deadline, NARA will no longer accept transfers of temporary or permanent analog records.

According to the memo, NARA will release updated guidance and regulations to provide agencies with standards for electronic recordkeeping no later than June 30, 2024.

NARA will also finalize electronic records management standards and requirements for federal agencies buying ERM platforms and services no later than Dec. 31, 2023.

Jeffrey Jennings Retires as Deputy to USAICoE, Fort Huachuca Commander
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Jeffrey Jennings Retires as Deputy to USAICoE, Fort Huachuca Commander

Jeffrey Jennings is retiring from the senior executive service and is stepping down from his role as deputy to the commanding general of the U.S. Army Intelligence Center of Excellence and Fort Huachuca.

Maj. Gen. Anthony Hale, commanding general of the USAICoE and Fort Huachuca, said Jennings has helped the installation prepare to “compete and win in the multi-domain environment for the future of the Army,” the service branch said Tuesday.

Jennings took on the role in June 15, 2015, following his retirement from the Army after 31 years of military service.

The retired U.S. Army colonel served as chief of staff for the USAICoE and has previously advised five commanding generals.

During his time at Fort Huachuca, Jennings has coached and mentored the installation’s civilian workforce and helped members advance their careers through training opportunities.

President Biden Signs Bill to Prevent Conflicts of Interest in Federal Contracting
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President Biden Signs Bill to Prevent Conflicts of Interest in Federal Contracting

President Biden has signed a bill that seeks to identify and eliminate potential conflicts of interest in federal contracting through business relationship disclosure requirements into law.

The Preventing Organizational Conflicts of Interest in Federal Acquisition Act mandates that federal contractors disclose existing and future partnerships with companies that may oppose ongoing services they provide the U.S. government, the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs said Tuesday.

Committee Chairman Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., is the lead author of the bill.

“This new law will ensure federal contractors are providing transparency about potential conflicts before they are awarded taxpayer dollars,” Peters noted.

The U.S. Senate passed the bipartisan legislation in August, four months after the measure was introduced by Peters and his fellow senators Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, Magi Hassan, D- N.H., and Joni Ernst, R-Iowa.

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USAF Squadron Discusses Government-Industry C2 Collaboration at Industry Event
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USAF Squadron Discusses Government-Industry C2 Collaboration at Industry Event

The U.S. Air Force 505th Command and Control Wing’s 805th Combat Training Squadron held a classified industry day to demonstrate its in capabilities in developing, testing and delivering key command and control technologies.

The squadron, which is also known as the Shadow Operations Center-Nellis, hosted 120 industry experts, including small tech companies, at the Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada earlier this month.

The event included discussions on C2 challenges, future requirements and how government-industry collaboration can use venues such as ShOC-N’s Industry Day to advance C2 technologies and gather warfighter feedback about the innovations.

“The systems we need exist today, but they are being developed in stovepipes,” Col. Frederick Coleman, 505th CCW commander, said in his keynote speech at the event. “We need our industry and government partners to come together under one roof, on one network, to figure out how to link these advanced tools in a meaningful way that allows us to execute C2 rapidly and simultaneously across security classifications and levels of war.”

Coleman also emphasized the importance of advanced intelligence and machine learning and the automation of “everything that starts and ends with data.”

ShOC-N will host another industry day tentatively scheduled for June 2023.

NGA, Global Disinformation Lab Report Discrepancies in Russian Claims on Ukrainian Refugee Movement
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NGA, Global Disinformation Lab Report Discrepancies in Russian Claims on Ukrainian Refugee Movement

Commercial satellite data indicate that the number of Ukrainian refugees fleeing to Russia may have been exaggerated by the Russian government to justify its invasion of Ukraine, the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency said Thursday.

The study was conducted by NGA in partnership with the University of Texas in Austin’s Global Disinformation Lab as part of the Tearline open-source intelligence project.

Russian state media have been reporting that “large flows of refugees” were coming from Ukraine to the Rostov region in southwest Russia. The Border Service of the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation also stated that more than 16,000 civilians crossed that border every day since the war began. However, GEOINT images showed low counts of civilian vehicles and lack of traffic congestion at the Rostov border.

Researchers found more accurate figures in statistics published by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, which showed an increase in refugee and vehicle crossing in the Ukraine-Poland border post-invasion. According to UNHCR, 42,273 refugees came to Poland via the Korczowa-Krakowiec border on March 18. Thirteen images showed that the average number of cars and trucks increased from 31 and 60 to 95 and 110, respectively, when the war erupted.

The U.S. State Department asserts that the disinformation is part of Russia’s propaganda to boost public support for its attack on Ukraine. The department funded the Conflict Observatory program to gather and expose crimes related to the Ukraine war, and NGA contributes to the initiative by providing unclassified imagery.

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Kratos Helps Execute Ballistic Missile Intercept Tests Between US, Japan
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Kratos Helps Execute Ballistic Missile Intercept Tests Between US, Japan

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions supported ballistic missile intercept tests as part of a two-week testing event held by the U.S. Missile Defense Agency and Japan’s maritime self defense force at the Pacific Missile Range Facility in Hawaii.

Kratos said Tuesday its team worked with industry and government partners to integrate and launch three medium-range ballistic missile targets and one short-range ballistic missile target as part of the Japan Flight Test Aegis Weapon System-07 event.

In one of the JFTM-07 tests, a Standard Missile 3 Block IIA was fired from a Japanese Maya-class destroyer, JS Maya (DDG 179), to intercept a MRBM target. 

Kratos said the three-stage MRBM targets used in the ballistic missile intercept tests come with a payload mounted on the company’s Oriole rocket motor and two Terrier Mk-70 rocket motors.

According to the company, the targets, including one SRBM, performed nominal trajectories and met target requirements during the event.

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L3Harris Wins Navy Contract Modification to Expand Delivery of Modernized Radios
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L3Harris Wins Navy Contract Modification to Expand Delivery of Modernized Radios

L3Harris Technologies has been awarded a $21.9 million firm-fixed-price modification to an earlier U.S. Navy contract.

The modification exercises an option to produce and deliver a total of 374 modernized radios, 335 of which will go to the military branch and 39 will go to the U.K. government, the Department of Defense announced on Tuesday.

Work under the modification is expected to be completed in March 2025 and will be conducted in San Diego, California.

At the time of the award, fiscal 2023 weapons procurement funds amounting to $19.6 million and Foreign Military Sales customer funds of $2.3 million will be obligated. None of these funds will expire at the end of the fiscal year.

The contracting activity is the Naval Air Systems Command in Patuxent River, Maryland.

L3Harris previously won a $15.3 million modification to the same contract, which exercised an option to produce and deliver 228 modernized radios to the Navy and 27 to the government of the U.K.

The initial $18 million firm-fixed-price, cost-plus-fixed-fee contract was awarded in June 2021. Under the original award, which is expected to be completed in April 2023, the enterprise is currently providing the Navy with 285 modernized radios.

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