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NSA Releases Security Guidance for IPv6 Implementation
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NSA Releases Security Guidance for IPv6 Implementation

The National Security Agency has released security guidance to help the Department of Defense and other system administrators implement the latest version of the Internet Protocol.

NSA said Wednesday the IPv6 Security Guidance outlines a set of recommendations on how DOD and other federal organizations can maintain awareness of and prevent potential security concerns as they transition to the next-generation protocol from the legacy IPv4 networks.

According to the agency, networks new to the protocol lack maturity in IPv6 configurations and tools and devices that run on IPv4 and IPv6 simultaneously have an increased attack surface.

“The Department of Defense will incrementally transition from IPv4 to IPv6 over the next few years and many DoD networks will be dual-stacked,” said Neal Ziring, cybersecurity technical director at NSA.

To address emerging security issues, NSA recommends that organizations assign IPv6 addresses to a host via a Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol version 6 server; avoid tunnels to reduce complexity and the attack surface; utilize cybersecurity mechanisms that support both IPv4 and IPv6; and provide appropriate and sufficient training and education to network administrators.

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DIU Seeks Commercial Technologies for Virtual Jet Pilot Training
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DIU Seeks Commercial Technologies for Virtual Jet Pilot Training

The Defense Innovation Unit has posted a commercial solutions opening for immersive training technologies designed to help the Department of Defense train next-generation jet pilots.

DIU said it is looking for lightweight and agile commercial platforms that are equipped to support synthetic training environments and extended reality technology in support of the T-38C jet trainer and other existing tactical trainer aircraft of the U.S. Air Force.

DOD will prototype technologies in two parallel lines of effort, with the first providing a new mid-tier, mixed-reality training device and the second delivering an STE that supports fighter/bomber fundamentals syllabus events.

The resulting technologies will be used as part of a new Pilot Training Transformation course on FBF.

As part of the initiative, DOD also plans to prototype training tools such as artificial intelligence-powered instructional tools, remote instruction capabilities, augmented reality briefing and debriefing capabilities, student cognitive workload and performance monitoring systems.

Interested companies may submit their proposals until Jan. 23.

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SBA’s Isabella Casillas Guzman: Small Business Boom Continued in 2022
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SBA’s Isabella Casillas Guzman: Small Business Boom Continued in 2022

Isabella Casillas Guzman, administrator of the Small Business Administration, said new data from the U.S. Census Bureau shows that a record pace of small business applications continued in 2022.

“Since the start of this administration, small business applications reached a high of 10.5 million, the most in any two years in our nation’s history,” Guzman said in a statement published Wednesday.

She noted that the new Census data reflects how the current administration’s investment in economic recovery enabled U.S. entrepreneurs to establish new businesses.

“The SBA and the Biden-Harris Administration continue to retool vital federal small business support programs and services to expand access to capital, provide much-needed trusted networks for technical assistance and training, and help America’s entrepreneurs seek new revenue opportunities from transformational legislation including the President’s Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act,” Guzman added.

According to the Census Bureau, there were 417,055 business applications filed for December 2022, a drop of 0.3 percent from the previous month.

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Victor LaGroon Appointed 1st Chief Diversity Officer at VA
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Victor LaGroon Appointed 1st Chief Diversity Officer at VA

Victor LaGroon, a U.S. Army veteran, has been named the first chief diversity officer at the Department of Veterans Affairs, where he is responsible for developing strategy and overseeing its inclusive, diversity, equity and access initiatives.

VA said Tuesday LaGroon worked as director of strategic partnerships and alliances for the health equity division within the Department of Population Sciences at City of Hope prior to joining the agency.

Now, the VA official has oversight of I-DEA programs and policies, facilitating their department-wide creation, adoption and execution to support agency strategic priorities.

LaGroon’s career includes time with the Black Veterans Empowerment Council as chairman, GoCivic Chicago as member of its board of directors, Chicago’s VA Office as director and Army as intelligence analyst.

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6 Companies to Use DOE Supercomputers for Clean Energy Tech Manufacturing
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6 Companies to Use DOE Supercomputers for Clean Energy Tech Manufacturing

Six U.S.-based clean energy technology companies have been selected to receive funding to use the Department of Energy’s network of supercomputers to optimize their manufacturing processes and boost product development.

Awardees under the High-Performance Computing for Manufacturing program will access HPC facilities at DOE national laboratories and apply advanced modeling, simulation and data analysis to streamline the development of decarbonization technologies, DOE said Wednesday.

The awardees and their partner laboratories are: 

  • Allegheny Technologies and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
  • Danieli USA and National Renewable Energy Laboratory
  • Ford Motor Company and Sandia National Laboratory
  • M2X Energy and Argonne National Laboratory
  • Siemens and Oak Ridge National Laboratory
  • Solar Turbines and Oak Ridge National Laboratory

The companies will receive $300,000 each — totaling $1.8 million for all six across the whole endeavor — and work on projects focusing on a range of topics, including enhancing the battery performance of electric vehicles and increasing the production of near-net shape mill-products to lower energy use and reduce carbon emissions.

HPC4Mfg is managed under the High Performance Computing for Energy Innovation initiative and is funded by the Advanced Materials and Manufacturing Technologies Office.

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Daniel Bardenstein Announces Exit from CISA Post
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Daniel Bardenstein Announces Exit from CISA Post

Daniel Bardenstein is stepping down as chief of technology strategy and delivery at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.

He announced his departure from CISA in a tweet Wednesday.

“I’ve gotten to work on incredibly meaningful and impactful projects, but a unique opportunity came up that was incredibly hard to turn down,” Bardenstein said in his Twitter post. He has not yet specified what his new pursuit entails.

He cited his involvement in advancing cross-sector cybersecurity performance goals, tech modernization efforts and initiatives related to industrial control systems and operational technology.

In December 2021, he joined CISA from the Defense Digital Service, where he was director of cybersecurity programs. He also served as a cybersecurity co-lead for Operation Warp Speed at the Department of Defense.

Bardenstein formerly served as a tech policy fellow at the Aspen Tech Policy Hub. He also held product management leadership roles at Exabeam and Palantir Technologies.

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Doug Cossa on DIA’s ‘Company Storefront’ IT Initiative With NGA
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Doug Cossa on DIA’s ‘Company Storefront’ IT Initiative With NGA

Doug Cossa, chief information officer at the Defense Intelligence Agency, said DIA is working to evolve federal systems past a “stovepipe” information technology model by advancing an initiative called “Company Storefront” in partnership with the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, Federal News Network reported Wednesday.

Under Company Storefront, DIA and NGA are working to provide agencies common infrastructure services, including desktop services, for the classified environment.

“Agencies don’t have to maintain their own data centers or their own infrastructure services,” Cossa told FNN.

“They can adopt the model that we’re able to extend out to the rest of the community that integrates because it was designed that way from the beginning,” he added.

Cossa said he thinks Company Storefront will eventually offer cloud services to enable agencies to transition to a virtual desktop environment.

“I think that is the future of where we’ll go is more virtual desktop, and that’s where we really rely on the vendor community to not only work with us, but work across the other vendors to be able to have integration across the services that we depend on,” Cossa said. “Because it’s not an option for us to go back into a stovepipe model where we’re purchasing capabilities or bringing capabilities into our environment that don’t talk with anything else.”

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Gen. Chance Saltzman: Combat Readiness, Alliances, & Guardian Talent Are USSF’s Key Lines of Effort
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Gen. Chance Saltzman: Combat Readiness, Alliances, & Guardian Talent Are USSF’s Key Lines of Effort

Gen. B. Chance Saltzman, chief of space operations at the U.S. Space Force, has unveiled three lines of effort that he believes are essential to the success of the service branch.

He identified fielding combat-ready forces, strengthening existing partnerships and amplifying Guardians’ creativity, innovation and determination as key LOEs to execute Space Force missions.

The branch must build resilient and combat-ready equipment, servicemen, expertise and sustainment to endure and recover from attacks in a high-intensity operational environment, Saltzman said. Resilience must apply to mission critical support facilities, on-orbit constellations, ground stations, and even data and networks.

The space ops chief also pledged to take care of Space Force Guardians in order to unleash their creativity, innovation, determination and patriotism. He regarded their talent and expertise as the service’s most important operational advantage and made a commitment to improve transparency and professionalism in military and civilian personnel management.

Saltzman underscored the importance of USSF’s partnerships with other agencies, countries, academic institutions and the private sector. He called for direct and mutually beneficial collaborations built on trust and deep relationships to ensure that the branch can power through geopolitical, financial, and adversarial challenges.

DOD, USAID & State Department Issue Joint Oversight Plan for Ukraine Aid Efforts
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DOD, USAID & State Department Issue Joint Oversight Plan for Ukraine Aid Efforts

The offices of inspectors general for the Department of Defense, the U.S. Agency for International Development and the State Department have issued their first joint strategic oversight plan for the country’s activities in response to the war in Ukraine.

The Ukraine Oversight Interagency Working Group comprises 17 organizations and convenes monthly to ensure transparency and coordination in the whole-of-government Ukraine response supervision efforts, the DOD’s OIG said Wednesday.

The working group’s Fiscal Year 2023 Joint Strategic Plan for Ukraine Response lists 14 completed and 64 planned or ongoing projects.

Its accomplishments include DOD OIG’s evaluation of accountability of equipment donated to Ukraine, DHS OIG’s audit of cyberthreats, and USAID OIG’s direct budget support brief.

Meanwhile, the agencies are continuously auditing DOD’s training of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, as well as evaluating weapon stockpile replenishments and intelligence sharing. The State OIG is also monitoring humanitarian aid efforts and the evacuation of the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv.

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Allen Gardner Tapped to Lead UAS Technology Development as CTO at Edge Autonomy
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Allen Gardner Tapped to Lead UAS Technology Development as CTO at Edge Autonomy

Allen Gardner, a specialist in unmanned aerial systems design and development, has been appointed chief technology officer at Edge Autonomy.

The San Luis Obispo, California-headquartered unmanned technology company said Tuesday that Gardner will help the company keep pace with the demands of the future and the ever-evolving landscape of artificial intelligence and autonomous capabilities.

“Allen brings key experience in delivering innovations in the unmanned systems market that will help us deliver ideal solutions to our clients’ key challenges,” noted Edge Autonomy CEO John Purvis.

Gardner began his career at Northrop Grumman’s aerospace systems business, where he held the position of aeronautical engineer, creating software programs for command and control and real-time survivability analysis of LO aircraft missions, among other projects. In a later stint with the company, he ascended to the role of chief architect for special programs.

In between his two periods spent with Northrop, Gardner worked for AME Unmanned Aerial Systems as chief engineer, where he was the driving force behind the development of the SharkFin mission control system and the conceptual portion of the Fury UAS. The organization was subsequently acquired by Lockheed Martin.

Before coming to Edge Autonomy, Gardner served for five years as CTO at Skydweller Aero, a U.S.-Spanish company focused on solar-powered aircraft technologies.

The executive reportedly holds a specific mastery of UAS mission control and optimization as well as artificial intelligence broadly.

In Dec. 2022, Jennifer Hagerty was installed as chief human resources officer at Edge Autonomy and charged with leading the company’s diversity, equity and inclusion practices.

Edge Autonomy transitioned to its current brand identity from its previous name, UAV Factory, in February 2022.

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