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White House Appoints Anjana Rajan Assistant National Cyber Director for Tech Security
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White House Appoints Anjana Rajan Assistant National Cyber Director for Tech Security

Anjana Rajan, a technologist and an entrepreneur, has joined the White House’s Office of the National Cyber Director as assistant director for technology security, she announced Tuesday in a LinkedIn post.

She held a short stint as entrepreneur in residence at Cornell Tech prior to her appointment at the White House.

Previously, Rajan was the first chief technology officer of anti-human trafficking nonprofit organization Polaris, where she conceptualized the organization’s vision for web3 and human rights, as well as its strategy for responding to disinformation threats from extremist groups.

From 2012 to 2017, she held the CTO post at Callisto, a social enterprise that develops software used to fight sexual assault and professional sexual coercion.

Rajan also worked across government projects while at Palantir Technologies as a deployment strategist for the Middle East and served as a technologist at Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen Healthcare Innovation business.

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Marcus Moffet Promoted to Cisco’s VP of Engineering, Public Sector; Eric Knipp Quoted
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Marcus Moffet Promoted to Cisco’s VP of Engineering, Public Sector; Eric Knipp Quoted

Cisco veteran Marcus Moffet has been elevated from his previous role as senior systems engineer director to vice president of engineering for the company’s U.S. public sector.

In his new position, Moffet will guide a team of over five hundred engineering leaders, systems engineers and architects in identifying business and mission demands and developing secure, capable platforms to aid the digital business ventures of Cisco’s public sector customers, the San Jose, California-based company announced on Tuesday.

“Marc exemplifies the absolute best of systems engineering leadership at Cisco: technical excellence, selfless leadership, and a constant drive to make himself and his team better,” emphasized Eric Knipp, vice president of systems engineering in the Americas at Cisco.

He also commented on his respect for Moffet as both a colleague and a friend.

With over two decades of experience working at Cisco, Moffet is well-versed in the public sector, enterprise and commercial business areas. Beginning as a systems engineer, he has climbed the ranks of management positions with increasing responsibilities throughout his time at the company.

Moffet has also received two management awards and one achievement award during his extensive career with Cisco and holds a Cisco Certified Internetworking Certification.

“Cisco’s Systems Engineers are the best in the business, and there are very few things outside of seeing my family thrive, that offer the satisfaction of leading this elite team,” Moffet said.

Before joining the company, Moffet held an advanced systems engineer position with 3Com. He also served in the U.S. Air Force as a Tech Controller stationed at Clark Air Base in the Philippines and Gunter Air Force Base in Montgomery, Alabama.

During his eight-year military career, Moffet received numerous awards including Clark Base Airman of the Year and multiple commendations. Additionally, he was awarded an achievement medal as one of the Clark Air Base Ash Warriors who decided to stay behind to sustain base communications and decommission the facility after it was severely damaged in the Mt. Pinatubo eruption. 

He also has a long history of volunteer work, continuing to serve both Hunters for the Hungry of America and Habitat for Humanity for over twenty years. More recently, he began volunteering for Natchez Community Stewpot.

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Seagate Government Solutions, Cigent Technology Announce Secure Storage Drive Partnership; Mike Moritzkat Quoted
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Seagate Government Solutions, Cigent Technology Announce Secure Storage Drive Partnership; Mike Moritzkat Quoted

Seagate Government Solutions and Cigent Technology have partnered and unveiled their collaborative Barracuda 515 M.2 solid state drive to enhance data protection into specific Seagate storage devices through Cigent’s cybersecurity firmware.

Seagate CEO and GM Mike Moritzkat expressed the organization’s excitement in partnering with Cigent in providing a secure client drive that meets important federal government certification requirements while also expressing how the partnership with Cigent is another step in Seagate’s legacy of delivering secure products to the US Government and its affiliates.

The technology for the Barracuda 515 M.2 uses insider detection to produce extensive data access logs in a secure storage device area that cannot be wiped. It also uses block-level verification to confirm that all drive data is completely wiped after a successful erasure attempt.

Cigent’s firmware ensures greater security standards and options even if the device itself has been compromised by physical or virtual attacks. The firmware uses automated threat response that blocks adversaries from bypassing its protections and gaining access to sensitive information.

“Our alliance with SGS makes it easy for SGS’s storage partners to deliver data security to customers that require advanced endpoint data protection,” said Cigent CEO John Benkert.

The company’s Barracuda 515 M.2 SSDs were validated as meeting the Federal Information Processing Standards, which lists a number of government security requirements for data and its encryption, in September. It has also been added to the National Information Assurance Partnership Common Criteria Product Evaluation list.

The collaboration will expand Seagate’s work in advancing storage solutions alongside an additional partnership with Ball Aerospace announced earlier this year. As agreed upon in a Memorandum of Understanding, the two organizations will develop storage and data processing technology for use in space.

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CISA, NSA Unveil Recommended Security Practices for Software Suppliers
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CISA, NSA Unveil Recommended Security Practices for Software Suppliers

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence and the National Security Agency have jointly published a recommended security practices guide intended for software suppliers.

The document, titled “Securing the Software Supply Chain: Recommended Practices Guide for Suppliers,” outlines suggested procedures for software security checks and vulnerability response and management, the NSA said Monday.

NSA said that software suppliers act as a link between customers and developers and must implement additional security features to eliminate vulnerabilities.

The guidance was developed through the Enduring Security Framework, a public-private partnership that develops guidelines for securing the U.S. critical infrastructure and improving national security.

The framework is the second portion of a three-part joint publication series from ESF. The partnership released a version of the guidance for software developers in September and will unveil an edition for software customers in the future.

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Technology Modernization Fund Invests in AbilityOne’s Procurement List Software Enhancement; Clare Martorana Quoted
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Technology Modernization Fund Invests in AbilityOne’s Procurement List Software Enhancement; Clare Martorana Quoted

The U.S. AbilityOne Commission will receive investment from the Technology Modernization Fund to upgrade its software that connects the federal government with employers of individuals who are blind or severely disabled.

The General Services Administration said Monday the TMF investment will fund enhancements to the Procurement List Information Management System including improvements to system security and accessibility.

AbilityOne Commission maintains a Procurement List of products and services available to government agencies.

“During the pandemic, the AbilityOne program has been pivotal in keeping the federal government and U.S. military operating through nationwide surge to meet exponential increases in demand,” said Clare Martorana, federal chief information officer and chair of the TMF board.

Martorana, a 2022 Wash100 Award winner, added that the $1.78 million investment from TMF will enable AbilityOne to ensure the continued provision of critical services to government agencies.

TMF is an investment program that funds technology modernization projects across the federal government.

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Doug O’Donnell Named Acting IRS Commissioner
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Doug O’Donnell Named Acting IRS Commissioner

Doug O’Donnell, the deputy commissioner for services and enforcement at the Internal Revenue Service, has been appointed to serve as acting head of the agency.

Charles Rettig, the outgoing IRS commissioner, said in a statement published Friday that O’Donnell will temporarily take the helm at the agency until the Senate confirms a permanent commissioner.

Rettig has been leading the revenue service since 2018 and will formally end his term on Nov. 12.

He said that O’Donnell will collaborate with Jeff Tribiano, deputy commissioner for operations, and other senior officials “to continue work on the Inflation Reduction Act provisions, including efforts related to IRS transformation, implementation of green provisions and other new tax law.”

In a separate statement, Janet Yellen, secretary of the Department of the Treasury, said O’Donnell will guide IRS’ work as it embarks on a transformative period of modernization.

O’Donnell has held various positions of increasing responsibility during his nearly four-decade career at the IRS, including as commissioner of the IRS Large Business and International Division.

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ODNI: FY 2022 Appropriations for National Intell Program Hit $65.7B
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ODNI: FY 2022 Appropriations for National Intell Program Hit $65.7B

Congress appropriated $65.7 billion in total funds for the Office of the Director of National Intelligence’s National Intelligence Program during fiscal year 2022.

NIP is one of the two major components of the U.S. intelligence budget and covers all projects, activities and initiatives of the Intelligence Community and other IC programs designated by the DNI and the U.S. president or the DNI and the head of an agency or department.

ODNI said Monday the appropriated budget figure for 2022 NIP includes supplemental funding.

The FY 2022 appropriated figure reflects a $3.4 billion increase from the requested budget for NIP activities – $62.3 billion – in the previous fiscal year and shows an 8 percent rise from the top-line figure allocated to NIP in FY 2021.

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Space Systems Command Preps LDPE-2 Spacecraft for USSF-44 National Security Mission
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Space Systems Command Preps LDPE-2 Spacecraft for USSF-44 National Security Mission

Space Systems Command encapsulated and linked the Long Duration Propulsive EELV Secondary Payload Adapter 2 spacecraft with SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy rocket in preparation for the scheduled launch of the U.S. Space Force-44 mission on Tuesday, Nov. 1, from Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

LDPE-2 is a satellite bus that can accommodate multiple payloads and comes with a modular design to facilitate payload integration, SSC said Monday.

“The LDPE-2 platform allows the USSF to cost-effectively prototype new elements of future space architectures before making major investments across the enterprise,” said Brig. Gen. Tim Sejba, program executive officer for space domain awareness and combat power at SSC.

“This capability has broad potential to fill capability gaps in our space systems architecture and provide helpful services for our mission partners with frequent and low-cost access to orbit,” added Sejba.

USSF-44 will lift off from a launch complex at Kennedy Space Center to deploy multiple satellites into orbit as part of the National Security Space Launch program.

LDPE-1 took off in December as part of the Space Test Program-3 mission and the LDPE-3A is set to launch under the USSF-67 mission in January.

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DOD Seeks Commercial Energy Storage Tech Options
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DOD Seeks Commercial Energy Storage Tech Options

The Department of Defense is eyeing commercial hardware and software platforms that can work with military-grade mobile generators to store energy and power microgrids in remote locations.

The Defense Innovation Unit described the requirement in a Commercial Solutions Opening notice as DOD aims to boost the performance of medium mobile power equipment operated with an advanced digital control system.

DIU is looking for vendors to develop a tool that has embedded microgrid control and employs open architecture for continuous battery cell and microgrid controller upgrades.

The device should have a storage capacity of 30 to 60 kilowatts, compatible with DOD’s 30 kW and 60 kW AMMPS generator sets equipped with ADCS, the agency noted.

Aside from design and build, offerors may also be required to provide preventive and corrective maintenance.

Proposers can fill out a submission form on the DIU website and send their responses until Nov 14. Army Contracting Command – New Jersey will act as the contracting activity for the CSO.

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AIA CEO Eric Fanning: Labor ‘Biggest Limiting Factor’ in Aerospace & Defense Supply Chain
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AIA CEO Eric Fanning: Labor ‘Biggest Limiting Factor’ in Aerospace & Defense Supply Chain

Eric Fanning, president and CEO of the Aerospace Industries Association, cited the rigid requirements for defense contractors and retention challenges as the key forces pushing sector employees away.

“The biggest limiting factor we’re finding in the supply chain is labor,” Fanning, a previous recipient of the Wash100 Award, said in an interview with Defense News.

Executives of publicly traded defense companies have attributed major challenges in supply chain and financial performance to the lingering labor instability in the U.S.

Boeing, General Dynamics and Raytheon Technologies leaders mentioned in their companies’ respective earnings calls that labor shortage and workforce turnover led to higher operational costs in their third fiscal quarter.

Their sentiments echo the results of the 2022 Aerospace & Defense Workforce Study conducted by AIA, the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics and professional services firm EY US.

The survey, which represented 800,000 employees globally and over 680,000 domestically, showed that compensation was the main reason that employees were leaving their jobs. Wages accounted for 78 percent of turnover, followed by 75 percent who left because of career advancement and 31 percent who resigned due to remote work or relocation opportunities.

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