OMB Instructs Federal Agencies to Resume Annual Workspace Plan Development
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OMB Instructs Federal Agencies to Resume Annual Workspace Plan Development

The Office of Management and Budget has set Dec. 16 as the deadline for all federal agencies to complete annual capital plans that define real property assets needed to accommodate government employees and contractors in a post-COVID-19 work environment.

OMB Shalanda Young told department heads in a memorandum Wednesday that their organizations should look into factors such as mission and customer needs when determining physical space requirements.

Young said agencies should also work with chief human capital officers to review workplace reentry personnel policies and with chief Information officers to study how online collaboration tools, cybersecurity platforms and cloud-based software products can affect future office spaces.

“The development of the capital plan should run parallel to and be in alignment with the development of the annual President’s budget request,” the memo states.

The new directive comes nearly one year after OMB paused its governmentwide real property planning requirement due to the pandemic.

Agencies must submit annual plans for fiscal year 2024 through fiscal 2028 to OMB and the Federal Real Property Council.

GMU Center for GovCon Study Sings Praises of Consortia Model for Defense Acquisitions
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GMU Center for GovCon Study Sings Praises of Consortia Model for Defense Acquisitions

A recent research report issued by the George Mason University Center for Government Contracting has endorsed the consortia model for the U.S. Department of Defense acquisition strategy.

The consortia model was touted by the GMU CFGC study as encouraging open communications between government and industry participants and as lowering the barrier of entry for nontraditional defense contracting organizations, George Mason said last Wednesday.

Stephanie Halcrow, one of the report’s co-authors and a senior fellow at the GMU center, identified the consortia model as playing “a vital and growing role in the defense innovation ecosystem.”

“Going forward, we see the role of consortia only increasing as the need for innovation and expanding the industrial base continues to be critical for the security of the nation and our warfighters,” Halcrow continued.

The report’s other scribe was Moshe Schwartz, president of business management consulting firm Etherton & Associates.

Through attractions such as dedicated collaboration events, the report indicated that the consortia model might be able to boost the speed of acquisitions and thus allow the DOD acquisition workforce to attend to other tasks. In addition, the report enumerated the benefits of the consortia model as setting in place a preestablished network of supplier options with various specialties as well as aiding  government program offices who are inexperienced in carrying out other transaction agreements.

Entitled “The Power of Many: Leveraging Consortia to Promote Innovation, Expand the Defense Industrial Base, and Accelerate Acquisition,” the report was sourced from a set of DOD consortia that furnished data and case studies. Halcrow and Schwartz also conducted interviews, research and data analysis.

The duo also list seven recommendations for enhancing the consortia model in the future.

“This report indicates that when done right, consortia expand the industrial base, promote collaboration, and more efficiently deliver the innovative technologies our armed forces require to maintain their edge,” shared Schwartz.

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Gregory Robinson to Retire as NASA Webb Program Director
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Gregory Robinson to Retire as NASA Webb Program Director

Gregory Robinson, director of NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope Program since 2018, is set to retire on Friday after 33 years of service at the agency.

As Webb program director, Robinson leads approximately 20,000 personnel who support the observatory mission that paved the way for the government to collect infrared images of the distant universe, NASA said Friday.

The Northrop Grumman-built JWST spacecraft lifted off Dec. 25 at the European Space Agency’s spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, aboard an Ariane 5 rocket.

“Put simply, Greg is everything a public servant should be. The proof is in the pudding: Webb will give humanity a new view of the cosmos and fundamentally alter our understanding of the universe,” NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said.

Robinson previously served as deputy associate administrator for programs at the agency’s science mission directorate, where he oversaw 114 missions between February 2015 and March 2018.

Prior to that role, he worked as deputy director at the Glenn Research Center for two years and led a major reorganization initiative there aimed at project performance improvements for the Ohio-based facility.

He spent the first 11 years of his NASA career at the Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland and also held deputy chief engineer role at the agency from 2005 to 2013.

Robinson helped formulate the Joint Polar Satellite System program as part of a detail assignment with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

TIME featured him in the magazine’s annual list of the “Most Influential People” for 2022.

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Booz Allen Teams With Acalvio to Bring Autonomous Cyber Tech to Government; Garrettson Blight Quoted
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Booz Allen Teams With Acalvio to Bring Autonomous Cyber Tech to Government; Garrettson Blight Quoted

Booz Allen Hamilton has joined forces with cybersecurity software company Acalvio Technologies to assist federal government agencies with strengthening cyber posture.

The partnership will focus on the joint deployment of an Acalvio-created autonomous deception platform to try and curb advanced persistent threats, ransomware and insider threats, the McLean, Virginia-based company said Monday.

“To outpace the adversary, it is imperative that government and commercial organizations better integrate and synchronize the way they conduct cyber offense and defense,” commented Garrettson Blight, director of national cyber solutions at Booz Allen.

Blight went on to describe how Booz Allen’s collaboration with Acalvio accomplishes this objective via the harnessing of offensive insights to power cyber defense, with the products operationalizing data at a fast rate so they can meet the demands of governments protecting information.

The autonomous deception product offered by Acalvio, ShadowPlex, is reportedly the sole cyber deception certified to be used in secure government environments by FedRAMP. It works by identifying, inspecting and answering malicious incursions within information technology and operational technology architectures, both on-site and in the cloud.

The product’s deployment is positioned to prioritize the alerts of fraudulent and ill intent activity and provide early detection of threats.

Acalvio’s signature Deception Farm tool, which utilizes bait and decoys such as fake hosts or “honeypots” to lure and trick hackers in order to gain more insights, will be added to Booz Allen’s robust portfolio of capabilities through the new partnership. Their existing catalog includes reverse engineering, defensive technologies, predictive analytics, vulnerability assessments, proactive threat hunting and artificial intelligence and machine learning in anticipation of bad actors.​

Booz Allen and Acalvio’s joint offerings will be delivered to government entities programmed and ready to ‘plug and play.’ They are additionally intended to bolster Booz Allen’s current threat hunting, detection engineering and zero trust strategies.

Earlier this month, Booz Allen established a $100 million venture capital arm entitled Booz Allen Ventures that is set to make investments in technology startups creating services in AI and ML and deep technology and cybersecurity. This fund may play a role in their work with Acalvio.

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TSA Extends Pipeline Cybersecurity Directive; David Pekoske Quoted
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TSA Extends Pipeline Cybersecurity Directive; David Pekoske Quoted

The Transportation Security Administration has modified and extended by one year its cybersecurity mandate for owners and operators of oil and natural gas pipelines by one year.

The policy announced Thursday requires industry to develop a plan for the implementation of network segmentation, access control, continuous monitoring and patch management measures.

TSA also instructed pipeline companies to create a document on how they intend to respond to security incidents that may cause operational disruption or business degradation, as well as form a program to test the effectiveness of their cybersecurity practices.

“We recognize that every company is different, and we have developed an approach that accommodates that fact, supported by continuous monitoring and auditing to assess achievement of the needed cybersecurity outcomes,” TSA Administrator David Pekoske said.

The agency issued its first sector directive in May of last year in response to the Colonial Pipeline ransomware attack.

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Shereef Elnahal Receives Senate Confirmation as VA Undersecretary for Health
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Shereef Elnahal Receives Senate Confirmation as VA Undersecretary for Health

Dr. Shereef Elnahal, former president and CEO of University Hospital in Newark, New Jersey, has received confirmation from the Senate to serve as undersecretary for health in the Veterans Health Administration within the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., chairman of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, said in a statement published Thursday Elnahal brings extensive experience leading health care systems and agencies in his new role.

Elnahal takes over from Dr. Steve Lieberman, who has served as the VA undersecretary for health on an acting basis since July 2021.

Prior to taking the helm at University Hospital in 2019, Elnahal was New Jersey’s 21st health commissioner. He also served in the VA as assistant deputy undersecretary for health for quality, safety and value from 2016 through 2018.

Elnahal is the co-founder of the VHA Innovation Ecosystem, a program aimed at improving veteran care innovations and best practices.

“Now more than ever, the Department needs permanent, qualified leadership to guide the nation’s largest integrated health care system in the right direction. I look forward to working with him in his new role to implement needed reforms to ensure veterans have access to the timely health care and services they’ve earned,” Tester said.

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Army G-6 Welcomes Christopher Thomas as Director for Cybersecurity Integration, Synchronization
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Army G-6 Welcomes Christopher Thomas as Director for Cybersecurity Integration, Synchronization

Christopher Thomas, former director of information technology for the Headquarters, U.S. Army Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff, G-9, has been named director for cybersecurity integration and synchronization in the Headquarters, U.S. Army Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff, G-6

In his new role, Thomas will help guide the development and execution of strategy, policy and guidance for the U.S. Army’s information technology and cybersecurity assurance initiatives, the service branch said Thursday.

“His new responsibilities as the Cybersecurity Director place him squarely in the middle of one of the Defense Department’s and the Army’s top strategic priorities,” said Lt. Gen. John Morrison, deputy chief of staff for cyber of the Army.

Thomas has held several leadership positions in the federal government cyber and IT sector, including as chief of cybersecurity policy of the U.S. Coast Guard and deputy chief of the Defense Intelligence Agency’s Systems Certification Division.

He also served as a cryptologic technician, collection analyst and cryptologist during his more than two-decade career in the U.S. Navy.

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House OKs FY23 Spending Package With Cybersecurity Funding for Federal Judiciary
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House OKs FY23 Spending Package With Cybersecurity Funding for Federal Judiciary

The House on Wednesday voted 220-207 to approve a potential $492.6 billion spending package for fiscal year 2023, Reuters reported Friday.

The package would earmark $8.6 billion in FY 2023 discretionary appropriations for the federal judiciary, including approximately $751 million for court security and $128 million for cybersecurity improvements to protect computer systems from cyberattacks.

The legislation proposes a 17 percent increase in spending for financial services and general government funding, including election security grants and appropriations for the Small Business Administration and initiatives to rebuild the Internal Revenue Service, The Hill reported.

The bill also includes funding for the departments of Homeland Security, Veterans Affairs, Energy, Transportation and Agriculture and is now headed to the Senate for consideration.

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White House Holds Off on Clearing Ukraine’s Request for Gray Eagle Drones
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White House Holds Off on Clearing Ukraine’s Request for Gray Eagle Drones

The Biden administration has delayed the approval of Ukraine’s request for long-range armed drones over several concerns, including escalation, the need to train Ukrainian warfighters to use the aircraft and the potential loss of highly sensitive technology from the battlefield, The Wall Street Journal reported Friday.

According to the report, Ukraine asked the U.S. government to provide four units of the General Atomics-built MQ-1C Gray Eagle drone, which can transport up to four Hellfire missiles at a range of more than 200 miles.

“Receipt of these drones would significantly expand Ukraine’s intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance and precision-strike capabilities, enabling Ukraine to surveil and strike Russian targets at much greater range,” said Jennifer Cafarella, national security fellow at the Washington-based Institute for the Study of War. 

Navy Capt. Mike Kafka, a spokesman for the Department of Defense, said DOD does not “comment on internal deliberations” and is working closely Ukraine “to fill critical capabilities Ukraine needs for the battlefield.”

C. Mark Brinkley, a spokesman for General Atomics, said the company has offered to shoulder all costs related to training an initial batch of Ukrainian operators of the drone’s avionics, sensors and maintenance.

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Derrick Duke Named Chief Executive Officer of Magellan Health
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Derrick Duke Named Chief Executive Officer of Magellan Health

Longtime healthcare industry executive Derrick Duke has been elevated to the role of chief executive officer at Magellan Health.

Formerly the company’s chief operating officer and chief financial officer, Duke will now lead Magellan’s strategic efforts and market expansion, the Phoenix, Arizona-based organization said July 7.

Expressing his pride to be trusted with the company’s leadership, Duke remarked that he is grateful to help steer a company that is concentrated on bettering communities’ health and wellbeing.

The executive’s first notable health industry role was as executive vice president and chief investment officer of National Health Insurance, which has since become a subsidiary of Allstate Insurance.

Subsequently, Duke spent 15 years at health insurance agency and notable ancillary insurance product underwriting operation HealthMarkets. At the latter company, he occupied positions such as chief investment officer, chief financial officer and chief operating officer, working as CFO and COO leading up to the company’s acquisition by UnitedHealth Group.

At HealthMarkets, Duke refined his skills with demanding financial, actuarial, customer services, information technology and underwriting responsibilities, experience he is expected to channel into his new role overseeing the formulation and implementation of Magellan’s business strategy.

Duke is succeeding previous CEO Ken Fasola in his new role. Fasola was CEO for two and a half years and like Duke, also served at HealthMarkets.

“Derrick is a tremendous executive who will provide exemplary leadership to Magellan as it continues on its growth journey,” assured Fasola.

The change in leadership is partially the result of Magellan’s sale to Centene in January. Fasola will now act as executive vice president of Health Care Enterprises at Centene.

As part of the organization’s wave of shifts in its executive team, Anna Sever was appointed interim CEO of Magellan’s federal arm in April.

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