/
Eric Goldstein: CISA Seeks Input on 2 Secure Cloud Business Applications Guidance Documents
Published on
Eric Goldstein: CISA Seeks Input on 2 Secure Cloud Business Applications Guidance Documents

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency is soliciting comments on two initial guidance documents that were developed as part of the Secure Cloud Business Applications project.

The SCuBA project seeks to help ensure the security of agency data assets in cloud environments through the development of modern security configurations, Eric Goldstein, executive assistant director for cybersecurity at CISA, wrote in a blog post published Tuesday.

SCuBA, which was funded via the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, intends to help agencies implement security practices when using cloud services.

One of the documents is the SCuBA Technical Reference Architecture, a security guide that agencies can use to adopt tech platforms for zero-trust models, cloud deployment, secure architecture, and adaptable platforms.

CISA is also requesting input on the Extensible Visibility Reference Framework Guidebook, which is meant to help organizations determine potential visibility gaps and visibility data for use in threat mitigation.

“Our intent is to properly address cybersecurity and visibility gaps within cloud-based business applications that have long hampered our collective ability to adequately understand and manage cyber risk across the Federal and IT enterprise,” Goldstein wrote. 

“In addition, CISA is working towards guidance on recommended cybersecurity configuration based for select products that is likely to be released in the coming months,” he added.

Comments on the SCuBA guidance documents are due May 19th.

/
Industry Groups Offer Key Considerations for Upcoming Executive Order to Counter Identity Theft
Published on
Industry Groups Offer Key Considerations for Upcoming Executive Order to Counter Identity Theft

Six technology industry groups have called on White House officials to consider four additional priorities as the Biden administration works on a new executive order to prevent identity theft in benefits and services delivery and support victims of identity fraud.

The Cybersecurity Coalition, Better Identity Coalition and four other trade groups urged administration officials to provide tools that could help U.S. citizens safeguard themselves from identity thieves, including the deployment of mobile driver’s licenses, according to an April 13th letter obtained by FCW.

The groups said the EO should direct the Department of Homeland Security and the National Institute of Standards and Technology to speed up the development of guidance and standards to enable states to introduce remote identity proofing applications for mDLs.

Other priorities that should be considered in drafting the order are ensuring access of identity theft victims to direct assistance; establishing a governmentwide approach to enable identity attribute validation services; and requiring NIST to establish a Digital Identity Framework of best practices and standards to help agencies create attribute validation and other digital identity services.

The Electronic Transactions Association, Identity Theft Resource Center, National Cyber Security Alliance and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Technology Engagement Center also signed the letter.

/
DISA to Update Military Emergency Communications System
Published on
DISA to Update Military Emergency Communications System

The Defense Information Systems Agency has crafted a strategy to help the Department of Defense implement an emergency response system for military personnel to communicate with 9-1-1 call centers via text message and video or voice calls.

DISA said Monday it will work with the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency’s Emergency Communications Preparedness Center to secure DOD networks during the Next Generation 9-1-1 system transition process.

The DOD NG911 modernization approach seeks to establish a standard for on-demand data collection, processing, storage, management and dissemination and management.

The agency intends for the updated system to help military public safety answer points route Session Initiation Protocol-based communications over the DOD Information Network.

/
Nokia Taps Ken Riordan to Lead Government Communications Business
Published on
Nokia Taps Ken Riordan to Lead Government Communications Business

Telecommunications specialist Ken Riordan has returned to Nokia as principal architect for its U.S. government-facing task force.

In his new position, Riordan will build on his prior experience servicing federal clients with cell technologies in order to spearhead the creation and implementation of communications networks for Nokia’s public sector customers, the Finland-based company said Tuesday.

Riordan commented that he is “thrilled” to again partner with Nokia, where he previously worked for nearly seven years from 2011 to 2018.

He began at the company as head of its device business segment, where he developed and sold consumer data devices and femtocell products. Riordan then designed and offered in-building wireless products as Nokia’s senior director of small cell products, before rising to the position of senior director of business development for the enterprise’s mobile networks department.

Prior to that, Riordan spent over 12 years with Motorola performing work surrounding mobile handsets and consumer data devices. 

Regarding his new appointment, Riordan shared, “Much like my previous work with Alphabet’s project Loon, our success will depend on leveraging Nokia’s deep portfolio of technology assets and adapting those assets to the unique needs of our Federal Government customers,” Riordan explained.

At Loon LLC, an Alphabet-owned organization, Riordan occupied the role of head of product management for connectivity solutions, wherein he was at the forefront of a high-altitude platform station project. During his time at Loon he also launched the inaugural commercial HAPS network and was on the ground floor of the HAPS Alliance, in which he will continue to participate on Nokia’s behalf as president and member of the board of directors.

In the past, Riordan also resided on the executive board of the Small Cell Forum and acted as technical committee chair and forum vice-chair at the Wireless Innovation Forum.

As principal architect at Nokia, Riordan will be focused on adapting emerging commercial technologies, especially 3GPP and 5G, for the needs of the federal government. His efforts will be targeted to tactical communications, security and resilient networks.

//
Iridium Showcases First Quarter 2022 Financial Results; CEO Matt Desch Quoted
Published on
Iridium Showcases First Quarter 2022 Financial Results; CEO Matt Desch Quoted

Satellite provider Iridium Communications has made public its first quarter 2022 financial report, announcing a total revenue of $168.2 million.

The McLean, Virginia-headquartered company said Tuesday that net income was $2.8 million for the first quarter of the year, a precipitous increase from its net loss of $5.2 million in the first quarter of 2021.

Matt Desch, CEO of Iridium and an eight-time Wash100 Award winner, characterized the company’s Q1 business as answering to “strong demand.”

“I’m continually amazed at the innovative ways in which our technology and distribution partners utilize our unique satellite network to drive growth and serve their respective markets,” Desch continued.

Out of its total $168.2 million quarter revenue, $126.1 million constituted service revenue, or periodically recurring subscriber revenue, and $42.1 million was attributable to equipment sales and engineering and support endeavors.

The company’s revenue totaled 15 percent more than the year-ago period in 2021, with a nine percent uptick in service revenue as compared to Q1 2021’s figure. Operational EBITDA for Iridium likewise experienced a 15 percent increase from last year’s first quarter result to this year, reaching the new height of $103.2 million.

At the conclusion of the first quarter 2022, Iridium claimed over 1.7 million billable subscribers in contrast to around 1.5 million subscribers by the end of Q1 2021. This represents a year-over-year gain of 17 percent, which the company says is largely a byproduct of its expanding commercial Internet of Things technology business.

Public sector revenue was $26.5 million during the first quarter of 2022 and included a government subscriber count of 146,000. Iridium’s main public sector offerings are its voice and data services, which aim to assist military personnel with situational awareness and tracking assets in challenging deployment areas. Government voice and data subscribers came in at a three percent ascension from the previous year period.

Iridium anticipates a hearty remaining three quarters of fiscal year 2022, with service revenue growth of five to seven percent for the entire year, as well as an OEBIDTA landing in the $400 to $410 million range.

“Cash flow remains very strong,” Desch concluded, assuring that the company will “continue to execute on our long-standing promise to return capital to shareholders.”

//
NNSA Highlights $8.1B Economic Impact of Lawrence Livermore’s Tech Transfer Activity
Published on
NNSA Highlights $8.1B Economic Impact of Lawrence Livermore’s Tech Transfer Activity

The National Nuclear Security Administration revealed in a report that the technology transfer agreements signed by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory with the private sector between 2000 to 2020 generated $8.1 billion in economic impact and $3.5 billion in sales of products and services.

The Department of Energy said Monday NNSA conducted a study that quantified the economic impact of 200 cooperative research and development agreements and 208 license agreements the laboratory signed with private companies during the period. 

Using the IMPLAN model for quantifying economic impacts, NNSA projected that the technology transfer activities supported nearly 30,000 jobs over the last two decades and made approximately $831 million in federal, state and local tax revenue.

The agreements also generated approximately $224 million in sales to the U.S. government and resulted in more than $696 million in cost savings.

The report was a result of a study conducted by economic researchers from Techlink, which collected and analyzed sales and jobs data from 294 businesses in 2021.

/
Army Researchers Study Supply Chain Resilience in Nano-Enabled COVID Vaccine Production
Published on
Army Researchers Study Supply Chain Resilience in Nano-Enabled COVID Vaccine Production

Researchers from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers have published a paper looking at the resilience of nanotechnology supply chains that support the production of COVID vaccines.

The team looked at the impact of supply chain disruptions on manufacturing bottom line and product availability, as well steps for mitigating and recovering from such interruptions, Igor Linkov of the Army Engineering Research and Development Center’s Environmental Laboratory, said in an article Monday.

Benjamin Trump, an EL research social scientist and the paper’s lead, explained that the study used supply chain operations for nano-enabled products as an example to stress the importance of resilience and efficiency in distribution networks.

“We have tried to attract attention to the problem that in manufacturing nano-enabled products, supply chain operations are foundational logistical challenges that require careful governance,” added Trump.

The Army researchers’ paper is currently available in the journals Vaccine and Current Opinion in Chemical Engineering.

//
Shaw, Seymour Johnson Air Force Bases to Receive RF Monitoring Tools in Spring; Laurence Triggs Quoted
Published on
Shaw, Seymour Johnson Air Force Bases to Receive RF Monitoring Tools in Spring; Laurence Triggs Quoted

The U.S. Air Force is scheduled to install electromagnetic spectrum monitoring systems at two bases in spring that would help monitor radio frequency signals around military installations.

The Air Combat Command will initially field EMS tools at Shaw Air Force Base in South Carolina and Seymour Johnson AFB in North Carolina, the service branch said Monday.

The monitoring systems will collect data from electromagnetic radiation from radio, aircraft communication and other applications around bases and send the information to the ACC headquarters for analysis.

They could also be used in tandem with the Air Force’s counter-unmanned aerial system technologies in defense of an installation’s area of operations.

“[Now] we can visualize our spectrum output and also alert base defense if abnormalities are detected,” explained Laurence Triggs, ACC’s EMS Operations branch chief.

The Air Force command plans to outfit all of its bases with monitoring systems in the future, should funding permit. The installation plans follow the completion of a pilot program conducted at Joint Base Langley-Eustis in Virginia in 2021.

/
Cubic Mission & Performance Solutions’ Lawrence Hollister Talks Innovating at ‘Speed of Need’ with Potomac Officers Club
Published on
Cubic Mission & Performance Solutions’ Lawrence Hollister Talks Innovating at ‘Speed of Need’ with Potomac Officers Club

Cubic Mission and Performance Solutions’ Vice President Lawrence Hollister was featured in a recent Executive Spotlight interview with the Potomac Officers Club to shed light on his professional leadership method and share his thoughts on how to drive success in the government contracting industry.

In this excerpt from his spotlight, Hollister discussed how United States military services must shift their priorities and remain agile in order to respond to evolving national security needs in today’s defense landscape:

“Manufacturing, workforce and focused research and development are the three key challenges shaping a company’s ability to innovate at the speed of need. Technological superiority on the battlefield gives our U.S. servicemen and women the necessary advantage to take on and win against any adversary. 

At a time of increasing global competition and rising tensions, the need for robust, fast defense innovation is clear. To maintain and increase our technological advantage, we must continue to seek new strategies and techniques to get innovative solutions to warfighter capability gaps and into the hands of our warfighters faster, but also more sustainably. At the same time, we must balance immediate priorities to extend the frontier of future defense capabilities. 

Without this focus, the U.S. will eventually fall behind on the battlefield. There is no handbook for innovation – future successes will rely on the foundation of know-how and experience, built on decades of persistent focus from passionate professionals that desire to accelerate technology from the whiteboard to the warfighter.”

Click here to read the full Executive Spotlight interview with Cubic’s Lawrence Hollister, and check out PotomacOfficersClub.com to learn more about membership.

//
VP Kamala Harris Announces US Commitment to Ending Anti-Satellite Missile Tests
Published on
VP Kamala Harris Announces US Commitment to Ending Anti-Satellite Missile Tests

Vice President Kamala Harris announced that the U.S. pledged not to carry out destructive direct-ascent anti-satellite missile tests as part of efforts to establish international rules and norms for the responsible and sustainable use of space, Politico reported Monday.

“We are the first nation to make such a commitment. And today, on behalf of the United States of America, I call on all nations to join us,” Harris said Monday during her speech at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.

The U.S., India, Russia and China have performed ASAT tests by launching a missile to destroy a satellite in space, resulting in thousands of pieces of space debris that could pose a risk to other satellites and astronauts, according to the report.

The recent test was conducted by Russia in November. Harris, who also leads the National Space Council, said such tests are part of efforts to build anti-satellite weapons, which could destroy U.S. satellites that are critical to national security.

She also mentioned a set of principles called Artemis Accords meant to establish a transparent and safe environment for space exploration, commercial and science activities.

“As we move forward, we will remain focused on writing new rules of the road to ensure all space activities are conducted in a responsible, peaceful, and sustainable manner,” Harris added.

1 … 827 828 829 830 831 … 2,610