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Micky Tripathi: ONC’s Network Interoperability Framework to Support Public Health Data Consolidation
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Micky Tripathi: ONC’s Network Interoperability Framework to Support Public Health Data Consolidation

Micky Tripathi, head of the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, expects a new interoperability framework to help federal agencies accumulate and share data across multiple networks, Federal News Network reported Wednesday.

Tripathi said at an FCW-hosted virtual event that an upcoming test of the Trusted Exchange Framework and the Common Agreement could include public health networks.

He thinks the departments of Health and Human Services, Veterans Affairs and Defense could exchange information faster with TEFCA.

His office worked with The Sequoia Project, a nonprofit organization in Virginia, to develop and implement TEFCA for compliance with the 21st Century Cures Act.

The national coordinator for health IT added that the agency aims to drive federal adoption of the framework and agreement to realize multinetwork interoperability.

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Col. Victor Argobright: Navy Program Office Eyes Unmanned Logistics Tech Market
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Col. Victor Argobright: Navy Program Office Eyes Unmanned Logistics Tech Market

The Navy and Marine Small Tactical Unmanned Aircraft Systems program office has been conducting market research to identify available systems from the commercial sector that can support logistics operations.

Naval Air Systems Command said Wednesday the office, also known as PMA-263, sought information on unmanned logistics platforms in the past few months in a push to accelerate warfighter capability deployment.

“The market is shifting rapidly and we are focused on getting emerging capabilities into the hands of the warfighter,” Col. Victor Argobright, program manager for STUAS, said at a Navy League symposium.

“That may mean shorter procurement intervals and regular evaluation of what is available in the industry.”

PMA-263 is set to conduct an extended user evaluation of a cargo delivery drone for U.S. Marines under the Tactical Resupply UAS effort.

The office also partnered with Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division to attract private sector participants to the ship-based Blue Water UAS program and asked for industry input on the availability of a medium system designed to handle more than 300 pounds of cargo while flying at a speed of 55 nautical miles.

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White House Unveils Strategy to Advance In-Space Servicing Capability Development
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White House Unveils Strategy to Advance In-Space Servicing Capability Development

The White House’s Office of Science and Technology Policy launched a national strategy that seeks to facilitate collaboration between government agencies and the private sector to advance the development of in-space servicing, assembly and manufacturing (ISAM) capabilities, SpaceNews reported Wednesday.

The strategy outlines six goals to promote ISAM capability development: advancing research and development related to ISAM; prioritizing the expansion of scalable infrastructure; accelerating the emerging ISAM commercial industry; promoting international collaboration and cooperation; fostering environmental sustainability; and inspiring the future space workforce.

Each of the strategic goals comes with recommended actions. The expansion of a scalable ISAM infrastructure, for instance, calls for the U.S. government to identify and address gaps in ground-based research facilities to back ISAM development and determine commercial space capabilities to implement for use in ground and space demonstration programs.

Ezinne Uzo-Okoro, assistant director for space policy at OSTP, cited the need for a plan to implement the national ISAM strategy. 

“We are looking forward to putting together an implementation plan,” said Uzo-Okoro. “We don’t want a strategy that’s released and forgotten about a week later. We want implementation actions that show we are serious about maturing these capabilities and moving the sector forward.”

The ISAM interagency working group of the White House’s National Science and Technology Council developed the strategy. 

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CISA, FBI, DOE, NSA Issue Advisory on Hackers Targeting Industrial Control Systems, SCADA Devices
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CISA, FBI, DOE, NSA Issue Advisory on Hackers Targeting Industrial Control Systems, SCADA Devices

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, Department of Energy, National Security Agency and the FBI have released a joint advisory on advanced persistent threat actors targeting industrial control systems and supervisory control and data acquisition devices.

Threat actors secure access to ICS and SCADA devices using custom-made tools that enable them to compromise and control such systems once they have gained access to the operational technology network, according to the advisory published Wednesday.

Using those tools or modules, cyberthreat actors can carry out reconnaissance on devices, alter device parameters and upload malicious code to targeted systems.

APT actors can target Windows-based engineering workstations using a tool that can undermine an ASRock motherboard driver with known cyber vulnerabilities.

The four agencies recommend several measures to protect ICS and SCADA devices from such threats, including the enforcement of multifactor authentication, development of a cyber incident response plan, adoption of a continuous monitoring platform for OT and implementation of a robust log collection and retention from ICS/SCADA systems and management subnets.

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Pentagon Announces $800M in Additional Security Assistance to Ukraine
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Pentagon Announces $800M in Additional Security Assistance to Ukraine

The Department of Defense announced that the Biden administration authorized an additional $800 million in security assistance to help Ukraine defend itself against Russian invasion.

Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby said Wednesday that the latest package brings the total U.S. security assistance to Ukraine to more than $3.2 billion since the start of the administration and marks the seventh drawdown of military equipment from the department’s inventories for the Eastern European country since August 2021.

Military capabilities in the security assistance package include Howitzers and artillery rounds; AN/TPQ-36 counter-artillery radars; Switchblade tactical unmanned aerial systems; M113 armored personnel carriers; Mi-17 helicopters; unmanned coastal defense vessels; and AN/MPQ-64 Sentinel air surveillance radars.

DOD will also provide armored high mobility multipurpose wheeled vehicles, optics and laser rangefinders, C-4 explosives and demolition equipment and M18A1 Claymore anti-personnel munitions.

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Former ManTech Exec Scott Garren Named CGO at Sigma Defense; CEO Matt Jones Quoted
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Former ManTech Exec Scott Garren Named CGO at Sigma Defense; CEO Matt Jones Quoted

Seasoned business development executive Scott Garren has joined defense contractor Sigma Defense Systems as chief growth officer.

In his new position, Garren will aim to strengthen Sigma’s edge services initiative in the various branches of the U.S. Department of Defense and oversee its strategic revenue efforts, the company said Wednesday. He will report to Matt Jones, CEO of Sigma Defense.

Jones remarked that Garren’s appointment is a “key step in the evolution of Sigma Defense” due to the company’s broadening portfolio and high expectancy of service delivery to the DOD.

“[Garren] is focused on the execution of our business strategy, growth acceleration and enhancement of our position as a leader in the market,” Jones continued.

The newly hired executive will leverage over two decades of shepherding expansion and business development in federal government-facing and technology sector roles. He was an associate at Booz Allen Hamilton for eight years and vice president and growth lead of defense at ManTech for 14 years.

Most recently, Garren was chief growth officer at Interactive Government Holdings, a small, veteran-owned business consulting and services firm.

As CGO at Sigma, Garren will additionally spend time emboldening the company’s customer relationships and industry collaborations while ensuring the organization’s reputation for providing advanced edge services to the U.S. military is strong.

The instatement of Garren comes after retired U.S. Army Lieutenant General Francis Beaudette was added to Sigma Defense’s board of advisers in January.

That same month, the company underwent a brand redesign with a new logo and website.

Bechtel Unveils Manufacturing and Technology Business; President Catherine Hunt Ryan Quoted
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Bechtel Unveils Manufacturing and Technology Business; President Catherine Hunt Ryan Quoted

Engineering, construction and project management company Bechtel has created a new business wing concerned with manufacturing and technology.

Bechtel Manufacturing and Technology will offer engineering, procurement and construction services for organizations in the semiconductor, electric vehicle, synthetic materials and data center industries, the company said Tuesday.

Catherine Hunt Ryan, president of the newly established business unit, said the decision to start the endeavor was made in order to increase market presence in “industrial facilities, data centers and advanced-technology manufacturing spaces.”

The team at BMT are set to develop, construct and implement supply chain systems for various technologies via the assembly of their component parts. They anticipate these processes to be difficult but made possible by a staff of advanced and experienced professionals.

“Differentiated by our ability to design for rapid advances in technology and deploy best-in-class construction innovation, Bechtel Manufacturing and Technology helps customers realize their ambitions in the next generation of manufacturing,” Ryan said.

Ryan previously held the position of chief financial officer at the company and is a member of its board of directors. She stated the new enterprise is “moving aggressively” in order to guarantee “supply chain integrity” and a fast-acting delivery of services.

The inception of the manufacturing and technology entity comes on the heels of manufacturing contracts like Bechtel Plant Machinery’s December 2021 $872 million modification award for naval nuclear propulsion part production.

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Army Seeks Sources of 5th Gen-Representative Aerial Targets for Military Training
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Army Seeks Sources of 5th Gen-Representative Aerial Targets for Military Training

The U.S. Army has released a sources sought notice for the development, integration and production of an aerial target prototype that can be used in ground and flight testing of fifth-generation aircraft.

The Army eyes the award of an indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract with a five-year base period and a two-year option period to just one company by fiscal 2023 for the prototypes, according to the notice posted on SAM.gov.

The service branch is interested in a low-cost and low-observable prototype that could emit passive signatures emulating fifth-generation fighters, carry external payloads, dispense chaff and flares, travel at transonic speeds, fly for up to 120 minutes and last for up to 50 hours.

The aerial targets will feature in various development and operational test and training such as red and blue force training programs, product verification, special tests and research and development activities.

Interested companies can submit information to the Army until April 26.

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Noblis Secures Patent for Autonomous Machine Cooperation Tech; Karl Wunderlich Quoted
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Noblis Secures Patent for Autonomous Machine Cooperation Tech; Karl Wunderlich Quoted

Noblis has received a patent for a technology designed to collectively optimize autonomous machines performing cooperative actions together.

The nonprofit said Tuesday its Noblis Orchestrated Autonomy technology allows autonomous machines to plan and consistently run motion to foster trust from other machines.

“Noblis Orchestrated Autonomy allows pick-up teams of autonomous machines to perform as if they have trained together extensively,” said Karl Wunderlich, a Noblis research team lead who also invented the system.

Wunderlich noted that the group of autonomous machines would self-organize and isolate compromised components if one of them malfunctions.

Noblis expects this technology to enable high-speed, coordinated actions for a range of applications, including self-organizing drones, unmanned undersea vehicles and movement coordination of autonomous vehicles.

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OPM’s Robert Shriver Delivers Updates on Cybersecurity Workforce Efforts
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OPM’s Robert Shriver Delivers Updates on Cybersecurity Workforce Efforts

Robert Shriver, associate director for employee services at the Office of Personnel Management, has given updates on three efforts to expand the federal government’s cybersecurity workforce.

OPM has released a new page on the MAX information system to centralize resources and best practices for coding cybersecurity positions, Shriver said in a memo issued Monday. The MAX system helps OPM gather, analyze, model and publish management and budgeting information.

This update aligns with requirements imposed by the Federal Cybersecurity Workforce Assessment Act of 2015 and supports existing guidance released in January 2017.

Second, OPM is promoting an inter-agency pilot program that aims to boost the visibility of job opportunity announcements relevant to federal cybersecurity.

Lastly, the agency’s Future of Work website now features a resource hub with information on hiring and maintaining federal cybersecurity employees.

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