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Vice Adm. Lisa Franchetti Nominated as Vice Chief of Naval Operations
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Vice Adm. Lisa Franchetti Nominated as Vice Chief of Naval Operations

U.S. Navy Vice Adm. Lisa Franchetti, director of strategy, plans and policy (J5) at the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has been nominated by President Biden to serve as the next vice chief of naval operations.

She also received the nomination to hold the rank of admiral, the Department of Defense said Tuesday. If confirmed by the Senate, Franchetti will succeed Adm. William Lescher, who has held the vice CNO role since May 2020.

Franchetti is a Rochester, New York, native, who was commissioned in 1985 through the Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps Program at Northwestern University.

She previously served as the U.S. Navy’s deputy chief of naval operations for warfighting development and commanded the U.S. 6th Fleet, U.S. Naval Forces Korea and Carrier Strike Groups 9 and 15.

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Jefferson Lab Establishes Research & Technology Partnerships Office; Director Stuart Henderson Quoted
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Jefferson Lab Establishes Research & Technology Partnerships Office; Director Stuart Henderson Quoted

The Department of Energy has created a new office at the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility to foster collaboration in support of research and technology innovation.

Jefferson Lab said the new Research and Technology Partnerships Office will drive the acquisition of additional partnership opportunities and promote initiatives aimed at leveraging the specialties and technologies of the Newport News, Virginia-based national laboratory.

The office will also be responsible for ensuring that the technology transfer process is observed by inventors.

“The establishment of the Research and Technology Partnerships Office is an important step to ensure the unique ideas and technologies that are developed here go on to benefit society, our nation and our region,” said Stuart Henderson, director of Jefferson Lab.

Marla Schuchman, a business strategist and marketing professional, was tapped to lead the office. She is tasked to oversee partnership development and industry engagement initiatives as well as to connect with Hampton Roads and the mid-Atlantic partners to support the lab’s regional priorities.

One of her plans for the office is to revamp the current processes to transform them into more agile, responsive and tailored steps for investors.

“The application of a particular technology may be in the commercial sector, incorporated into a novel or existing product or service. Or it may have so much potential that it can form the core offering of an entirely new business entity,” noted Schuchman.

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Vice Adm. Robert Sharp: NGA to Call on Industry for ‘GEOINT AI’ Program Support
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Vice Adm. Robert Sharp: NGA to Call on Industry for ‘GEOINT AI’ Program Support

Vice Adm. Robert Sharp, director of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency and a two-time Wash100 Award winner, said in his keynote speech at the GEOINT 2022 Symposium the agency plans to collaborate with industry to advance artificial intelligence and machine learning applications.

Sharp told the event audience that NGA will take over operations of GEOINT AI algorithms, platforms, test and evaluation processes under the Department of Defense’s Project Maven.

“In the months to come, we’ll be calling on industry, as we progress with this great responsibility. We want to move forward together, so we can deliver GEOINT at the pace that our warfighters and decision-makers need,” the NGA director said during his keynote address Monday.

DOD introduced the project, also known as the Algorithmic Warfare Cross-Function Team, in April 2017 to drive partnership opportunities across the business and academic sectors in efforts to develop AI-based technology, such as computer vision algorithms, for agency users to manage huge volumes of mission-critical data.

At the symposium, Sharp also gave an overview of three projects under NGA’s Foundation GEOINT initiative. He said one of these is the Source Maritime Automated Processing System, a navigation warning system slated to enter the operational phase by the end of April.

The other two Foundation GEOINT efforts center on the development of a backup to GPS and a gravity data collection instrument.

Vice Adm. Robert Sharp: NGA to Call on Industry for 'GEOINT AI' Program Support

Several Intelligence Community leaders will participate in GovCon Wire’s 2nd Annual IC Acquisition and Technology Innovation Summit on May 4. Sign up for this event to gain insights into how the business sector can help intelligence agencies integrate modern technology into their mission.

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NIST Releases Draft 5G Cybersecurity Publication; Jeff Cichonski Quoted
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NIST Releases Draft 5G Cybersecurity Publication; Jeff Cichonski Quoted

The National Institute of Standards and Technology is soliciting feedback on a draft publication designed to help network operators implement secure 5G networks.

The draft document titled 5G Cybersecurity Volume B: Approach, Architecture and Security Characteristics offers information on a 5G network that the NIST’s National Cybersecurity Center of Excellence is developing to demonstrate 5G cybersecurity capabilities, NIST said Tuesday.

NIST expects the network to enable researchers to come up with guidance that could be used by the wireless security community. The publication also includes a risk analysis of security capabilities that the standalone 5G network will demonstrate. 

“The information contained in the document highlights security features that 5G offers,” said Jeff Cichonski, an information technology specialist at NIST and one of the publication’s authors. “Understanding what’s available can be critical to help operators and users of 5G understand and manage their cybersecurity risk when it comes to 5G.”

Cichonski added that the document also intends to shed light on how cloud-focused security capabilities could help safeguard a 5G network. Comments on the draft publication are due June 27th.

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GSA Introduces Online Platform to Help Federal Agencies Plan Acquisition Journey
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GSA Introduces Online Platform to Help Federal Agencies Plan Acquisition Journey

The General Services Administration has unveiled a website designed to simplify the federal acquisition planning process for agencies and enable industry to facilitate the delivery of services and supplies to the federal marketplace.

The buy.gsa.gov website was developed using human-centered design and through usability testing and user research efforts involving GSA’s acquisition professionals, vendors and federal agencies, Sonny Hashmi, commissioner of GSA’s Federal Acquisition Service and a previous Wash100 Award winner, wrote in a blog post published Tuesday.

The online platform features pricing resources, documents and templates that could be used in acquisition planning; an interactive checklist and self-help modules for developing an acquisition package; and a tool that could enable users to carry out market research and find vendors and contract vehicles.

The Digital Innovation Division within GSA’s FAS oversees the development of the website.

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SBA Seeks Public Comment on Proposed Rule for Employee-Based Small Business Size Standards
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SBA Seeks Public Comment on Proposed Rule for Employee-Based Small Business Size Standards

The Small Business Administration is proposing an update to employee-based size standards across nine sectors under the North American Industrial Classification System and is seeking public comment on the rule change.

The proposal, published Tuesday on the Federal Register site, includes the manufacturing, transportation, information and professional, scientific and technical services sectors.

SBA intends to increase 150 size standards based on the number of employees in a move to expand eligibility for smaller companies that want to participate in the agency’s contracting and loan programs.

The public comment period is open through June 27th. Earlier this month, the agency released four final rules that increase 229 revenue-based size standards in 16 industrial sectors.

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CISA Names Bob Lord as Senior Technical Adviser; Director Jen Easterly Quoted
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CISA Names Bob Lord as Senior Technical Adviser; Director Jen Easterly Quoted

Bob Lord, who served as the first chief security officer at the Democratic National Committee, will join the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency as a senior technical adviser within CISA’s cybersecurity division.

“Bob’s decades of experience and unparalleled expertise will be a great asset as we further strengthen our community partnerships, expand the Joint Cyber Defense Collaborative, and continue our work as the nation’s cyber defense agency to make us more resilient,” Jen Easterly, director of CISA and a 2022 Wash100 Award winner, said in a statement published Monday.

Lord previously served as chief information security officer at Yahoo and CISO-in-residence at Rapid 7. He also worked at Twitter as head of the social networking service’s information security program.

“As we face a pivotal moment in time for cybersecurity, I’m thrilled to contribute my experience to support CISA’s efforts to reduce risk to critical infrastructure, strengthen its collaboration with industry and make basic cyber practices accessible to all Americans,” Lord said.

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DHS Finishes First Phase of Bug Bounty Program; Alejandro Mayorkas Quoted
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DHS Finishes First Phase of Bug Bounty Program; Alejandro Mayorkas Quoted

The Department of Homeland Security has concluded the first phase of its inaugural Hack DHS bug bounty program, with $125,600 in prizes awarded to successful cybersecurity researchers.

The DHS said Friday 450 participating ethical hackers identified 122 cybersecurity vulnerabilities within select external agency systems, with 27 considered by officials as critical weaknesses.

The second phase of Hack DHS will focus on in-person hacking while the third and final phase will involve informing future bug bounty programs.

Launched in December, the three-phase Hack DHS is designed to provide a template other organizations can use for improving their respective cybersecurity resilience.

“Hack DHS underscores our Department’s commitment to lead by example and protect our nation’s networks and infrastructure from evolving cybersecurity threats,” explained DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, a previous Wash100 Award winner.

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AT&T Receives 11 Year EIS Task Order to Modernize Army National Guard Command and Control Network; Lance Spencer Quoted
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AT&T Receives 11 Year EIS Task Order to Modernize Army National Guard Command and Control Network; Lance Spencer Quoted

AT&T announced on Tuesday that the company has been awarded a potential 11-year, $15 million task order from DISA’s Defense Information Technology Contracting Organization to help modernize GuardNet. The task order was awarded through the General Services Administration’s (GSA) Enterprise Infrastructure Solutions (EIS) contract.

“We’re bringing the right solution at the right time to modernize GuardNet,” said Lance Spencer, client executive vice president of Defense for AT&T Public Sector and FirstNet. “These are  critical networking services that can help the Army National Guard improve mission readiness and delivery.”

GuardNet provides the Army National Guard leadership with command and control capabilities across GuardNet sites in 50 U.S. states and four U.S. territories. The network allows Army National Guard soldiers to access the  Internet, connect with other networks and databases, and support training and mission planning and execution.

Under the task order, AT&T expects to deliver virtual private networking services to support the Army National Guard’s remote training services and provide the Department of Defense with high-speed, highly secure cloud connectivity.

GuardNet has grown into one of the largest, single-accredited networks for DoD with more than 124,000 users spread across 11-time zone, which includes 54 joint forces headquarters and another 2,312 locations geographically separated across the globe.

The Army National Guard helps communities recover from natural disasters, pandemics and civil disturbances, and has been doing so for nearly four centuries. Combining civilian acquired skills and experiences with their combat training, Army National Guard soldiers bring rich and unique capabilities to the joint force.

Where can I find more information? Go here for more information about AT&T’s work in the public sector. For more information about the Army National Guard, please click here.

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Rancher Government Solutions Receives STIG Validation From DISA; CEO Lynne Chamberlain Quoted
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Rancher Government Solutions Receives STIG Validation From DISA; CEO Lynne Chamberlain Quoted

Rancher Government Solutions (RGS) announced on Monday that the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) has published and validated the Security Technical Implementation Guide (STIG) for the Rancher Multi-cluster Manager version 2.6 (MCM) for Kubernetes.

“This announcement by DISA validates Rancher Government Solutions’ dedication, commitment and investment into ensuring that the open-source products we support meet the highest security standards of the DoD and IC,” said Lynne Chamberlain, president and CEO of Rancher Government Solutions.

As the popularity of containerized applications continues to rise, the Rancher MCM is the world’s most popular Kubernetes Management Platform, which has been downloaded more than 100 million times with over 46,000 installations across 4 million Kubernetes Pods worldwide.

The Rancher MCM lets DoD IT teams streamline cluster deployment on bare metal, private clouds, public clouds, vSphere and at the edge. It addresses the operational and security challenges of managing multiple Kubernetes clusters across any infrastructure while providing DevOps teams with integrated tools for running containerized workloads.

“This reinforces our commitment to supporting our government and DoD clients with a security-first mentality to meet the national security challenges of the future,” Lynne Chamberlain added.

The STIG validation allows the U.S. Government and specifically Department of Defense (DoD) military agencies to deploy and use the Rancher MCM 2.6 on DoD network systems as well as enables RGS to work with DISA to quickly validate and publish STIGs for major new releases of the platform.

The Rancher MCM is the only Kubernetes management platform to receive such a designation.

About Rancher Government Solutions

Rancher Government Solutions, a SUSE company, is specifically designed to address the unique security and operational needs of the U.S. Government and military as it relates to application modernization, containers and Kubernetes.

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