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TechnoMile Taps Deepika Gangireddy to Lead Professional Services as SVP; Ashish Khot Quoted
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TechnoMile Taps Deepika Gangireddy to Lead Professional Services as SVP; Ashish Khot Quoted

Customer experience and technology specialist Deepika Gangireddy has been added to the TechnoMile team as its senior vice president of professional services.

The McLean, Virginia-based company said Tuesday that Gangireddy is expected to foster and direct the software implementation division at TechnoMile, as well as reinforce implementation efforts and oversee end-to-end service delivery with an eye toward the client.

“Deepika has a passion for customer success and she brings deep experience successfully integrating people, processes and technology to optimize services organizations,” remarked Ashish Khot, CEO of TechnoMile.

Gangireddy’s career began as a technology lead for companies such as Mahindra Satyam BPO, Serena Software and JPMorgan Chase, where she was in charge of applications in the credit card data warehouse team and concentrated on constructing data marts for operational and analytical use.

The executive went on to work for Apttus and, subsequently, Conga, when the latter software enterprise acquired the former. For Conga, she spearheaded the services business in the North America East, EMEA and APAC regions, facilitating numerous contract lifecycle management inactions and played a role in scaling the global services outfit.

With experience in launching ambitious portfolios of strategic and tactical strategies, Gangireddy brings a wide span of capabilities to her new role at TechnoMile, including customer adoption and lifecycle management, strategy development and execution and education services, among others.

Gangireddy elucidated that TechnoMile’s customization of technologies to the intricate needs of the federal government is her primary draw to the company.

“It’s exciting that TechnoMile is changing this paradigm by delivering solutions that are purpose-built for the needs of GovCon and aerospace and defense organizations…I’m looking forward to helping TechnoMile customers find success leveraging our technology to transform and grow their businesses.”

The appointment of Gangireddy is the company’s first major hire since a string of announcements in August 2021. Ravi Aiyer and Shane Forsyth joined TechnoMile as vice president of engineering and VP of marketing, respectively and Kevin Brancato was installed as SVP of product strategy.

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NIST Launches Prize Competition for First Responder Incident Management Tech Modernization
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NIST Launches Prize Competition for First Responder Incident Management Tech Modernization

The National Institute of Standards and Technology has teamed up with consulting firm LMI and online outsourcing marketplace Freelancer to facilitate a contest that seeks existing or new incident command dashboard tools for emergency response personnel.

Participants in the Command Dashboard Integrating Next-Gen Technology Challenge will aim to demonstrate visual display models through virtual and augmented reality, mobile and web-based platforms, among others, NIST said Monday.

The agency plans to award $1 million worth of prizes during the CommanDING Tech competition, which kicked off Monday and will continue through early March 2023.

NIST introduced the four-part challenge to address user interface and data access limitations observed in current incident management systems that support first responder missions.

For the first phase, challengers must present their dashboard proposals in a concept paper along with a video or a photo and submit the materials by July 31. Phase two is made-up of public safety collaboration and video demonstration segments.

The third stage will be an assessment activity slated to take place at a Department of Commerce-operated laboratory in Boulder, Colorado, and the final phase will require teams to deploy dashboards at a staged public safety event for a live demonstration.

NIST said the University of Houston, University of Memphis and the First Responder Network Authority serve as challenge partners.

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AT&T, DOD Demonstrate 5G Smart Warehouse Tech at Naval Base Coronado; Lance Spencer Quoted
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AT&T, DOD Demonstrate 5G Smart Warehouse Tech at Naval Base Coronado; Lance Spencer Quoted

AT&T announced on Tuesday that the company has participated in the demonstration of the latest 5G-powered technology solutions from the U.S. Navy and the Department of Defense (DoD) that can support the establishment of a Naval “Smart Warehouse.”

“The AT&T 5G-powered solution we’ve delivered at Naval Base Coronado is a first of its  kind, high-performance, highly secure, and scalable private network solution,” said Lance Spencer, client executive vice president of Défense for AT&T Public Sector and FirstNet. “We expect it will serve as the foundation for improved efficiency, timeliness, accuracy, security, and safety of Naval warehouse operations.”

The 5G Smart Warehouse project at Naval Base Coronado is the DoD program’s use-case  incorporating 5G capabilities for transhipments between shore facilities and naval units. AT&T’s 5G network offers DoD the ability to scale its 5G-enabled smart warehouse solution and supports global access for DoD users via roaming capabilities used with AT&T’s network infrastructure.

The demonstrations occurred at Naval Base Coronado in San Diego where the smart warehouse concept is being explored by DoD, which featured the optimization of warehouse operations for the  5G Radio Access Network as well as 5G-enabled augmented reality and virtual reality capabilities to support military training, and high-definition video surveillance.

“We’re not just building for our warfighters. We are also innovating with the American citizen in mind. DoD is working to accelerate the development and deployment of 5G-enabled capabilities across many use cases while ensuring those systems,” said Amanda Toman, acting Principal Director of 5G-NextG, Office of the Undersecretary of Defense, Research & Engineering.

Moving forward, AT&T expects to connect our high-speed, low-latency 5G service with smart warehouse application infrastructure to support DoD’s objectives of leveraging 5G for smart operations and vastly increased asset visibility.

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USPTO Launches Partnership With AI & Emerging Tech Communities
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USPTO Launches Partnership With AI & Emerging Tech Communities

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office will formalize a partnership with communities working on artificial intelligence and emerging technologies to encourage collaboration in support of AI/ET-related initiatives that impact intellectual property policy issues.

In a USPTO notice posted Tuesday on the Federal Register site, the agency expressed intent to meet with representatives from academia, small businesses, industry, government organizations, nonprofits and other communities to explore related efforts.

The AI/ET Partnership will focus on the intersection of IP policy and emerging technologies and its resulting issues. USPTO seeks to gain public input on the IP policy issues affecting the community in an effort to inform its future work.

A series of virtual events will be hosted by the collaboration to tackle subject matter eligibility, inventorship, disclosure practice and other patent policy issues. Stakeholder engagements will also be included in the gatherings.

The inaugural meeting will be held virtually on June 29th. 

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DOE Calls for Clean Energy Cybersecurity Accelerator Submissions
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DOE Calls for Clean Energy Cybersecurity Accelerator Submissions

The Department of Energy is seeking cybersecurity offerings capable of authenticating distributed energy resources for modern electrical grid protection under the Clean Energy Cybersecurity Accelerator initiative.

DOE said Monday CECA will allow for expedited tech development in support of utilities looking to tackle security issues compromising modern energy platforms, with five participants planned to be selected for the program’s first cohort.

Partnership with utilities is one key feature of the initiative, providing organizations with access to cybersecurity innovation and to the testing and evaluation capabilities of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, which manages CECA.

Meanwhile, DOE’s Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security and Emergency Response sponsors the program along with utility industry partners.

“Through this testing platform, solutions providers will have the opportunity to test and validate technologies against the highest priority cyber threat scenarios, aiding in our efforts to outpace the speed of emerging threats to our evolving energy infrastructure,” said Kelly Speakes-Backman, principal deputy assistant secretary for energy efficiency and renewable energy.

Interested parties may submit applications until July 6th for CECA Cohort 1.

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CISA Director Jen Easterly: Americans Need ‘More Than a Password’ on Sensitive Online Accounts
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CISA Director Jen Easterly: Americans Need ‘More Than a Password’ on Sensitive Online Accounts

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency has urged private sector organizations to help raise public awareness about two-factor authentication as a method to strengthen the security of online accounts.

CISA said Monday it seeks to inform all people in the U.S. of the advantages of implementing a layered data protection approach through the campaign, dubbed More Than a Password.

The agency created a webpage that offers an informative guide and a social media toolkit as part of the awareness initiative.

“Whether you call it multi-factor or two-factor authentication, this simple step can make you 99% less likely to get hacked. Think of it like an airbag or the seatbelt in your car—an extra layer to keep you safe in the event of an accident,” said CISA Director Jen Easterly, a 2022 Wash100 Award winner.

Easterly urged Americans to ask their online service providers to offer the MFA feature if the tool is not yet available as a security option for their accounts.

CISA noted that the method can make it harder for cyber threat actors to breach information systems even if they compromised passwords through social engineering practices such as phishing.

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FTC Requests Input to Update Digital Advertising Guidance; Samuel Levine Quoted
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FTC Requests Input to Update Digital Advertising Guidance; Samuel Levine Quoted

The Federal Trade Commission is soliciting public feedback on its plan to update digital advertising and marketing guidelines the agency first released almost a decade ago to protect online buyers of goods and services from deceptive commercial practices.

FTC said Friday that it wants input on seven technical and legal issues, including the presence of “dark patterns” or website and mobile application designs that can influence buying decisions.

The planned business resource update is meant to stop businesses from using the agency’s existing guidance document as a defense for intentional and misleading sales tactics.

According to FTC, some companies hide disclosures behind hyperlinks and cite the guide to avoid any liability claims.

“We are looking to update the guides to make clear that online tricks and traps will not be tolerated, and we look forward to hearing from the public on this initiative,” said Samuel Levine, director of the Bureau of Consumer Protection. 

The public comment period is open through Aug. 2, with the submission instructions available for viewing on Regulations.gov.

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Biden Seeks to Accelerate Clean Energy Production With Défense Production Act Invocation
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Biden Seeks to Accelerate Clean Energy Production With Défense Production Act Invocation

President Biden has authorized the Department of Energy to use the Defense Production Act to advance domestic manufacturing of solar panel parts and other clean energy technologies.

The Biden administration will also expand U.S. production of building insulation, heat pumps, transformers and other electric grid components, electrolyzers, fuel cells and related platinum group metals through the invocation of the DPA, the White House said Monday.

With the DPA, the executive branch also aims to encourage the use of project labor agreements, community benefit agreements and other labor standards and promote projects with environmental justice outcomes.

“With the new DPA authority, DOE can help strengthen domestic solar, heat pump and grid manufacturing industries while fortifying America’s economic security and creating good-paying jobs, and lowering utility costs along the way,” said Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm.

Kathleen Hicks, deputy secretary of the Department of Defense and a 2022 Wash100 Award winner, said the president’s actions will help strengthen U.S. supply chains and “accelerate DoD’s transition toward clean energy technologies that can help strengthen military capability while creating good jobs for American workers.”

The president also directed the development of two federal procurement tools – master supply agreements and “super preferences” – to further promote domestic solar production capacity as well as the establishment of a 24-month bridge for certain solar imports while strengthening the integrity of trade processes and laws.

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Lawmakers Propose Data Privacy and Security Bill
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Lawmakers Propose Data Privacy and Security Bill

House and Senate leaders have issued a discussion draft of a bill that would establish a national framework to safeguard consumer data privacy and security. 

The proposed American Data Privacy and Protection Act would grant protections to U.S. citizens against the discriminatory use of their data and direct covered entities to comply with loyalty duties with regard to specific practices while ensuring that consumers do not have to pay for privacy, the House Energy and Commerce Committee said Friday. 

Reps. Frank Pallone, D-N.J., and Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., chairman and ranking member of the House panel, respectively, released the discussion draft of the bill with Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., ranking member of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee. 

The proposed measure would require covered entities to allow consumers to deactivate targeted advertisements, offer improved data protections for children and minors, create regulatory parity across the internet and foster innovation and provide small businesses and startups the opportunity to grow and compete. 

“This bill strikes a meaningful balance on issues that are critical to moving comprehensive data privacy legislation through Congress, including the development of a uniform, national data privacy framework, the creation of a robust set of consumers’ data privacy rights, and appropriate enforcement mechanisms,” the lawmakers said in a joint statement. 

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NGA Issues RFI for ODIN II Open-Source Geospatial Capabilities, Data Services Acquisition Effort
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NGA Issues RFI for ODIN II Open-Source Geospatial Capabilities, Data Services Acquisition Effort

The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency is soliciting information on potential industry sources that could provide technical support, open-source geospatial capabilities and non-NGA standard data services to improve interoperability, technology sharing and trust among allies and other partner countries.

The agency plans to launch an acquisition effort for the second iteration of the Operations, Development, Innovation for NGA contract, according to a request for information published Monday.

The proposed ODIN II contract will have a base period of one year and two option years, involve classified and unclassified work and require the contractor to have a Top Secret-facility clearance and cleared technical and administrative personnel.

According to the draft performance work statement, ODIN II seeks to provide operations, security and sustainment support for capabilities within the GEOINT Services platform and support work on GS-provisioned platforms and clouds to maintain services and applications as driven by functional and mission needs.

Performance requirements include program and contract management requirements, geocapabilities requirements, Agile development and open source platforms, including Open Street Map and OpenSphere.

The current ODIN contract is focused on capabilities within the Open Digital Services product line, including OpenStreetMap Suite, Ronin, OpenSphere, Tearline, Piper, SuiteCRM Engagement Platform and the Maritime Safety Information mobile application.

CACI International continues to provide software development, DevOps engineering, operations and sustainment, integration and testing support for GEOINT Services capabilities under the 18-month ODIN contract extension awarded in December.

Responses to the RFI in the form of a white paper should be submitted no later than June 20th.

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