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Doug Cossa on DIA’s Modernization Plan for Top-Secret Network
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Doug Cossa on DIA’s Modernization Plan for Top-Secret Network

Doug Cossa, chief information officer of the Defense Intelligence Agency, said the five-year modernization plan for the top-secret network used to support intelligence operations, known as the Joint Worldwide Intelligence Communications System (JWICS), will start with technology refresh.

“The first part of modernization is the tech refresh — replacing the old hardware, the infrastructure that makes up the top-secret network,” Cossa told FedTech Magazine in an interview published Thursday.

“Routers, switches, encryption devices, everything that you think of in terms of what makes up a commercial network,” he added.

Cossa said the modernization plan also involves resiliency and redundancy.

“We have smart routing that can route around problems automatically. We also have backup lines, so if a primary line goes down, we have a backup line that we can fail over to, eliminating single points of failure,” he explained.

He highlighted the importance of zero trust and encryption on JWICS and other networks and the need for threat isolation and digital policy to ensure the security of information. Cossa also cited DIA’s preference for multi-cloud capabilities and how a common DevSecOps platform could support the agency’s cloud adoption efforts.

“One of my priorities as CIO is to have a common DevSecOps platform where we create one pathway to getting to the cloud and hosting applications and data, and where we have complete oversight of our cloud usage and making sure we’re using the right capabilities for the right purpose,” Cossa noted.

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CISA Issues ‘Shields Up’ Notice to Warn of Potential Russian Cyber Intrusions
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CISA Issues ‘Shields Up’ Notice to Warn of Potential Russian Cyber Intrusions

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) is warning federal agencies, companies and other critical organizations to be prepared for potential cyberattacks amid imminent Russian invasion of Ukraine, C4ISRNET reported Monday.

CISA noted in its Shields Up warning that cyber has been used by Russia as a key element of its force projection in the past 10 years.

“The Russian government understands that disabling or destroying critical infrastructure—including power and communications—can augment pressure on a country’s government, military and population and accelerate their acceding to Russian objectives,” CISA wrote in the Shields Up notice.

CISA recommends several measures organizations should take to improve their cybersecurity posture and protect critical assets. These steps are reducing the likelihood of a damaging cyberattack; taking steps to detect a potential intrusion; ensuring that the organization is prepared to respond in the event of an intrusion; and maximizing the organizations’ resilience to a destructive cyber incident.

To reduce the chances of a damaging cyberattack, organizations should validate all remote access to networks using multifactor authentication and prioritize software updates to address known exploited vulnerabilities, among other actions.

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SPA Taps Former DoD Exec Thomas Troyano as VP for Nuclear Modernization; CEO William Vantine Quoted
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SPA Taps Former DoD Exec Thomas Troyano as VP for Nuclear Modernization; CEO William Vantine Quoted

Thomas Troyano, a Department of Defense veteran, has been named vice president and technical fellow for nuclear modernization at defense and space contractor Systems Planning and Analysis.

The Alexandria, Virginia-based company announced Monday that Troyano’s new role will include strategizing, concept development and product quality assurance, as well as liaising with the Office of the Secretary of Defense and the Department of Homeland Security.

“Mr. Troyano’s unique experience and expertise in the nation’s critical nuclear modernization programs will be an invaluable asset to SPA and our customers and will further enhance our ability to help them solve their most challenging problems,” commented SPA President and CEO William Vantine.

At SPA, Troyano will also be expected to develop and broaden the company’s nuclear program portfolio. To do so, he will draw on his 28 years of experience in the Department of Defense, where he held a number of positions.

Troyano worked in the office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment as the head of portfolio management for its nuclear modernization acquisition programs.

His last DoD role was deputy assistant secretary of defense for strategic, space and intelligence portfolio management. In this position, Troyano directed the department-wide attainment and evaluation of warfighting capability portfolios. This work spanned from nuclear weapons systems to nuclear command, control and communication as well as missile defense and space.

Troyano is known for his skill with creating partnerships among different branches of the government and military and for a facility with transition risk management.

While at the DoD, he earned the Presidential Rank Award for Meritorious Executive in 2008 and 2017, in addition to the DoD Exceptional Civilian Service Medal in 1997 and 2020.

SPA was recognized as a Top Workplace by the Washington Post in 2021, an honor it has received for eight consecutive years.

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Navy Performs Snakehead Large Unmanned Undersea Vehicle Prototype Christening at Rhode Island Facility
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Navy Performs Snakehead Large Unmanned Undersea Vehicle Prototype Christening at Rhode Island Facility

The U.S. Navy has christened the first prototype of its largest submarine-launched large displacement unmanned undersea vehicle at a test facility in Rhode Island.

The Snakehead LDUUV is the service branch’s modular, reconfigurable and multi-mission system that will deliver guidance and control, navigation, situational awareness, propulsion, maneuvering and sensors during underwater operations, the Naval Sea Systems Command said Friday.

Snakehead features a government-owned architecture, vehicle software and various mission autonomy technologies designed to improve the Navy’s endurance, depth capability and payload capacity.

Representatives from the Naval Undersea Warfare Center Division Newport and the Program Executive Office for Unmanned and Small Combatants performed the christening at the Narragansett Bay Test Facility in Rhode Island.

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FAA to Begin Testing UAS Traffic Management in Spring
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FAA to Begin Testing UAS Traffic Management in Spring

The Federal Aviation Administration is preparing to begin field-testing new air traffic management technologies and services designed to support the integration of unmanned aircraft systems into the National Airspace System.

FAA said Friday it plans to commence the UAS Traffic Management field test in spring 2022 with the goal of helping the government refine UTM’s cybersecurity, standards and data exchange capabilities.

UTM consists of services that support but are detached from the air traffic management services used for traditional, manned aircraft.

Tests will simulate realistic scenarios and assess how the newest traffic management technologies can support actual drone traffic management in various environments.

FAA will use the testing’s results to inform policymaking and with the goal of normalizing drone flights beyond the operator’s visual line of sight.

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NOAA Extends Commercial Satellite Weather Data Contract With Spire Global
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NOAA Extends Commercial Satellite Weather Data Contract With Spire Global

Spire Global has secured a contract to continue to deliver commercial radio occultation satellite weather data to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration for use in operational weather forecasts.

The company said Friday it received a fourth delivery order under a previously awarded indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract to provide NOAA with 5,500 radio occultation profiles per day.

The near real-time data provided through the $8 million delivery order will be available to federal government agencies and national and international meteorological organizations to support weather forecasting.

Contract work will commence on March 16, 2022, and end on Jan. 18, 2023.

NOAA selected Spire Global for the Commercial Weather Data Pilot project in 2016 to help demonstrate the impact of commercial space-based data on weather forecast models.

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Air Force Research Lab to Release Solicitation for Cislunar Domain Awareness Solicitation in March
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Air Force Research Lab to Release Solicitation for Cislunar Domain Awareness Solicitation in March

The U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory is planning to solicit offers in March for a satellite experiment that will track space objects between geostationary orbit and the moon, Defense News reported Monday.

Col. Eric Felt, director of AFRL’s Space Vehicles Directorate, said in a recent C4ISRNET interview that an award for the Cislunar Highway Patrol System is expected in summer ahead of a planned launch in 2025.

CHPS is among the various programs that reflect the Department of Defense’s increased interest in the cislunar region amid a rise in what Felt described as adversarial and commercial activities related to the area.

“That pace of activity then causes us to say: ‘Well, we had a plan to get after cislunar space domain awareness, but now we need to accelerate our plan because things are happening much faster than we expected,’” explained the colonel.

In January, Chief of Space Operations and 2022 Wash100 Award recipient Gen. John Raymond revealed during a Mitchell Institute Event that he expects the Space Force to send a space domain awareness capability in the cislunar region within the next decade.

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NIST Finalizes Report on Cyber-Enterprise Risk Management Integration
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NIST Finalizes Report on Cyber-Enterprise Risk Management Integration

The National Institute of Standards and Technology has published a finalized report that highlights the need to consider enterprise risk management when making cybersecurity decisions.

NIST said Thursday its report titled “Prioritizing Cybersecurity Risk for Enterprise Risk Management” details the integration of cybersecurity risk management with ERM to fortify cyber response.

The report also encourages collaboration between CSRM and ERM managers; and lists ways to pursue enterprise objectives, prioritize risks and appropriately select responses.

The finalized publication makes use of previously gathered feedback from the public and features updated graphics, including a sample template for risk detail reports.

NIST now also seeks public feedback on the publication’s companion document titled “Staging Cybersecurity Risks for ERM and Governance Oversight,” which highlights ways to complete enterprise-wide integration cycles of CSRM/ERM. Interested parties may submit feedback through March 11.

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Reps. Frank Pallone, Cathy McMorris Rodgers Discuss New Draft Legislation for Satcom Industry
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Reps. Frank Pallone, Cathy McMorris Rodgers Discuss New Draft Legislation for Satcom Industry

Reps. Frank Pallone, D-N.J., and Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., of the House Energy and Commerce Committee have released a statement that the government must streamline regulatory processes concerning the satellite communications industry.

The statement revolves around bipartisan legislation drafts that seek to modernize Communications Act authorities and update the Federal Communications Commission’s policy on satellite licensing, in support of the industry and national security, the  said Friday.

These drafts are those of the Satellite and Telecommunications Streamlining Act and the Secure Space Act.

“As leaders of the Energy and Commerce Committee, we must streamline our regulatory processes to usher in a new era of American innovation and investment in this growing sector, particularly as our economic competitors like China race to dominate this industry, and must ensure our laws and regulations fully protect the public,” the lawmakers said in the statement.

Pallone and McMorris Rodgers serve in the House Energy and Commerce Committee as chairman and ranking member, respectively.

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Commerce Department Launches New Cloud-Based Orbiting Satellite, Debris Catalog
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Commerce Department Launches New Cloud-Based Orbiting Satellite, Debris Catalog

The Department of Commerce has released a prototype cloud-based system that catalogs satellite and debris location data in space to predict collisions in an increasingly busy orbit, SpaceNews reported Saturday.

The newly unveiled open architecture data repository combines information from government and commercial sources to perform satellite collision notifications, launch monitoring, space object reentry, space debris awareness and other space traffic management services.

Scott Leonard, a special adviser within the DoC’s Office of Space Commerce, said OADR was built through the partnership between NASA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the University of Texas and three federally funded research and development centers, with input from the private sector.

Steve Volz, an assistant administrator with NOAA, added that the prototype was tested against over 20,000 Earth-orbiting objects before it was released.

OADR is expected to replace the existing catalog managed by the U.S. military ahead of a planned transition of space situational awareness responsibilities to OSC from U.S. Space Command.

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