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GAO: Agencies Need to Make Efforts in Adopting Infrastructure Cybersecurity
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GAO: Agencies Need to Make Efforts in Adopting Infrastructure Cybersecurity

The Government Accountability Office said agencies responsible for nine out of 16 U.S. critical infrastructure components have not determined their efforts to adopt the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s Framework for Improving Critical Infrastructure Cybersecurity.

GAO said Wednesday it observed a lack of adoption determination at agencies in charge of chemical infrastructure; nuclear reactors, materials and waste; health care and public health; emergency services; financial services; dams; critical manufacturing; communications; and commercial facilities.

The accountability office recommends these agencies develop ways to measure and determine the framework adoption of their respective infrastructure sectors.

However, the government watchdog also acknowledged that agencies have determined cybersecurity adoption in the defense industrial base, government facilities and water systems.

Agencies in charge of energy, food agriculture, information technology and transportation systems have not yet achieved this determination but have already made progress towards it.

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NTT DATA’s Doug Kelly Discusses Practical Innovation Implementation with Potomac Officers Club
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NTT DATA’s Doug Kelly Discusses Practical Innovation Implementation with Potomac Officers Club

Doug Kelly, vice president of federal health and civilian sales for NTT DATA, participated recently in an exclusive Executive Spotlight interview with the Potomac Officers Club to talk about the importance of adaptability through uncertainty, his teamwork-driven approach to leadership and his thoughts on streamlining procurements across the federal landscape. Kelly has previously led federal healthcare practices for Accenture, CSRA and KPMG, among other organizations.

In this excerpt from the interview, Kelly discusses the critical need for practical application development and implementation governance going forward as organizations continue to innovate at the speed of change:

“Historically, the government has spearheaded many innovations that are in use today, from barcodes, to wind turbines, to the internet. But funding innovation is very different from developing practical applications and implementing innovation. Industry has historically provided this skill in the federal setting, in close coordination with forward-looking government agencies. At times, our collective zeal to rapidly implement an emerging technology leads us to under-emphasize the people and process dimensions of delivery success. There’s nothing groundbreaking about organizational change management, but its utility has never been greater. 

For example, agile development’s incremental value delivery hinges upon intentional, timely communication and consistent expectation management. I think our clients are starting to re-emphasize this discipline via contracting. For example, in the past year, I’ve seen multiple civilian clients invest time and funds in procuring smaller organizational change management contracts that complement larger technology-centric efforts.”

Read the full Executive Spotlight interview with NTT DATA’s Doug Kelly here, and check out PotomacOfficersClub.com to learn more about the platform’s membership options and benefits.

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DOE Reorganization Results in 2 Offices for Clean Energy R&D, Deployment; Jennifer Granholm Quoted
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DOE Reorganization Results in 2 Offices for Clean Energy R&D, Deployment; Jennifer Granholm Quoted

The Department of Energy has established two new offices out of a recent organizational realignment to better focus on the research, development and deployment of clean energy technologies.

The two new undersecretaries will support efforts to implement $62 billion in investments from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law toward carbon-free electricity by 2035 and a net-zero economy by 2050, the agency said Wednesday.

Formerly the undersecretary for science and energy, the new undersecretary for science and innovation will advance the research and development of energy technologies and support their passage throughout the demonstration and deployment phases.

Meanwhile, the new undersecretary of infrastructure, previously undersecretary for energy, will be responsible for activities related to clean energy technology deployments such as infrastructure financing, project development and project management.

“It builds new efficiencies across our enterprise and will maximize our ability to accelerate the technologies needed to grow clean energy jobs and fight the climate crisis,” said Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm of the realignment.

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Attorney John Coffey Confirmed by Senate to Become Navy Department’s General Counsel
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Attorney John Coffey Confirmed by Senate to Become Navy Department’s General Counsel

John Coffey, a partner of law firm Kramer Levin and former federal prosecutor, has received the Senate’s confirmation to serve as the Department of the Navy’s general counsel.

Coffey, a retired U.S. Navy captain, served as an active-duty naval flight officer in the Cold War and served as President George H.W. Bush’s personal military assistant while pursuing a law degree, Kramer Levin said Wednesday.

He most recently chaired Kramer Levin’s complex litigation group and handled a range of high-profile cases.

President Joe Biden nominated Coffey for the general counsel position in August 2021. Coffey’s return to public service grants him leadership over more than 800 civilian lawyers for the U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps.

Coffey’s swearing-in ceremony will take place on Monday.

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Pentagon Developing Integration Layer to Speed Up AI Development; Lt. Gen. Michael Groen Quoted
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Pentagon Developing Integration Layer to Speed Up AI Development; Lt. Gen. Michael Groen Quoted

The Department of Defense is working with unnamed commercial companies to build an integration layer where combatant commands can access data feeds for their artificial intelligence algorithms, Breaking Defense reported Wednesday.

Lt. Gen. Michael Groen, director of the Joint AI Center, told Breaking Defense that the envisioned DOD-first environment would make the development of AI technologies easier for faster deployment across the force.

Groen, who was part of a National Defense Industry Association 2021 Expeditionary Warfare Conference panel, explained that such a layer would remove the need for COCOMs to look for sources of relevant information by themselves and curate each data stream separately.

“We need the ability to make application generation — the development of apps — very easy and quick by providing the background resources and link that you need to generate an application,” explained the general, also a 2022 Wash100 Award recipient.

He declined to reveal the exact funding the three-year layer development effort needed. The layer is part of the Artificial Intelligence and Data Initiative, which aims at helping COCOMs streamline their decision-making processes through AI technologies.

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GovCon Expert Jim McAleese: Secretary Christine Wormuth on Army’s Priorities
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GovCon Expert Jim McAleese: Secretary Christine Wormuth on Army’s Priorities

Consulting firm McAleese & Associates has issued a report on the U.S. Army’s priorities as discussed by Army Secretary Christine Wormuth at a virtual fireside chat event Tuesday.

Wormuth noted that the Army should be put “on a sustainable path” to implement multidomain operations and must be “data-centric” because “data will be the new ammunition on the battlefield,” Jim McAleese, founder of McAleese & Associates and a three-time Wash100 winner, reported.

She said cloud computing is foundational and that the Army should avoid data silos and facilitate data sharing by adopting common data standards.

She highlighted that the Army will serve as the “backbone of joint operations” in the potential fight against China and the “tip of the spear” in the potential Russia fight.

According to Wormuth, the military branch must make “hard choices” in the 2023-2027 timeframe and must advance the modernization of all six cross-functional team areas, including long range precision fires, future vertical lift and synthetic training environment.

To achieve survivability, Wormuth said each of the “31 + 4” modernization programs must be affordable and fieldable and must perform well.

During the virtual conversation, she also touched on the service’s Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft program, Integrated Visual Augmentation System, Project Convergence 2022, vaccine mandate and the newly released climate strategy.

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SEC Introduces Cyber Risk Management Rules for Investment Funds, Advisers; Gary Gensler Quoted
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SEC Introduces Cyber Risk Management Rules for Investment Funds, Advisers; Gary Gensler Quoted

The Securities and Exchange Commission has proposed amendments and rules that would require registered investment advisers and funds to implement cybersecurity procedures and policies to protect fund investors and advisory clients from cyberthreats.

The proposal would direct advisers and funds to report major cyber incidents to the SEC using a new confidential form and publicly reveal in their registration statements and brochures those incidents and other cyber risks that happened in the last two fiscal years, the commission said Wednesday.

SEC also proposed recordkeeping requirements for investment companies and advisers in order to improve the availability of data and enable the SEC to facilitate inspection and enforcement operations.

“Cyber risk relates to each part of the SEC’s three-part mission, and in particular to our goals of protecting investors and maintaining orderly markets,” said SEC Chair Gary Gensler.

“The proposed rules and amendments are designed to enhance cybersecurity preparedness and could improve investor confidence in the resiliency of advisers and funds against cybersecurity threats and attacks,” added Gensler.

The proposed rules will be open for public comments once published in the Federal Register or on the commission’s website.

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Lloyd Austin OKs 9 More DOD Advisory Boards to Resume Operations
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Lloyd Austin OKs 9 More DOD Advisory Boards to Resume Operations

Lloyd Austin, secretary of the Department of Defense and a 2022 Wash100 Award winner, has approved nine advisory committees to resume operations after considering recommendations of a zero-based review of all advisory boards within DOD.

In February 2021, Austin directed the immediate suspension of all 42 advisory boards to make way for the review as part of a push to align the efforts of such panels with the National Defense Strategy and other critical strategic priorities.

The DOD advisory boards to be reinstated are the: 

  • Advisory Board for the National Reconnaissance Office
  • Army Education Advisory Committee
  • Board of Regents, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences
  • Board of Visitors for the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation
  • Defense Innovation Board
  • Education for Seapower Advisory Board
  • National Security Agency Emerging Technologies Panel
  • National Security Education Board
  • Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program Scientific Advisory Board

The Pentagon said it is still considering recommendations for other committees and will disclose the results in the next few weeks.

The move came after Austin approved 16 advisory boards to restart operations in September.

Lloyd Austin OKs 9 More DOD Advisory Boards to Resume Operations

Visit the Wash100 site to cast a vote for Lloyd Austin as one of your 10 favorite GovCon leaders who help shape the narrative and conversation surrounding the government contracting sector.

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White House Unveils Updated Critical and Emerging Tech List
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White House Unveils Updated Critical and Emerging Tech List

The White House has issued an updated list of critical and emerging technologies that are important to U.S. national security.

The Office of Science and Technology Policy led a deliberative process via the National Science and Technology Council and in coordination with the National Security Council to develop the updated CET list.

Technology areas cited in the list include advanced computing, artificial intelligence, advanced manufacturing, biotechnologies, communication and networking technologies, directed energy, hypersonics, quantum information technologies, semiconductors and electronics, financial technologies, human-machine interfaces and space technologies and systems.

According to the document, the 2021 Interim National Security Strategic Guidance has three objectives and those are safeguarding the security of U.S. citizens, expanding economic prosperity and opportunity and defending democratic values and the CETs in the updated list could help meet those objectives.

Each CET area includes a set of subfields. Under advance computing, for instance, subfields include supercomputing, edge computing, cloud computing and data storage.

Meanwhile, propulsion, aerodynamics and control, defense, materials and detection, tracking and characterization are the subfields of the hypersonics tech area.

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House OKs Continuing Resolution to Extend Government Funding Through March 11
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House OKs Continuing Resolution to Extend Government Funding Through March 11

The House on Tuesday voted 272-162 to pass a continuing resolution that would fund government operations at current funding levels through March 11 and provide time to address appropriations bills for fiscal year 2022.

House Appropriations Committee Chair Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., said in a statement published Tuesday the stopgap measure is a result of “bipartisan, bicameral negotiation to keep the government up and running.”

“We are very close to an agreement and I am eager to move this process forward. I have every expectation that we can finalize a framework in short order and then work together to fill in the details and enact an omnibus,” DeLauro added.

NPR reported that the legislation is now headed to the Senate. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said the upper chamber will work on the measure before the current continuing resolution expires on Feb. 18.

“While negotiations on a full-year funding agreement continue, we will in the meantime avoid a pointless and costly government shutdown,” Schumer said Tuesday. “This CR provides a little more time to reach a deal for a spending package. It is the responsible and prudent path forward that eliminates the risk of a shutdown.”

The House’s move marks the third time Congress has approved a continuing resolution to avoid a government shutdown since FY 2022 started in October.

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