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FedRAMP Presents Requirements for Annual CSP Assessments
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FedRAMP Presents Requirements for Annual CSP Assessments

The Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program has laid out requirements for cloud service providers and third-party assessment organizations with regard to completing annual assessments.

FedRAMP said Wednesday it requires CSPs to submit an assessment package that consists of a system security plan, an annual incident response plan test report, an annual contingency plan test report and plan-of-action milestones.

On the other hand, 3PAOs need to submit a security assessment plan and a security assessment report, as well as related artifacts including raw vulnerability scan results.

These requirements are made to guide CSPs as their offerings undergo annual security assessments per security control.

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SHINE Signs Contracts With DOE for Uranium Lease Supporting Medical Isotope Production
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SHINE Signs Contracts With DOE for Uranium Lease Supporting Medical Isotope Production

SHINE Technologies has partnered with the Department of Energy to produce the medical isotope molybdenum-99 in the U.S. without using highly enriched uranium while meeting nuclear nonproliferation requirements.

SHINE will help establish a domestic supply chain of the isotope required in thousands of daily medical procedures in the U.S. under the Uranium Lease and Take-back Program, Los Alamos National Laboratory said Thursday.

As part of the program, the nuclear technology company signed separate contracts to borrow low-enriched uranium from the National Nuclear Security Administration for MO-99 production and return any resulting radioactive wastes that were not commercially disposed of to the Office of Environmental Management.

“Once SHINE begins production, our country will be that much closer to creating a reliable and sufficient supply of these life-saving materials right here at home, while also increasing nuclear security by reducing the use of highly enriched uranium,” explained Corey Hinderstein, deputy administrator for defense nuclear nonproliferation at NNSA.

The Uranium Lease and Take-back Program was mandated into existence by the American Medical Isotopes Production Act of 20212, which directs the DOE to loan uranium to domestic medical isotope producers.

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IRS Releases Criminal Investigations Management Information Systems support RFI
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IRS Releases Criminal Investigations Management Information Systems support RFI

The Internal Revenue Service is conducting research on the potential sources of management information system support services for its Criminal Investigations law enforcement arm.

According to a request for information on SAM.gov, IRS eyes a contractor that would assist in operating CI’s Criminal Investigation Management Information System and the Asset Forfeiture Tracking and Retrieval System.

A draft performance work statement read that the contractor will deliver project management and enterprise life cycle support on the two legacy web applications the IRS division uses for investigating violations of the federal income tax law.

The revenue service will accept responses to the RFI until April 1st.

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New Air Force Digital Lab Replicates Tyndall Base in Virtual World
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New Air Force Digital Lab Replicates Tyndall Base in Virtual World

The U.S. Air Force has launched a new digital hub at Tyndall Air Force Base in Florida that provides entry to a virtual replica model of the military installation.

The Digital Twin Hololab enables airmen to test out technologies on the virtual Tyndall AFB before they are implemented in the real world and remotely monitor base systems in real-time, the Air Force said Sunday.

According to Lowell Usrey, a branch chief within the Air Force Civil Engineer Center Natural Disaster Recovery Division, the Hololab can be accessed either wearing a pair of virtual reality goggles or using a desktop computer.

“It is an open canvas that puts the virtual world into the hands of potential users to improve mission effectiveness and collect feedback to help improve the system,” explained Usrey.

The Hololab is part of a $4.9 billion effort to rebuild the hurricane-stricken Tyndall and a program to modernize the base into an Air Force Installation of the Future.

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CISA, FBI Release Joint Advisory on Satellite Network Security
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CISA, FBI Release Joint Advisory on Satellite Network Security

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency‘s Shields Up initiative urges organizations to lower the threshold for reporting malicious cyber activity, as potential network breaches can risk the customer environments of satellite communications providers.

CISA said Thursday it will work with the FBI to update a joint cybersecurity advisory on potential threats to SATCOM networks operated by the U.S. and international entities.

The two agencies recommend a number of mitigation practices, such as boosted surveillance at ingress and egress points, the use of secure authentication methods, independent encryption, reviewing trust relationships and monitoring network logs for anything suspicious.

CISA and the FBI also advise organizations to develop, maintain and implement plans for incident response, resilience and operational continuity.

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Scholarships Totaling $30,000 Awarded by Raytheon Intelligence and Space to Increase Diversity in Cybersecurity; Jon Check Quoted
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Scholarships Totaling $30,000 Awarded by Raytheon Intelligence and Space to Increase Diversity in Cybersecurity; Jon Check Quoted

Raytheon Technologies’ intelligence and space business will offer $30,000 worth of scholarships to help boost underrepresented communities in the cybersecurity field.

The Arlington, Virginia-based company said Monday it will present three scholarships of $10,000 apiece via (ISC)2, a cybersecurity-focused nonprofit organization.

“Cybersecurity threats continue to grow, and to meet these threats, we must bring our best thinking to the table. We do so by welcoming diverse talent that historically have not been connected to the cybersecurity industry,” said Jon Check, executive director of cyber protection solutions at Raytheon Intelligence & Space.

Check elaborated, saying the scholarship comes from both a need to diversify the workforce in the STEM cohort and the fact that business will be benefitted by expanding the talent pool to include people from all backgrounds and result in “more creative brainstorming, problem solving, and new ideas.”

With the scholarship, the companies hope to ease the process of minority groups attaining STEM jobs in the future.

Eligible for the scholarship are students who are enrolled in a cybersecurity or information security program, or in a related field. Three students will be selected based on their dedication, ability and economic disadvantage.

(ISC)2’s charitable foundation, the Center for Cyber Safety and Education, is heading up the initiative. Check and Tara Wisniewski, executive vice president of advocacy, global markets and member engagement at (ISC)² both highlighted how the world’s information and data will be better protected as a result of this endeavor.

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Accenture Federal Services Lands $118M Contract from U.S. State Department for Data Administration; CEO John Goodman Quoted
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Accenture Federal Services Lands $118M Contract from U.S. State Department for Data Administration; CEO John Goodman Quoted

The U.S. Department of State has awarded Accenture Federal Services a five-year, $118 million contract calling for data management assistance.

Under the contract, Accenture Federal Services will be expected to aid the branch’s passport and visa system as well as their homeland security database hub, the Arlington, Virginia-based company said Monday.

John Goodman, Accenture Federal Services CEO, commented on the integral nature of embracing updated technology in order to gain more insights from data at a faster rate.

“AFS is thrilled to support the State Department with automating and standardizing the way data is shared to enhance operational speed and quality for the agency,” Goodman, who is a five-time recipient of the Wash100 Award, continued.

The State Department is looking at cloud, artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies for Accenture’s data replication duties with passports and visas. The department hopes these upgrades will mitigate fraud.

Additionally, they are considering implementing said technologies for the company’s data engineering efforts with the homeland security database. The latter is an architecture network through which information travels to other branches of the U.S. government.

Accenture Federal has fostered a longtime working relationship with the State Department. According to Susie Rainey, client account lead at AFS, the collaboration is in the interest of strengthening foreign policy and serving the collective good of the country.

The new contract, especially the homeland security database improvement, is not unlike the assignment AFS received from the Transportation Security Administration earlier this month to streamline their credential system. The TSA award is $199 million over seven years.

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National Security Threats, Declining Public R&D Investment Among Key Trends in GAO Strategic Plan
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National Security Threats, Declining Public R&D Investment Among Key Trends in GAO Strategic Plan

The Government Accountability Office has unveiled its strategic plan outlining the 12 key trends that will likely affect the federal government and society over the next five years.

These trends include domestic and global national security threats, the rising debt of the federal government, preparation for catastrophic biological incidents, persistent racial and ethnic disparities and the declining public investment in science and technology-related research and development efforts, GAO said Thursday.

For science and tech, the congressional watchdog said the U.S. share of R&D spending worldwide is declining and the country is facing a shortage of skilled technical workers. Moreover, the gaps in the U.S. innovation system have emerged due to the loss of domestic manufacturing capacity.

GAO said policymakers may need to come up with policies that promote innovation, reassess the competition policy, address the decline in public R&D investment and improve incentives for small businesses to innovate.

Other trends cited in the report are the society’s increasing dependence on digital technology, changes to the U.S. workforce, evolving health technologies, the future of global supply chains, environmental security, the increasing use of online learning and technology in education and the evolving space environment.

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Reps. Adam Smith, Mike Rogers Inquire Over DOD Strategy for SHORAD Replenishment Requirements
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Reps. Adam Smith, Mike Rogers Inquire Over DOD Strategy for SHORAD Replenishment Requirements

House Armed Services Committee Chairman Adam Smith, D-Wash., and HASC Ranking Member Mike Rogers, R-Ala., have called on the Department of Defense to come up with a strategy to meet the replenishment requirements for Stinger short range air defense missiles and advance the development of a follow-on SHORAD system for U.S. troops, allies and partners.

“Therefore, the committee strongly urges that the Department prioritize acceleration of a SHORAD modernization or replacement that will deliver a low-cost, exportable evolution of a system, within 36 months,” Smith and Rogers wrote in a March 18th letter to DOD.

The lawmakers made the call in light of recent events in Europe. They are also seeking insights on the matter as they work on the fiscal year 2023 National Defense Authorization Act.

The letter was addressed to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Austin is a 2022 Wash100 Award winner and Milley is a four-time Wash100 awardee.

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DOJ, FTC to Look Into Effects of M&As on Certain Industries Via Listening Forums
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DOJ, FTC to Look Into Effects of M&As on Certain Industries Via Listening Forums

The Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission will conduct public forums over the next three months to hear customers, employees, investors, startups and other stakeholders about the effects of mergers and acquisitions.

Assistant Attorney General Jonathan Kanter and FTC Chair Lina Khan will lead the virtual forums that will look into how M&As may impact and reduce competition in labor markets and certain industries, DOJ said Thursday.

Insights from the listening forums will supplement the efforts of FTC and DOJ’s antitrust division as they seek feedback on merger enforcement guidelines. Comments on the guidelines are due April 21st.

The first forum will be held on March 28th and will focus on food and agriculture and the health care-centered forum will occur on April 14th. The third and fourth meetings will deal with media and entertainment and technology and will take place on April 27th and May 12th, respectively.

The two agencies will also host the Spring Enforcers Summit on April 4th to advance discussions over merger guidelines and interagency collaboration.

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