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Deborah Lee James on Focus Areas of Defense Business Board’s Upcoming Studies
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Deborah Lee James on Focus Areas of Defense Business Board’s Upcoming Studies

Deborah Lee James, chair of the Defense Business Board and a previous Wash100 Award winner, said the board will look into various matters and conduct studies that will fall into three basic categories and those are transformations, business processes and talent, Defense News reported Tuesday.

James, former secretary of the U.S. Air Force, told the publication in an interview about her insights on the possibility of tighter defense budgets.

“In more scarce times, where lots of bills for procurement are coming due when you need to invest more in R&D for some of the new technologies like AI and robotics and hypersonics, and so on, when the cost of people continues to go up. All of these are bills that must be paid,” James said.

“And if [future] budgets are flat, as I think many are predicting, you’re going to have to do some efficiencies, if you’re going to continue to do the things that you want to do,” she added.

When asked about her strategy as chair of the board, James said she intends to leverage the talents and insights of each member and envisions the group to be a “working board.”

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Frank Kendall: Defense Logistics Enterprise Should Adapt, Apply Emerging Tech in Response to Challenges
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Frank Kendall: Defense Logistics Enterprise Should Adapt, Apply Emerging Tech in Response to Challenges

Frank Kendall, secretary of the Air Force and a three-time Wash100 Award winner, said he believes the U.S. defense and military logistics enterprise should adapt to meet the challenges posed by strategic competitors and recognize the need for a multidomain and multipronged approach that involves all service branches, partners and allies, the Air Force reported Tuesday.

“All of us involved in national security also need to develop a stronger sense of urgency, and we all must think carefully about the application of new and emerging technology to the operations we may be called upon to conduct in the not too distant future,” Kendall said at an event Monday.

He called on Congress to take actions to replace legacy systems that have become irrelevant when it comes to addressing current challenges and noted that he is willing to work with the legislative branch to find new ways to move forward.

Kendall also conducted a thought exercise for the audience by asking them to envision the Battle of the Atlantic during World War II.

“My point in leading you through this thought experiment is to emphasize two things: First, how different our current and future challenges to logistics are compared to what we are used to or have ever experienced. And second, how significant a threat we can expect to face from today onward,” he said.

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CISA, NSA, FBI Issue Advisory on BlackMatter Ransomware; Eric Goldstein Quoted
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CISA, NSA, FBI Issue Advisory on BlackMatter Ransomware; Eric Goldstein Quoted

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), the National Security Agency (NSA) and the FBI have jointly published an advisory that features technical details and an analysis of the BlackMatter ransomware.

BlackMatter, a ransomware-as-a-service tool, has been used in attacks on U.S. critical infrastructure including two organizations in the U.S. food and agriculture sector, NSA said Monday.

The cybersecurity advisory also provides recommendations that organizations can follow to mitigate risks related to BlackMatter. Cyber actors have used BlackMatter with compromised credentials to access networks and block data access via encryption.

“This advisory highlights the evolving and persistent nature of criminal cyber actors and the need for a collective public and private approach to reduce the impact and prevalence of ransomware attacks,” said Eric Goldstein, executive assistant director for cybersecurity for CISA.

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NASA Names Selection for New $145M Astrophysics Mission
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NASA Names Selection for New $145M Astrophysics Mission

NASA has selected John Tomsick of the University of California, Berkeley, to lead a $145 million space telescope mission that will study star birth and death, as well as chemical formations in the Milky Way.

The Compton Spectrometer and Imager (COSI) is a gamma-ray telescope that will launch in 2025 through NASA’s Astrophysics Explorers Program, the space agency said Tuesday.

COSI will examine the gamma rays of radioactive atoms made from large star explosions. The mission seeks to locate where in the Milky Way chemical elements formed.

NASA also wants the mission to uncover the origin of positrons, subatomic particles whose mass is equal to that of electrons but have a positive charge.

The agency selected COSI out of the Astrophysics Explorers Program’s four finalists, which performed mission concept studies before the final selection. The program, which supports scientific investigations, gathered a total of 18 proposals in 2019.

NASA’s Maryland-based Goddard Space Flight Center performs managerial duties for the program.

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Teresa Carlson: Splunk’s New Government Logging Modernization Program to Optimize Federal Cyber Compliance
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Teresa Carlson: Splunk’s New Government Logging Modernization Program to Optimize Federal Cyber Compliance

Splunk, a San Francisco, California-based data platform company, has launched its Government Logging Modernization Program designed to help federal agencies comply with cyber incident response requirements.

Developed in response to the Biden Administration’s Executive Order on Improving the Nation’s Cybersecurity and the Office of Management and Budget’s M-21-31 memorandum, Splunk’s new program will help agencies capture and store log data, standardize the logging process and achieve compliance with the first tier of a new enterprise event logging maturity model, the company said Tuesday.

“When it comes to improving our nation’s cybersecurity posture, reliable and secure enterprise logging is a critical step toward gaining visibility across a multi-layered environment, and Splunk is the leader in that category,” said six-time Wash100 Award recipient Teresa Carlson, Splunk’s president and chief growth officer.

As part of its Government Logging Modernization Program, Splunk is currently offering exclusive discounted pricing, expanded storage offerings, customized FedRAMP migration assessments and dedicated security experts to federal agencies through the Splunk Cloud Platform to accelerate compliance with the new mandates.

“Given Splunk’s deep commitment to the public sector, we’ve decided to commit resources that help them meet the new requirements quickly,” Carlson added.

Splunk’s FedRAMP-approved Cloud Platform allows for streamlined monitoring, analysis and investigation of data on a centralized platform and offers a tiered data strategy approach that is designed to optimize federal agencies’ cybersecurity resilience efforts.

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Marketing & Communications Leader Roxanne Taylor Elected to Unisys Board of Directors
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Marketing & Communications Leader Roxanne Taylor Elected to Unisys Board of Directors

Unisys Corporation has elected Roxanne Taylor, who currently serves as the chief marketing and communications officer for New York’s Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, to its board of directors, effective October 18th. 

As a newly-elected board member, Taylor will leverage her three decades of experience in marketing, communications and brand leadership to help accelerate the progress of multiple brand awareness and culture initiatives across Unisys, including diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) efforts.

“Roxanne is a globally recognized leader in creating cultures of innovation and equality, building brands with purpose and promoting opportunities in technology for women and minorities, each of which are important priorities for Unisys,” said Peter Altabef, CEO and chair of Unisys.

The new board member’s notable recognitions include being named to Forbes’ 2017 “World’s Most Influential CMOs” list as well as FierceCMO’s “B2B CMOs to Watch” list.

Prior to joining the Unisys board of directors, Taylor served 23 years at Accenture, where she held the role of chief marketing and communications officer for over 10 years and helped drive the company’s growth strategy. She also previously held marketing and communications roles with Reuters and Citicorp.

Currently, Taylor also serves on the boards of multiple technology and marketing firms including Thoughtworks, Pure Storage, OpenX and Whalar, and she is also a member of the Arthur W. Page Society.

Taylor noted that she looks forward to utilizing technology to empower people and drive innovation to support Unisys’ culture and brand goals.

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CentralSquare Technologies Appoints Amir Siddiqi as Chief Customer Officer; CEO Dave Zolet Quoted
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CentralSquare Technologies Appoints Amir Siddiqi as Chief Customer Officer; CEO Dave Zolet Quoted

Amir Siddiqi has been tapped to lead CentralSquare Technologies’ post-sales functions as the company’s chief customer officer.

In his new role, Siddiqi will help customers utilize CentralSquare’s full scope of products and services and work closely with Dave Zolet, CentralSquare Technologies CEO and four-time Wash100 Award winner.

“As we continue to build momentum in the marketplace and bring the power of CentralSquare to new communities, it is vital we also ensure the long-term success of our customers and the communities we serve,” Zolet said.

He added, “Amir’s customer-first experience will be a game-changer for our customers and communities, and we’re thrilled to have his expertise on our team.”

Siddiqi joins CentralSquare from Alteryx, where he served as senior vice president of vertical solutions and drove the group’s execution of technology-focused reference architecture.

The new CCO’s previous experience also notably includes serving in executive leadership and sales roles at multiple information technology, software and consulting companies including Docker, Cloudera/Hortonworks, VMware and CA Technologies.

Siddiqi said he looks forward to supporting the company’s customers and leading CentralSquare in its mission to make “communities safer, smarter and more connected through innovative technology.”

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Anne Neuberger: International Counter-Ransomware Initiative Focused on Building Resilience, Diplomatic Partnership
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Anne Neuberger: International Counter-Ransomware Initiative Focused on Building Resilience, Diplomatic Partnership

The White House National Security Council facilitated a two-day virtual event for the International Counter-Ransomware Initiative that kicked off Oct. 13 and Anne Neuberger, deputy national security adviser for cyber and emerging technology and a two-time Wash100 Award winner, said the event addressed four elements of the fight against ransomware.

“It focused on uniting law enforcement efforts, uniting efforts to trace illicit use of cryptocurrency, and it focused on building resilience, and deepening diplomatic partnership to ensure that norms around addressing ransomware activity from within borders are fully implemented,” Neuberger said of the event during the Washington Forum Press Center’s virtual briefing Friday.

More than 30 countries participated in the event and she said the nations highlighted the importance of cooperation among international partners to improve information exchange.

“Because ransomware criminals often repeat their activities, repeat their tactics and techniques, more robust and real-time communication across governments can not only enhance national capabilities to address a ransomware attack while it’s happening, but can also potentially prevent an attack,” Neuberger told journalists.

She cited the importance of establishing a network of countries to counter a network of ransomware actors and its infrastructure and noted that participating countries mentioned the need for capacity building around resilience, law enforcement, information exchange, blockchain analysis and tracing of virtual currencies.

Supply Chain Cybersecurity: Revelations and Innovations

ExecutiveBiz, sister site of GovConDaily and part of the Executive Mosaic digital media umbrella, will host a virtual event about securing the supply chain on Oct. 26. Visit ExecutiveBiz.com to sign up for the “Supply Chain Cybersecurity: Revelations and Innovations” event.

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NNSA Taps SHINE Technologies to Produce Critical Isotope in Medical Diagnosis; Jill Hruby & Greg Piefer Quoted
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NNSA Taps SHINE Technologies to Produce Critical Isotope in Medical Diagnosis; Jill Hruby & Greg Piefer Quoted

Wisconsin-based radioactive isotope production company, SHINE Technologies, has entered into a $35 million cooperative agreement with the Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration to support the production of critical isotope, molybdenum-99 for use in diagnosing heart disease and cancer, among other medical procedures.

Under the agreement, SHINE Technologies will help the NNSA establish a Mo-99 supply that is produced domestically and without highly enriched uranium (HEU), which is known to present proliferation concerns, the agency said Tuesday.

DOE Under Secretary for Nuclear Security and NNSA Administrator Jill Hruby called the agreement a “triple win” for the U.S. in the enhanced implementation of Mo-99 in medical advancements.

Hruby explained, “NNSA’s continued partnership with SHINE will help ensure that doctors and patients get the medical isotopes they need, that those isotopes are produced without the use of proliferation-sensitive HEU, and that the work gets done here in the United States.” 

NNSA’s Mo-99 program, established in 2012 and managed by the Office of Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation, works to prevent the development of nuclear weapons via potentially stolen or diverted HEU by state and non-state actors. 

Greg Piefer, CEO and chairman of SHINE, said the company looks forward to supporting NNSA’s Mo-99 program as they collaborate to “improve the lives of millions of patients and make the world safer through the elimination of highly enriched uranium anywhere in the supply chain.”

This agreement marks the third of four issued under NNSA’s recent Funding Opportunity Announcement in July 2020.

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NOAA Adds AI Tool to Climate-Focused Website; Administrator Rick Spinrad Quoted
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NOAA Adds AI Tool to Climate-Focused Website; Administrator Rick Spinrad Quoted

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has integrated artificial intelligence technology into a public-facing website that offers news and educational materials about climate science.

AI-powered Climate.gov supports location-based searches, content integration and crosslinking across the site, the agency said Oct. 12th.

The site has an updated dashboard that offers a visual readout of climate trends, a list of frequently asked questions and answers for non-experts, a data primer and National Centers for Environmental Information-hosted tools.

“Climate.gov helps meet the diverse needs of the public, whose health, safety, and economic well-being are directly tied to climate, water, and weather,” said NOAA Administrator Rick Spinrad.

Spinrad added the site redesign effort would advance his objective to maintain the agency’s role as “the authoritative provider of climate products and services, and increase our capacity to help communities better understand, prepare for, and respond to climate risks and impacts.”

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