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DISA Forms New Office to Support Warfighter Hosting, Compute Capabilities
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DISA Forms New Office to Support Warfighter Hosting, Compute Capabilities

The Defense Information Systems Agency has established a new office aimed at providing warfighters with hosting and compute capabilities through modern data center and cloud services, FCW reported Sunday. 

The Hosting and Compute Center is intended to integrate the cloud computing program office with the services directorate and ecosystem of DISA. 

An agency spokesperson told FCW that Sharon Woods, executive director of the agency’s Cloud Computing Program Office, assumed Friday the acting director role in the new organization. 

Earlier in January, the Department of Defense announced its plan to transition the management of enterprise cloud efforts from the agency’s Office of the Chief Information Officer to DISA. 

In July, the DOD decided to drop the Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure contract and replaced it with the Joint Warfighting Cloud Capability program that will seek to deliver multicloud requirements spanning all three security levels of the department. 

Les Benito, CCPO director of operations, said DISA is eyeing to release the solicitations for the JWCC initiative this month and award contracts by April 2022 if the plan pushes through, AFCEA reported Friday.

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DOE to Invest $400M in Basic Science Research; Secretary Jennifer Granholm Quoted
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DOE to Invest $400M in Basic Science Research; Secretary Jennifer Granholm Quoted

The Department of Energy will invest $400 million in basic science research projects that tackle topics related to clean energy, national security and economy.

Projects under the new funding opportunity announcement will support fusion energy sciences, high-energy and nuclear physics, basic energy sciences and other topics pursued by DOE’s Office of Science, the department said Friday.

The annual FOA, known as “Open Call,” launches at the start of a fiscal year to support more general research not tackled by more specialized projects.

This year's Open Call FOA is titled the “FY 2022 Continuation of Solicitation for the Office of Science Financial Assistance Program."

“This comprehensive investment will power new scientific breakthroughs and position America as a leader in scientific innovation," said Jennifer Granholm, secretary of Energy.

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DHS, NATO Conclude Testing of NICS First Responder Comms Platform
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DHS, NATO Conclude Testing of NICS First Responder Comms Platform

The Department of Homeland Security's Science and Technology Directorate (DHS S&T) and NATO conducted the final exercise under a partnership to test a modern first responder communications platform. 

The DHS-NATO Advanced Regional Civil Emergency Coordination Project commenced in 2016 to demonstrate and further develop the Next-Generation Incident Command System.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Lincoln Laboratory used S&T funds to develop NICS, which has helped first responders share information via mobile devices over the past four years. NICS has supported first responders in the Western Balkans throughout this period.

North Macedonian authorities, the Balkan Medical Task Force and various international partners also took part in the recent exercise, whose schedule was moved from 2020 due to COVID-19 restrictions.

Beacon NGO, a Delaware-based organization, will internationally distribute NICS as an open-source code to first responders.

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Ivanti Promotes Jeff Abbott to CEO, Appoints Three New Board Members
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Ivanti Promotes Jeff Abbott to CEO, Appoints Three New Board Members

Ivanti, an automation and IT services provider, has named 25-year software and services veteran Jeff Abbott as its new CEO. Abbott, who formerly served as president of Ivanti, will succeed Jim Schaper, the company said Monday. 

“Jeff is a natural leader and has been instrumental in helping Ivanti achieve the success we have realized in the last two years, and I’m excited to watch Ivanti continue to grow at an accelerated rate under his leadership,” said Schaper.

Schaper and Abbott both joined Ivanti from Infor in January 2020 and worked together to implement a strategic acquisition and growth strategy, which contributed to Ivanti’s doubled revenue growth to over $1 billion over the last 18 months.

In his previous role as president of the company, Abbott oversaw product development, product management, global sales, customer experience, marketing and operations. 

Additionally, he played a key role in Ivanti’s recent acquisitions of RiskSense, MobileIron, Cherwell and Plus Secure, and he led the company’s adoption of Zero Trust architecture to bolster security. 

In addition to his new role, Abbott will join Ivanti’s board alongside newly appointed members Chris Heim and Dan Mayleben, who also serve as HelpSystems’ executive chairman and board member, respectively.

Heim and Mayleben have a long history of collaboration and have notably worked together to develop and execute a software consolidation strategy that has tripled the size of HelpSystems. Their appointment to Ivanti’s board is expected to help the company scale as the need for cybersecurity continues to increase.

“Now more than ever, user expectations are high and there is a very real threat of cyber-attacks, all driving an even stronger need for our solutions,” Abbott explained.

The newly appointed CEO added that Ivanti looks forward to leveraging the “deep expertise and strategic insights” Heim and Mayleben bring to the board as Abbott works to lead the company in its next phase of growth. 

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Maxar Awarded Second Option Year for NGA G-EGD Contract; Dan Jablonsky Quoted
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Maxar Awarded Second Option Year for NGA G-EGD Contract; Dan Jablonsky Quoted

The U.S. National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency has awarded Maxar Technologies with an Option Year 2 contract renewal for the Global Enhanced GEOINT Delivery (G-EGD) program.

The extension initiates the second of three option years under the contract, which has a potential total value of $176 million, the company said Monday. The initial $44 million contract began September 1, 2021.

“The G-EGD platform provides U.S. and allied users with access to geospatial intelligence from a variety of industry providers at locations around the globe,” said Maxar CEO Dan Jablonsky.

“This ‘one-stop shop’ for commercial imagery access across federal agencies and military branches is an essential element for many national security and humanitarian missions,” he continued, noting that Maxar is proud to continue supporting the nation’s warfighters and analysts in these critical missions.

Throughout the newly activated option year, Maxar will continue its work providing over 400,000 federal employees with access to high-resolution commercial imagery from Maxar’s 125-petabyte imagery library, as well as geospatial data from other providers.

This renewal continues Maxar’s previous work for NGA, including most recently a $60 million contract to help the agency operate a classified national security platform for analyzing large amounts of data.

On November 9th, Executive Biz is hosting a Dual-Use Technology in Space Defense Forum featuring speakers from NGA and Maxar who will discuss the evolving challenges surrounding dual-use technologies in Space Defense.

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DOE Seeks to Help Energy Sector Protect Operational Tech With New Cybersecurity Methodology
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DOE Seeks to Help Energy Sector Protect Operational Tech With New Cybersecurity Methodology

The Department of Energy has published a document meant to help oil, natural gas and electric utility companies protect operational technology networks against cyber threats.

DOE said Friday it worked with the Idaho National Laboratory and sought input from the energy industry to create the “CyOTE: Cybersecurity for the OT Environment” methodology, which supports the Biden administration's critical infrastructure protection initiatives.

The CyOTE framework offers a system for linking anomalous and cyber activities to identify threat indicators.

The DOE Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security and Emergency Response plans to compile case studies involving cyberattacks in the past to support the development of cybersecurity strategies in the sector.

Navy Submarine Acquisition Program Offices Undergo Reorganization
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Navy Submarine Acquisition Program Offices Undergo Reorganization

The U.S. Navy has reorganized two program executive offices responsible for the acquisition of nuclear-powered ballistic missile and fast attack submarines.

PEO Columbia has been renamed as PEO Strategic Submarines, led by Rear Adm. Scott Pappano, and will oversee the branch's transition from the legacy Ohio fleet to the Columbia class, the military branch said Friday.

PEO Submarines is now called PEO Attack Submarines and consolidates all Virginia-class platform development, procurement and sustainment efforts under the leadership of Rear Adm. David Goggins.

Rear Adm. Edward Anderson will lead a new office tasked with ensuring the delivery of warfare systems to the branch's undersea vessels. 

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DCSA Takes Operational Control of Credibility Assessment Service Center
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DCSA Takes Operational Control of Credibility Assessment Service Center

The Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency has assumed responsibility for the operations of the U.S. government's research, development and education hub for polygraph tests or other methods to ascertain truthfulness.

DCSA said Friday it took over the running of the National Center for Credibility Assessment from the Defense Intelligence Agency.

Center personnel review polygraph programs' compliance with policies, standards and practices set forth by the federal government, develop technologies and methodologies to support such programs and advise intelligence community leaders on polygraph-related issues.

The NCCA management transition effort came two years after DCSA took oversight of the Defense Security Service, the National Background Investigations Bureau and Department of Defense Consolidated Adjudications Facility.

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Senate Bill Seeks to Enhance Oversight of Foreign Cryptocurrency Mining Operations
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Senate Bill Seeks to Enhance Oversight of Foreign Cryptocurrency Mining Operations

Sens. Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., and Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, have proposed a bill that would direct the Department of the Treasury to submit to Congress a report on virtual currencies and their global use as part of efforts to improve oversight of mining of cryptocurrencies overseas.

“In order to strengthen U.S. competitiveness, our government must get a better handle on the role that cryptocurrency is playing in the global economy and how it is being leveraged by other countries,” Hassan, a member of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, said in a Sept. 27th statement.

The congressional report should assess how foreign countries use and mine virtual currencies; identify the dollar value and types of virtual currency mined for each of fiscal years 2016 through 2022 within the U.S. and abroad; and determine vulnerabilities, including those associated with supply chain disruptions involving semiconductors and other critical technologies.

In September, the Treasury announced the first sanctions designation against a virtual currency exchange for its role in facilitating transactions for threat actors involved in ransomware attacks.

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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GAO: DOD Should Document Progress in Implementing Commission’s Recommendations to Improve Contingency Contracting
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GAO: DOD Should Document Progress in Implementing Commission’s Recommendations to Improve Contingency Contracting

The Government Accountability Office found that the Department of Defense has initiated steps to implement 16 of the 30 recommendations made by the Commission on Wartime Contracting in Iraq and Afghanistan in 2011 but still needs to document progress in implementing those recommendations.

“By fully documenting the progress of the department's efforts to implement the recommendations, DOD could help achieve the Commission's vision for improving the oversight and management of contingency contracting operations,” GAO said in a report published Friday.

The commission was created in accordance with law to offer recommendations to improve contingency contracting.

The congressional watchdog recommended that DOD improve data on exercises, operations and other activities related to contingency operations in the Synchronized Predeployment and Operational Tracker-Enterprise Suite (SPOT-ES). 

SPOT-ES is an information system that DOD uses to track and report data about contracts and contractor staff supporting contingency operations.

GAO said the Pentagon should designate an office that would provide oversight for tracking and reporting which activities listed in SPOT-ES are associated with “applicable contingency operations” and initiate actions to improve data accuracy and completeness.

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