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GAO: Agencies Share Lessons From 2 High-Profile Cyber Incidents
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GAO: Agencies Share Lessons From 2 High-Profile Cyber Incidents

Federal agencies realized the importance of government-industry collaboration while responding to the cyberattacks on SolarWinds’ network monitoring software and Microsoft’s Exchange email service, according to a Government Accountability Office report.

GAO found that the Cyber Unified Coordination Groups’ role as a central discussion forum helped agencies and companies work together during incident response efforts.

The government audit agency sought information from the 24 CFO Act agencies on lessons learned from the Russia-linked SolarWinds breach in late 2020 and the Microsoft Exchange server compromise that was attributed to China last year.

Agencies received joint advisories from the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, the FBI and the National Security Agency to help government personnel understand the malicious campaigns and implement measures to fix vulnerabilities associated with the two large-scale breaches.

However, agencies experienced coordination and response challenges due to some information sharing and evidence gathering practices, GAO noted.

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Boeing 757 Lavatory Design Entrusted to Collins Aerospace for Customizable Plan
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Boeing 757 Lavatory Design Entrusted to Collins Aerospace for Customizable Plan

The Boeing Company has tapped Collins Aerospace to design lavatories for the 737 family of aircraft in the long-term going forward.

The aerospace contractor announced Wednesday that they were interested in maintaining and growing their relationship with Collins Aerospace, a Raytheon Technologies-owned business, with whom they’ve been working since 2013.

“We believe this lavatory will be the standard for single-aisle aircraft for years to come,” added Troy Brunk, president of Interiors for Collins Aerospace.

Brunk continued, “The next-generation lavatory enables a degree of choice not typically afforded narrow-body operators, with the flexibility and integrated technology for simple and efficient customization and installation of upgrades.”

The newly designed lavatory features a modular design, touchless functionality, micro-LED lighting and a centralized computing system. The latter feature is expected to personalize the passenger experience, improve airline operability and prepare for future integration of technology.

Customization is a key attraction of the new 757 lavatories. Collins’ design is intended to be “bespoke” to a given customer’s needs, offering a number of a la carte details, including a variation accessible to passengers of all mobilities.

Lavatories will be equipped with standardized touchless faucets and available upgrades for touchless toilet flush, waste bin, soap dispenser and toilet seat/lid.

Of Boeing and Collins’ partnership, Cynthia Muklevicz, Collins Aerospace vice president of business development, remarked, “Years of cooperation, hard work and innovation have culminated in a final product that provides increased airline value, a clear path for future technology integration and improved passenger amenities.”

The new lavatories will premiere in 2025 on new 757 airplanes.

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Day & Zimmermann’s Ann Waynik Discusses Professional Brand Development With Potomac Officers Club
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Day & Zimmermann’s Ann Waynik Discusses Professional Brand Development With Potomac Officers Club

Ann Waynik, senior director of business development and capture at Day & Zimmermann, was recently featured in an Executive Spotlight interview with the Potomac Officers Club. She spoke on establishing a voice in the government contracting sector, fostering stronger and more diverse networks and optimizing the federal solicitations process.

Waynik discusses her strategies for accelerating professional development and advice for growing a personal brand in this excerpt from the interview:

“My advice would be to step into every role you can and learn as much as possible. I started out as a project scheduler at Martin Marietta and then grew into a systems and test engineer at Ford Aerospace on the U-2 Ground Station (DCGS). I’ve supported Systems Engineering and Technical Assistance (SETA) contracts in directorates that included AS&T, COMM, SED, GED and satellite programs as a systems engineer across the IC. My line management included a contract of over 500 people. As I ventured into the roles of capture and business development, I learned more about the connections of those critical aspects in our business. Today, I understand the entire acquisition, program, engineering, and business development life cycles because of my drive to learn.

I also suggest volunteering across a wide variety of groups. This not only helps you learn more and get broader exposure, but most importantly, it expands your credibility and builds a powerful network. I have led monthly business development meetings and forums for the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) and the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) for years. I am the co-lead of the United States Geospatial Intelligence Foundation (USGIF) NRO working group with Nick Buck, and I participate in the NGA working group. By immersing myself in these groups I have gained a better understanding of these agencies, their needs and their future strategies, while fostering connections with their executives.”

Visit PotomacOfficersClub.com to read the full Executive Spotlight interview with Day & Zimmermann’s Ann Waynik and learn more about the platform’s membership options and benefits.

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Commerce Department Scouts for Members of Future IoT Advisory Board
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Commerce Department Scouts for Members of Future IoT Advisory Board

The Department of Commerce is in search of nominees for a future group that will advise the Internet of Things Federal Working Group on multiple matters.

Stakeholders and experts within and outside the federal government will compose the IoT Advisory Board to help the working group identify policies and efforts that hinder IoT development, scenarios where IoT can provide economic advantages and international opportunities related to IoT, the National Institute of Standards and Technology said Thursday.

The board will also provide advice on the opportunities and challenges faced by small businesses with regard to IoT.

“We would like this board to represent a broad spectrum of IoT experts from industry, academia and nonprofit organizations who can provide advice on IoT ranging from rural concerns to transportation, security and health care topics,” said Gina Raimondo, the secretary of commerce.

The Commerce Department will accept nominations through Feb. 28, 2022. NIST will perform administrative duties to support the future board.

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Air Force Needs Industry Input on Kessel Run Data Services
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Air Force Needs Industry Input on Kessel Run Data Services

The Department of the Air Force seeks market information on enterprise-wide data services for the Kessel Run software development unit, also known as Detachment 12 of the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center.

Kessel Run wants to identify commercial enterprise capabilities for its data services including remote working and locally within the Boston, Massachusetts area or Langley Air Force Base in Virginia, the Air Force said in a SAM.gov notice published on Jan. 13.

The detachment’s data services team manages, visualizes and optimizes data to automate complex data sets, understand trends and create data-informed algorithms.

Kessel Run also applies machine learning via trial-and-error based on events and provides business intelligence dashboards to present performance metrics.

Interested parties may submit the requested information through Feb. 4th.

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Aerospace Corporation Exec John Plumb Nominated for DOD Space Policy Role
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Aerospace Corporation Exec John Plumb Nominated for DOD Space Policy Role

John Plumb, principal director and chief of government relations at the Aerospace Corporation, has been nominated to serve as the assistant secretary of defense for space policy, the Senate Armed Services Committee said Thursday.

He testified before SASC including Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., who chairs the committee. SASC recorded a video of the meeting.

“I would like to thank President Biden, Secretary Austin and Deputy Secretary Hicks for their trust in me and in my ability to continue serving the nation if confirmed as the first Assistant Secretary of Defense for Space Policy,” Plumb said.

The nominee also serves as a commanding officer for the U.S. Navy Reserve, where he supports the Commander, Submarine Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet or COMSUBPAC’s Undersea Warfare Operations Headquarters.

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NASA to Deploy SpaceX Resupply Craft from ISS with Experimental Data Onboard
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NASA to Deploy SpaceX Resupply Craft from ISS with Experimental Data Onboard

NASA is deploying a SpaceX Dragon resupply craft from the International Space Station on Friday, Jan. 21, bringing with it scientific experiments fostered in the station’s microgravity environment.

The spacecraft will touch down off the coast of Florida, so as to enable the expeditious transport of the experimental cargo to NASA’s Space Station Processing Facility at the agency’s Florida-based Kennedy Space Center. Doing so will expose the experiments to a minimal amount of Earth’s gravity, aiding the data collection process.

At 10:40 a.m. on Friday, Dragon will undock from the space-facing port of ISS’s Harmony module and fire its thrusters to create ample distance between itself and the launch site.

After a deorbit burn, the craft is scheduled to reenter the Earth’s atmosphere, and make  a splashdown via parachute at approximately 4:25 p.m. on Saturday, Jan 22.

There will be an estimated 4,900+ pounds of supplies and scientific investigations onboard the spacecraft. Notably among them is the Light Microscopy Module (LMM), a light imaging microscope that has been on the station for 12 years doing colloid research, plant studies and thermophysics experiments.

Also included in the Dragon’s cargo will be an InSPACE-4 physics study that is returning samples containing information about harnessing nanoparticles to fabricate and construct new materials such as medical diagnostics and thermal shields.

Additionally, the Kennedy Space Center will be receiving an investigation called Cytoskeleton. Administered by the European Space Agency, this experiment looks at how the human body responds to microgravity, potentially contributing to health measures for astronaut crew members on future missions.

A year ago, in January 2021, SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft brought upwards of 5,200 pounds of scientific materials to the Space Station Processing Facility at Kennedy Space Center. The load included the experiments Space Organogenesis, Cardinal Heart, Sextant Navigation, and Rodent Research-23.

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Air Force Names Wright-Patterson’s Hangar 18 as Newest Software Factory
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Air Force Names Wright-Patterson’s Hangar 18 as Newest Software Factory

Hangar 18 at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio has been designated as the 17th software factory of the Department of the Air Force.

Even before the new designation, Hangar 18 is already full of digital teams and assets from across the service branch that work together to provide warfighters with software and data capabilities, the Air Force Research Laboratory said Thursday.

Matthew Jacobsen, director of Hangar 18, explained that his organization hosting the collaborative team of AFRL, Department of the Air Force and Air Force Institute of Technology opens access to broader contract vehicles and funding opportunities for starting digital modernization projects.

Jacobsen added that the newly designated software factory also serves as a communications hub to avoid redundancy of software programs and partners with technology companies to accelerate the deployment of digital capabilities.

“We have multiple tools and environments in our portfolio, we have multiple areas of specialty between our teams, and, ultimately, you can see that our mission is to use these assets to solve real problems and create pathways to success for teams struggling in the data and software space,” explained the official.

Software factories, spurred into creation by the Air Force Science and Technology Strategy for 2030, fall in line with the digital engineering initiative of former service acquisition chief and 2020 Wash100 Award recipient Will Roper.

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Pentagon Designates Senior Climate Adviser Joe Bryan as Sustainability Chief
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Pentagon Designates Senior Climate Adviser Joe Bryan as Sustainability Chief

Joe Bryan, senior adviser on climate at the Office of the Secretary of Defense, has been appointed the Department of Defense’s chief sustainability officer responsible for enforcing federal sustainment requirements.

The Pentagon said Thursday Bryan will represent its interests on sustainability-related matters and report to the White House on its efforts to achieve federal goals.

The redesignation moves the CSO role away from the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Sustainment to better enable the agency to meet current and future sustainability objectives.

The position was mandated into creation by the White House through Executive Order 14057 on Catalyzing Clean Energy Industries and Jobs Through Federal Sustainability and preceding executive orders.

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House Lawmakers Request Info From CISA Over Multifactor Authentication Implementation
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House Lawmakers Request Info From CISA Over Multifactor Authentication Implementation

Reps. Yvette Clarke, D-N.Y., and Ritchie Torres, D-N.Y., have asked the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency to provide information on efforts to further advance the adoption of multifactor authentication to protect federal networks from security threats.

The lawmakers requested information as Congress seeks to understand the failure of some agencies to comply with the November 2021 deadline to implement MFA requirements, which they said could help reduce the risk of phishing attacks, Clarke’s office said Wednesday.

“As previous efforts to implement multi-factor authentication across the executive branch have clearly not achieved their intended goals, it is important that we work together to ensure that this mandate is implemented effectively in a timely fashion,” Clarke and Torres wrote in a letter addressed to CISA Director Jen Easterly.

CISA should respond to the lawmakers’ request no later than Feb. 4.

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