• USPS tightens online security after hackers steal employees’ paychecks by creating fake websites similar to USPS employee portal.
• Rapid loss of talent leading to DOD cyber shortfalls: Pentagon’s chief weapons tester says ability to match up against Red Teams is limited.
• Garrison in Syria used by U.S. troops attacked by kamikaze drones: Suicide drones seen in Ukrainian war might be used by ISIS in Syria.
• Congressional oversight of fed workforce, IT, cyber to be split up: House Oversight and Accountability Committee leaders are putting their mark on the subcommittees by revamping more than a few.

DEFENSE & AEROSPACE

ICYMI Snippets

• DIU eyes partnerships for drone-vetting effort.
• SpaceX completes starship wet dress rehearsal.
• NASA suspends efforts to fully deploy Lucy solar array.
• SDA’s National Defense Space Architecture becomes “Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture” (PWSA), mission remains the same.
• NASA to test nuclear engine for future Mars missions.

Defense Contract Awards

• Howard University wins $90M DOD contract to lead HBCU ‘tactical autonomy’ research initiative.
• Epirus wins $66M Army contract for drone-frying Leonidas microwave kit.
• VersAbility lands $141M USAF Mail Center support contract.
• Dell wins $90M contract mod for Army Network Software.
• Prism Maritime, a small business, wins $250M Navy contract for install, mod, and upgrade of combat systems.

Follow the Defense Leaders

• Mercury Systems appoints a new VP of Finance.
• There’s a new SVP of Engineering at Hoverfly Technologies.

Defense Job Openings

• A mouthful: Principal Technical Manager for the Littoral and Mine Warfare Systems Department needed by Navy.
• Marine Corps seeks a Supervisory Financial Manager.

1. Digital/Online in all formats (87%)
2. Emailed to your inbox (59%)
3. Social Media (11%)
4. Audio (Podcasts or Radio) (7%)

Want to participate in GovBrew’s weekly survey? Each week we will ask one(-ish) question related to government contracting and share the results the following week.

PARTICIPATE IN THIS WEEK’S SURVEY —> (( START SURVEY NOW ))

(If you have a question you’d like to see pitched to the GovBrew Crew, just let us know!)

INTEL COMMUNITY

DIA CIO sees intel community moving beyond ‘stovepipe’ IT model.

DIA CIO Doug Cossa might win the Nobel Peace Prize for suggesting that intel agencies don’t have to maintain their own data centers or infrastructure services. DIA and the NGA are partnering under the Company Storefront initiative to offer common IT infrastructure services for the classified environment, including desktop services. Read more

Former counterintelligence chief accused of working for the Russians.

The FBI’s former top spy hunter in New York has been charged with taking secret cash payments of more than $225,000 while overseeing highly sensitive cases, and breaking the law by trying to get Russian billionaire Oleg Deripaska removed from a U.S. sanctions list. Read more

ICYMI Snippets

• NSA has awarded CACI a $284M contract for cyber systems engineering.
• Director of National Intelligence participates in CNN-moderated World Economic Forum Panel. Read the transcript here.
• ODNI needs a Deputy Group Chief for IC Acquisitions.

CIVILIAN

VA RFP” Electronic Data Interchange and Paper to Electronic Services.

The VA, VHA, and the IVC (formerly Office of Community Care), utilizes a Healthcare Clearinghouse (HCCH) to provide connectivity with community providers to support the payment for services provided to Veterans and Veteran Families via incoming and outgoing Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) and Paper to Electronic (P2E) transaction services. This is a RFP announcement, due Feb. 17. Read more

NOAA looks to bolster its cybersecurity (a sources sought).

NOAA has posted a sources sought notice to support the joint operations of its Cyber Security Center and the Department of Commerce’s Enterprise Security Operations Center. Through the potential partnership, NOAA aims to integrate, correlate, and enhance security information used by NOAA and its partners and numerous other DOC bureaus. Read more

The glass ceiling is thin here! DHS director: “It’s a great time to be a woman in federal IT.”

According to a recent EEOC report, women account for only 29 percent of the STEM federal workforce. Despite this daunting figure, the director of the Enterprise Architecture Division at the DHS is optimistic that more women will be included when it comes to the future of Fed IT. “It’s a lot better now than it used to be 20 or 30 years ago,” she said. Read more

ICYMI Snippets

• GAO estimates amount of unemployment insurance fraud at more than $60B.
• I bet you use Turbotax, huh? But the best things in life [should be] free! ‘Taypayer Advocate’ pushes IRS to its own free, direct e-file system.
• NIST working on ‘potentially significant updates’ to cybersecurity framework..
• USAID is looking for contractors to think like incubators.
• OMB streamlines contract officer training with certification update.

Civilian Contracts Awards

• Leidos secures $1.5B SSA IT systems and modernization contract, after Peraton was denied its protest.
• NIH awards Oneida Communications a $1M NIH IT contract.
• CDC awards EDWOSB Tridant Solutions a $4M CDC data management services contract.

Follow Civilian Leaders

Civilian Job Openings

• NASA needs a Deputy Director, Flight Operations Directorate.
• The FCC is looking for a new Division Chief.
• CISA is seeking a Deputy Associate Director for te Cyber Defense Collaborative.

M&A CORNER

Thoma Bravo strikes $1.3B deal for Magnet Forensics.

Thoma Bravo has agreed to acquire digital investigation software developer Magnet Forensics through Morpheus Purchaser, a newly established corporation controlled by the private equity firm, for approximately $1.3B. Read more

It’s belt-tightening time for space startups.

After years of sky-high valuations and investor competition for shares of promising space startups, high interest rates and the threat of recession have made investors cautious. In response to a lack of new funding sources, space startups are cutting back on hiring, reducing travel and giving up leased office space. Read more