• Finding covert CIA sites is apparently easier than we’d like to think: Security researchers report that even an “amateur sleuth” could have found hundreds of CIA websites used for cover communications.
• Sometimes going above and beyond pays tangible dividends. Here’s how MetaPhase Consulting established a company culture that prioritizes relationships, fantastic employee relationships, and giving back.
• How to wrap your head around wrap rates: Heard the term ‘wrap rate’ before but have no idea what it means? Here’s a handy breakdown.
• Follow the federal trail of the U.S.’ artificial intelligence spending: Get a broader picture of how – and why – the federal government is spending more than one billion dollars on artificial intelligence.
• AI Bill of rights blueprint: The WH released a new blueprint for the AI bill of rights that is based on five guiding principles you should know.
• Bidding Polaris and having issues with SAM or PSP? Contractors must notify GSA by this Friday if they’re having trouble accessing information needed to submit their proposals via the Polaris Submission Portal (PSP) or Delays with entity validation in SAM.

🕵🏻‍♂️ Happy Chic Spy Day: On October 5th, 1962, Sean Connery’s depiction of James Bond as British Secret Service agent 007 gained worldwide attention when the movie “Dr. No” made its debut. Spy films feature, as often as possible, chic and fashionable heroes. Chic Spy Day was established in 2015 by a fashion website. Today, we celebrate with all things Gov-Spy-Con related.

DEFENSE & AEROSPACE

ICYMI Snippets

• Navy’s innovation hub wants more companies in the Defense technology innovation base.
• DISA’s sweeping new plan takes aim at data silos, mistagged info.
• Can the Hubble Telescope go higher into orbit? NASA, SpaceX think the answer is yes.
• Congress has been pushing Pentagon leaders to do something about rampant inflation for months, and they’re finally getting results.

Defense Contract Awards

• Navy awarded a $5.1B IDIQ for sonobuoy capabilities to Lockheed Martin, Undersea Sensor Systems, Sparton De Leon Springs.
• Palantir secures $229M Military AI contract extension with ARL.
• L3Harris awarded $12M cost-plus-fixed-fee cloud-based architecture software contract.
• Deloitte and Irving Burton Associates were awarded DHA BPA contracts to provide professional services.

Follow the Defense Leaders

• ODNI CISO Matt Conner leaves the industry.
• CENTCOM makes a bold and precedent-setting move by hiring a new CTO, Schuyler Moore.
• ManTech president and CEO retiring, transitioning to chairman of board of directors, to be replaced by a Navy veteran.
• There’s a new Chief Growth Officer at Joint Strategic Technologies, and he came out of retirement for the position.

Defense Job Openings

• The Army is looking for a new Chief Technology Officer.
• Raytheon is looking for an NRO GEOINT, Associate Director of Business Development

The govcon industry is loaded with events. You’ll be thanking us later for this list of really effective networking events to attend. (Let us know if there’s any we missed!)

• HIMSS NCA events
• Shelley McGuire events
• SBA events
• Special Operations Forces Industry Conference (SOFIC)
• Defense Health Information Technology Symposium (DHITS)
• AUSA Annual Meeting
• Modern Day Marine
• GovMates events

PARTICIPATE IN THIS WEEK’S SURVEY (it’s fun and spy themed) —> (( START SURVEY NOW ))

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

INTEL COMMUNITY

Johns Hopkins and Army doctor charged as would-be Russian spies.

An Army major and her Russian-speaking spouse have been found guilty of attempting to steal medical records to back Russia in its war effort against Ukraine. The two were charged with conspiracy to violate HIPAA after they promised to obtain medical records from military personnel and their families held by both the U.S. Army and Hopkins. Read more

Iranian former informants say CIA failed to protect its spies.

Former Iranian informants for the CIA are speaking out against the agency’s failures to protect spies during its secret war with Tehran. From a sub-optimal covert communications system to rampant carelessness amid the push to gather intelligence in Iran, informants say that sloppy CIA handling and abandonment were common. Read more

CIA’s Juliane Gallina on Top 5 tech trends, biggest U.S. threats.

Interested in learning more about how CIA’s tradecraft is changing, as the agency shifts away from counter terrorism to more hard target adversaries, such as China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia? Check out this video interview with Juliane Gallina, the CIA’s associate deputy director of digital innovation  Read more

ICYMI Snippets

• CIA sheds light on its spy work with new ‘Langley Files’ podcast.
• CIA honors Underground Railroad hero Harriet Tubman as model spy with new statue.
• The Wooly Mammoth may be making a comeback, thanks to a firm funded by the CIA.
• The CIA’s website has fun stories and surprisingly doesn’t suck. Find declassified info, case studies, employee stories, and much more.

IC Contract Awards

• SES wins $260M CBP enforcement aircraft variant production contract.

IC Job Openings

CIVILIAN

DOE seeks to maximize Defense Production Act effectiveness (a RFI).

The RFI specifically seeks public input on how the DPA can address the following: technology supply chain challenges; domestic manufacturing, including small- and medium-scale; American workforce investment; and energy equity. The RFI also seeks input regarding several approaches the Energy Department might take. Read more

Four federal uses of Blockchain analytics.

Machine-scale blockchain analytics have the capability of assisting users such as federal agencies and providing intelligent analytics to organize volumes of transactions on a distributed ledger. Read more

FTC announces new CTO and Public Affairs Director.

Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina M. Khan appointed two new senior leaders for the agency on Monday. Stephanie Nguyen will be the FTC’s new chief technology officer and Douglas Farrar will be the new public affairs director.  Read more

ICYMI Snippets

• The Nobel Prize in Physics and Physiology/Medicine have been issued. (NSF has worked with these brainiacs.)
• Federal watchdogs recognized for their accomplishments.
• Speaking of watchdogs…OIG asks GSA again to end contracting pilot program.
• DHS FY 2022 data indicates $8.8B in small business prime awards.

Civilian Contracts Awards

• InnoVet Health awarded $200M contract with SBA supporting Agile delivery services.
• Highrise Consulting Inc. awarded $144M cloud and systems engineering contract.
• USDA awards $719M OCIO enterprise solutions contract.

Follow Civilian Leaders

Civilian Job Openings

• The VA’s Veterans Benefits Administration is hiring a chief administrative officer.
• DHS is seeking a new COO to lead and oversee multiple lines of business.
• DOJ’s Civil Division is hiring a director of Consumer Protection Branch.
• Consumer Product Safety Commission is seeking a CIO.
• DOE is hiring a director for the Office of Headquarters Procurement Service.

M&A CORNER

Cybersecurity vendor, Iron Vine to join ECS Federal.

ASGN Inc. has acquired Iron Vine Security, assigning the company to become part of ECS Federal, LLC, ASGN’s federal government subsidiary. Iron Vine’s clients include Census Bureau, HHS Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services, NIH, and SEC. Read more

L3Harris to purchase Viasat’s tactical data link business for $1.96B.

L3Harris Technologies has agreed to purchase Viasat’s Link 16 portfolio as L3Harris seeks to position itself to do more work through the Pentagon’s Joint All-Domain Command and Control program.  Read more