March 4, 2024

NASA pushes for zero trust, Corporate Transparency Act struck down, GDIT promotes fedhealth leader, AFRL looking for white papers

QUICK HITS

  • Congress averts partial shutdown with stopgap funding: But lawmakers still haven't approved a FY24 budget.

  • Pentagon leak suspect expected to plead guilty: Prosecutors asked to schedule a plea hearing, but no other details were made available.

  • Corporate Transparency Act struck down as unconstitutional: But the government will likely appeal this decision to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.

  • What makes a protest at the Court of Federal Claims successful? Take a look at the data to gain a better understanding.

  • AFRL is looking for white papers: AFRL wants you to submit a white paper for Adaptive Artificial Intelligence and Future Distributed Command and Control.

DEFENSE & AEROSPACE

Pentagon to lift ban on grounded Ospreys after fatal crash.

The Pentagon will lift the ban on flights by the grounded V-22 Osprey next week, according to US officials; the lift is following a high-level meeting where SecDef Austin endorsed the military services’ plans for a safe and measured return to operations. Read more

Contracts suggest US military aid still trickling into Ukraine.

Companies that have previously supplied Ukraine are now competing to provide “special ammunition” worth $624 million, with multiple contracts indicating that the US has not completely stopped sending military aid into the embattled area. Read more

Austin tells Congress there was no lapse in authority during his hospital stay.

Regarding his brief stay in the hospital, SecDef Austin said, during testimony before the House Armed Services Committee, that "There was never any lapse in authorities or in command and control. Read more

ICYMI:

  • USAF posts sources sought notice for data and AI SME support services.

  • DODIN officially launches its Cyber Operational Readiness Assessment program.

  • Thailand’s Air Force unveils new wish list for jets and drones.

Defense Contract Awards

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Defense Job Openings

FUNNY

INTEL COMMUNITY

USAF intelligence finding new ways to get to 'yes'.

When it comes to the Air Force's intelligence community, no one may be under greater pressure thanks to the continued workforce and tech challenge; The move to new and emerging technologies like the cloud directly clashes with USAF's obligation to keep current systems running. Read more

US must brace for complex threats in this year's election, says FBI.

FBI Director Christopher Wray warns that the US is likely to face more complex threats as adversaries continue to adopt AI and other innovative tech to enhance their attack capabilities, especially during this year's election cycle. Read more

ICYMI:

CIVILIAN

How the Secret Service's SOC uses tools, training to answer data challenges.

One of the biggest challenges to running a security operations center (SOC) is the data. Either there’s too much for human analysts to parse, or there’s gaps in the data that create blind spots on the network. But the CIO for the U.S. Secret Service said that’s where having the right tools can help, particularly AI. Read more

NASA uses catastrophic visual in its push for ZT.

A top NASA official used a catastrophic visual to capture the challenge of securing operational technology devices and IT in the push for zero trust, saying “There are some challenges from an identity perspective, as you might imagine... So, one of the things we’re looking at, in terms of zero trust, is how we improve our identity capabilities across the NASA infrastructure.” Read more

Lawmakers taking GSA to task over Chinese video cameras.

GSA's top IT official is sparing with GSA's deputy inspector general over the General Services Administration's purchase of China-made video conferencing cameras that were acquired as part of a 2022 pilot project. Read more

ICYMI:

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Civilian Job Openings

M&A CORNER

Arlington Capital Partners forms defense manufacturing company.

Arlington Capital Partners forms Keel Holdings, a leading manufacturer of complex structures for the highest priority programs within the Navy, Army, and Air Force. The company was formed through the merger of existing Arlington portfolio company Pegasus Steel with the newly completed acquisitions of Metal Trades and Merrill Technologies Group. Read more

SHOWER THOUGHTS 🚿

How is the DOD transforming its cloud service offerings approval?

The Federal Risk Authorization Management Program evaluates the security of Cloud Service Offerings, or CSOs, prior to their deployment in U.S. government organizations; now, the DOD is transforming its cloud service offerings approval process to more efficiently push tools through it. Read more

Is it time to do away with the Office of Personnel Management?

On Feb. 6, in a stunning case of what Baseball Hall of Famer Yogi Berra once so eloquently referred to as “déjà vu all over again,” the GAO released a report blasting OPM t for its failure to address ongoing severe data management and security flaws, which continue to jeopardize the personal data of federal employees. Read more

How are defense intelligence networks evolving amidst chaos?

When defense information tech experts and high-level officials gathered this year or the Department of Defense Intelligence Information System conference, affectionately known as DoDIIS, the practitioners’ mission was clear: help the Pentagon quickly and securely share information across its networks during an especially “chaotic” time in the world. Read more

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