Defense Systems

Austin mandates COVID vaccine for military

The defense secretary has ordered military departments to immediately begin mandatory vaccination programs with FDA-approved COVID-19 vaccines.

Defense Systems

Pentagon pushes ahead with COVID vaccine mandate

The Defense Department will mandate Pfizer-produced COVID-19 vaccines following the Food and Drug Administration's approval, and other agencies are expected to follow.

Defense Systems

Why the Pentagon wants to make software buying easier

This interview with Tory Cuff, senior advisor for agile acquisitions, explores the Adaptive Acquisition Framework's special software pathway and DOD's pilot experiment with "colorless" money.

Defense Systems

CMMC board chief talks assessors, IT staff

Matt Travis, the CEO for the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification Accreditation Body, said proper training and IT access to the Defense Department's Enterprise Mission Assurance Support Service (eMASS) application, which will house CMMC data, still needs to be finalized for the third-party organizations that will be charged with conducting cyber assessments.

Defense Systems

Army looks to revise cyber operations doctrine

Brig. Gen. Paul Stanton, the commanding general for the Army's Cyber Center of Excellence, said the service was in the final stages of publishing a revised field manual on how it executes cyber operations.

Defense Systems

Can tech protect R&D from foreign adversaries?

The Air Force Research Laboratory wants to assess the risks posed by researchers who may be passing R&D to foreign adversaries.

Defense Systems

How COVID-19 is driving the military’s move to mobile RFID

The need to securely track assets of a mobile workforce during the COVID-19 pandemic has made a clear case for the military to adopt mobile RFID.

Defense Systems

Was DOD ready for telework in 2020?

Slow networks, a lack of management buy-in and the need for more government equipment all affected how DOD feds transitioned to telework at the start of the pandemic, new reports from DOD's IG found.

Defense Systems

Data and DOD's pivot from 'fight tonight'

The Pentagon is developing a tool that could help trace the impact of senior leaders' decisions down to the unit and years into the future.

Defense Systems

Contractor oversight was lacking in Afghanistan, IG says

The Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction's newest report calls out the government's failure to oversee contractors as a source of waste, fraud and abuse.

Defense Systems

Senators push DHS to focus intel activities on foreign threats

The Senate version of the annual intelligence authorization bill, which passed out of committee last week, includes a warning to DHS' intelligence arm to distinguish more carefully between its foreign and domestic missions.

Defense Systems

Navy looks beyond RMF to build cyber resilience

The Navy wants to fortify its cyber resilience to keep pace with rapid software development needs, but changing workforce habits has to come first.

Defense Systems

Microsoft nabs top secret cloud ATO

Azure Government Top Secret is now "generally available" for national security workloads, Microsoft announced in a blog post.

Defense Systems

DHS wants a CMMC-like model for contractors

DHS' Office of the Chief Procurement Officer issued a special notice Aug. 10, noting that it is looking for a way to check contractors' compliance with its cyber hygiene clauses released in 2015.

Defense Systems

Solarium progress report highlights security advances, challenges

While most of the Cyberspace Solarium Commission's recommendations are on track to being implemented, but lack of funding could potentially undermine some efforts, according to a recent the commissions’ 56-page progress report.

Defense Systems

State Department expands push to the cloud

The State Department wants to go all in on the cloud, starting with a new multiplatform toolset to add flexibility and innovation to IT services.

Defense Systems

DOD looks for answers on GPS data spoofing

The Defense Department is looking for technology solutions to obviate the growing threat of location data spoofing targeting satellite-based systems.

Defense Systems

CISA launches joint cyber defense effort

The Joint Cyber Defense Collaborative aims to help the U.S. defend against threats to critical infrastructure through information-sharing and defense operations planning.

Defense Systems

Strategic Command to lead EMS training effort

The Defense Department is standing up a new office to improve expertise in electromagnetic spectrum operations under U.S. Strategic Command as part of a new implementation plan.

Defense Systems

Inconsistent job coding may undercut DOD’s cyber workforce efforts

A DOD inspector general audit found that while the Pentagon has made strides, inconsistent job coding for civilian cyber work roles across filled and vacant positions may hinder recruiting and retention.