Defense Systems

White House clashes with legislators over new cyber post

The co-chair of the Cyberspace Solarium Commission said he has yet to hear from the White House on why they don't want a new top cybersecurity official in the executive branch.

Defense Systems

Thornberry talks acquisition reform in 2021 NDAA

Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-Texas) is hopeful that lasting change comes with his latest provisions in what is set to be his last National Defense Authorization Act.

Defense Systems

Lawmakers spotlight cyber in Senate defense bill

Amendments filed to the Senate version of the National Defense Authorization Act by Sen. Angus King (I-Maine) and others would implement more than a dozen recommendations from the Solarium Commission report.

Defense Systems

Senate NDAA repeals protest pilot, seeks clarity on JRSS

Lawmakers in the Senate are running out of patience with the nebulous status of the Joint Regional Security Stacks effort and want to give new contracting authority to Cyber Command.

Defense Systems

CMMC training registration starts, but worries persist

The first cadre of DOD cybersecurity assessors is expected to graduate by early August, but concerns loom over Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification.

Defense Systems

Lawmakers skeptical of seaborne drone fleet

The House defense committee is looking to add some oversight for rapid procurement of unmanned vehicles and vessels, and wants more detailed plans on how the Army will use its newly developed augmented reality headset.

Defense Systems

Key Solarium recommendations find a home in the defense bill

Lawmakers declined to add a mandate for a White House Cyber Director position, citing jurisdictional issues.

Defense Systems

AI leadership restructuring, IT policy oversight on tap in 2021 NDAA

The House Armed Services Committee began marking up its draft of the 2021 defense policy bill with some focus on artificial intelligence efforts and oversight of IT policy.

Defense Systems

Pentagon taps Dave Spirk as chief data officer

Spirk filled the same role at U.S. Special Operations Command, has an intelligence background and will help implement the department's modernization strategy.

Defense Systems

Perspecta's NGEN protest denied

The Government Accountability Office has denied Perspecta’s challenge of the $7.7 billion Navy NGEN award that went to Leidos.

Defense Systems

Pandemic fuels cloud demand, shift to apps

The remote work challenges under the COVID-19 pandemic mean that once "nice-to-have" technologies are now mission critical, leaders said.

Defense Systems

NSA launches pilot program to secure defense contractors

The National Security Agency is testing a secure domain name system model to better secure companies in the defense industrial base, which houses much of the nation's weapons technology.

Defense Systems

Lawmakers want answers on Juniper backdoors

Members of Congress are pressing Juniper's CEO for details of an internal probe into how modified code for a compromised NSA encryption algorithm wound up in the company's firewall products.

Defense Systems

DOD looks for extension on Huawei ban

With a looming implementation deadline in August, DOD looks for leniency in anti-Huawei product requirements for defense contractors.

Defense Systems

A look at how the IC is getting back to the office

The coronavirus pandemic has pushed workers who are used to top-secret networks home. But as intel agencies begin bringing more personnel back, they'll have to contend with lingering anxieties.

Defense Systems

DOD plans new JEDI amendment

The Pentagon says it expect to be able to finish its revisions and make a new award decision by Aug. 17.

Defense Systems

DOD wants to overhaul its software development by 2025

The Defense Department wants virtually all of its new software initiatives to use modern software development methodologies, such as agile and DevSecOps, by 2025.

Defense Systems

DARPA’s first bug bounty targets hardware-based security

Security researchers are challenged to devise exploits that bypass the novel hardware security protections developed for the System Security Integration Through Hardware and Firmware program.

Defense Systems

‘COVID penalty’ could cost Pentagon at least $10 billion in contractor claims

Ellen Lord, the Defense Department’s chief buyer, told Congress that defense companies coronavirus relief claims could cost upwards of $10 billion.

Defense Systems

Army splits CIO role

The Army announced June 11 that it will divvy up the CIO role to focus on policy and with a separate deputy chief of staff to lead military network communication challenges.