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August 15, 2018 | International, C4ISR

Cost Isn’t Everything. Pentagon Should Judge Contractors on Cybersecurity, Report Says

Security would be ‘fourth pillar' in weapons purchase decisions

The Pentagon should take into account the cybersecurity capabilities of defense contractors in addition to cost and performance measures when awarding contracts, a U.S. government-funded think tank recommended in a report published Monday.

Through its buying process, the Pentagon “can influence and shape the conduct of its suppliers,” the Mitre Corp. said in a report titled “Deliver Uncompromised: A Strategy for Supply Chain Security and Resilience in Response to the Changing Character of War.”

The Defense Department “can define requirements to incorporate new security measures, reward superior security measures in the source selection process, include contract terms that impose security obligations, and use contractual oversight to monitor contractor accomplishments,” the report said.

The Pentagon must consider new measures because the very nature of war is changing, the Mitre report said. Adversaries no longer have to engage the United States in direct conflict using weapons but can respond to American military strikes “through blended operations that take place through supply chain, cyber domain, and human elements,” the report noted.

The report recommends that security be made a “primary metric” in Pentagon weapons purchase and sustainment decisions and that the Defense Department increase awareness of risks associated with its supply chains. It also calls for a National Supply Chain Intelligence Center that would include officials from the FBI, Homeland Security, the Pentagon and intelligence agencies to track risks and advise agencies.

When choosing current or new contractors, in addition to considering cost, performance and schedule, the Pentagon must also make security a so-called “fourth pillar,” the report said. Contractors should be continuously monitored and assessed for the degree of risk they pose, the report said.

In addition to measuring a contractor's ongoing performance on a contract, an independent, federally-funded research agency could develop a risk rating similar to credit ratings done by agencies like Moody's, the report said. Mitre is a federally-funded research and development center.

The Pentagon did not respond to an email seeking comment on the report.

The report and its recommendations come as U.S. intelligence officials have become increasingly alarmed at potential cybersecurity risks that may be embedded in vast computer networks and systems that power government agencies as well as weapon systems. Last year the Trump administration banned federal agencies from using a popular anti-virus software made by Kaspersky Labs, which was alleged to have close ties with Russian intelligence services.

Full Article: https://www.rollcall.com/news/politics/pentagon-judge-contractors-cybersecurity

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  • US F-35 fighter jet poised for combat debut

    September 26, 2018 | International, Aerospace

    US F-35 fighter jet poised for combat debut

    By Barbara Starr and Zachary Cohen, CNN Washington (CNN)The US Marine Corps' stealth F-35B Lightning fighter jet could fly its first combat mission within days, according to several US defense officials, who told CNN that the fifth-generation aircraft are currently aboard the USS Essex amphibious assault ship and should soon be in a position to conduct airstrikes over Afghanistan. The USS Essex has already sailed from the Gulf of Aden into the North Arabian Sea and is expected to move into the Persian Gulf in coming days, one official said. F-35 pilots have been conducting intelligence and surveillance missions in Somalia while on standby to conduct air support for US troops on the ground there if needed. While available for support, the advanced fighter jet was not used in an airstrike over Somalia on Saturday that killed 18 militants after US and local forces came under attack. In May, Israel Defense Forces said they were using their version of the F-35 in operational missions, striking at least two unspecified targets in the region. Full article: https://www.cnn.com/2018/09/25/politics/us-f-35-combat-missions

  • Contract Awards by US Department of Defense - February 06, 2020

    February 7, 2020 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security

    Contract Awards by US Department of Defense - February 06, 2020

    NAVY Northrop Grumman Systems Corp., San Diego, California, is awarded a $172,424,000 modification (P00004) to a previously awarded fixed-price-incentive-firm-target contract (N00019-19-C-0008). This modification exercises options for the production and delivery of two MQ-4 Triton unmanned air systems for the Navy, one Navy main operating base, trade studies and associated technical and administrative data. Work will be performed in San Diego, California (30.5%); Red Oak, Texas (12%); Palmdale, California (10%); Baltimore, Maryland (9.7%); Salt Lake City, Utah (7.9%); Bridgeport, West Virginia (4.9%); Indianapolis, Indiana (3.8%); Moss Point, Mississippi (3.6); Chantilly, Virginia (3.5%); Waco, Texas (1.7%); San Clemente, California (1.3%); Newton, North Dakota (.9%); various locations within the continental U.S. (8.8%); and various locations outside the continental U.S. (1.4%), and is expected to be completed in January 2024. 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  • Space Software Startup To Pursue SDA Contracts

    February 12, 2020 | International, Aerospace

    Space Software Startup To Pursue SDA Contracts

    NewSpace Networks will bid against Lockheed Martin for bankrupt Vector Launch's GalacticSky software-defined satellite assets, says co-founder Shaun Coleman. By THERESA HITCHENS WASHINGTON: Three of the founders of bankrupt Vector Launch have created a new startup, NewSpace Networks, to develop space software products for applications such as data analysis, cybersecurity, and the Internet of Things (IoT). As one of their first forays into the market, the company intends to respond to the Space Development Agency's January call for “leap-ahead technologies” for its evolving DoD space architecture. The new San Jose-based company is eyeing SDA's top two priorities: the so-called ‘transport layer' for Internet and communications connectivity and the ‘tracking layer' that will also cover hypersonic missiles. NewSpace Networks leadership believe they could provide capabilities to the ‘battle management layer,' and the ‘support layer' to enable ground and launch segments to support a responsive space architecture. “We could occupy several of those layers,” Robert Cleave, formerly Vector's chief revenue office, told me in a phone conversation today, which included NewSpace Network co-founders Shaun Coleman and John Metzger. Coleman was the first investor in Vector Launch; Metzger was vice president of software engineering. As we reported, the SDA's Jan. 21 Broad Area Announcement gives interested vendors one year to pitch their ideas. Coleman said that NewSpace Networks is the only company focused on creating a software-based infrastructure in space. Rather than building satellites, Cleave explained, “we see ourselves as a provider of software that makes the satellite smarter.” The idea is to move the aerospace industry from its current hardware focus to a focus on software, as has happened at big tech firms across Silicon Valley and is recognized by many of the Air Force's leadership. NewSpace Networks intends to target military and defense-related customers, along with commercial firms and civilian government agencies. This includes pitching to be a part of DoD's efforts to develop and use 5G high-speed communications capabilities and to provide connectivity to Army vehicles. But it also is looking at potential sales outside of the traditional aerospace community, such as vendors of autonomous vehicles, city governments interested in infrastructure monitoring, and even direct consumer sales of healthcare devices and entertainment services. The wide variety of potential customers is based on the fact that NewSpace Networks' planned products are focused on computing, data storage and processing capabilities at the edge, ones that have a wide variety of potential uses. According to today's announcement, NewSpace Networks's initial products will focus on “the unique challenges of edge computing via space connectivity.” But the company's tech also could be used with aircraft, drones or aerostats serving as the connectivity node, the co-founders explained. The company also intends to work on: Data analytics and analysis; Cloud integration; Network optimization; Virtualization & Hyperconvergence (the latter is industry jargon for combining computing, storage and networking in a single system); Space and air integration; Security and encryption; Application lifecycle management; and IoT enablement. Tuscon-based Vector was one of three commercial space firms chosen in April by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency for its DARPA Launch Challenge, a $12 million competition to rapidly launch small satellites to Low Earth Orbit (LEO), until its surprise withdrawal in September due to financial difficulties. The other two companies were Virgin Orbit, which withdrew in October to concentrate on more lucrative customers, and the secretive California-based startup Astra, that first went public in early February via a website. According to a Feb. 3 profile in Bloomberg Businessweek, the firm intends its first launch on Feb. 21. Vector declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy in December, and as colleague Jeff Foust reported on Jan. 24 announced it would auction off its assets. Vector already has a $4.5 million bid from Lockheed Martin for its GalacticSky software-defined satellite technology — essentially a computer on orbit that can be configured for various satellite missions that will be accepted if no other firms issues a bid by Feb. 21. If others throw their hats in the ring, there will be an auction for GalacticSky on Feb. 25. And guess what? NewSpace Networks intends to do just that. “We will be bidding for GalacticSky as well,” Coleman said, noting that I was the first reporter they have told. The founders believe that GalacticSky's technology, that allows a satellite to act more like a cloud node than a mainframe computer, would be complementary to their own developments. Even if they don't win the auction, they hope to work with whoever wins. https://breakingdefense.com/2020/02/space-software-startup-to-pursue-sda-contracts

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