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July 16, 2018 | International, C4ISR

NATO summit boosts cybersecurity amid uncertainty

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Amid uncertainty over NATO member's defense spending, energy deals with Russia and the very future of the alliance itself, combating Moscow's campaign of digital war quietly emerged as an item of agreement for the 29-state body during a summit in Brussels.

Consider: Few previous NATO meetings of world leaders have included so much discussion over cybersecurity. In a joint declaration, the word “cyber” appeared 26 times. In what appears to be a first for the alliance, leaders twice mentioned the threat of “disinformation campaigns,” that have spread chaos through western countries. The declaration devoted two sections to digital security.

Leaders agreed to create two new bodies: A cyberspace operations center in Belgium and a “Joint Force Command” headquarters based in Norfolk, Virginia, that is focused on protecting transatlantic lines of communication. The alliance also agreed to integrate cybersecurity into NATO operations, although it is not mandatory for countries to do so.

The joint decleration followed a recent announcement by the organization that it would boslter its joint cyber operations. If nessecary, alliance members can coordinate a response to a malicious cyberattack, strengthening the pact's agreement of collective self-defense.

“We don't accept cyber, propaganda, interference in domestic political processes,” said NATO Secretary General Jens Stolenberg during a press conference on June 11. He added later in the day that NATO will continue to assist Ukraine in “cyber defense,” amid its upcoming elections.

The focus on cybersecurity and online warfare may be caused by the digital battering that alliance members have experienced in recent years. As NATO members posed for a “family” photograph on Wednesday, it was difficult to pick out members of the transatlantic partnership where Russian disinformation or cyberattacks have been absent. There was Milo Djukanovic of Montenegro, Emmanuel Macron of France, and Jüri Ratas of Estonia, Theresa May of Britainand Angela Merkel of Germany; just a sample of NATO countries who have confronted Russian hackers and propaganda.

However experts say that the alliance's cyber provisions depend on the strength of the organization itself, which came into doubt during a “turbulent” morning, according to sister-site Defense News. After Trump apparently indirectly threatened to leave NATO if countries did not boost their defense spending, the alliance held an emergency meeting. But in a press conference afterword, Trump praised the alliance and said that “the United States' commitment to NATO is very strong.” While he claimed that countries agreed to boost their military spending, The Associated Press reported that Macron disputed the claim.

Trump also criticized Germany on Twitter for paying “billions of dollars” for Russian oil on Thursday morning. “Not acceptable!,” Trump tweeted.

But the test for NATO's cyber commitments may come during a meeting next week between Russian leader Vladimir Putin and Trump, himself a beneficiary of Moscow's digital support, according to a U.S. intelligence assessment. Last week, Klara Jordan, director of the cyber statecraft initiative at the Atlantic Council, told Fifth Domain that the meeting has risks. “Trump may do something similar to what he did after the summit with Kim of North Korea, where he calls for physical exercises not to happen on the border of Russia, and this may include cyber-exercises.”

https://www.fifthdomain.com/international/2018/07/12/nato-summit-boosts-cybersecurity-amid-uncertainty/

On the same subject

  • US Cyber Command’s training platform can now use operational cyber tools

    August 21, 2020 | International, C4ISR, Security

    US Cyber Command’s training platform can now use operational cyber tools

    Mark Pomerleau WASHINGTON — The Pentagon's virtual cyber-training platform has been successfully integrated with operational tools that will be used during missions, according to Col. Tanya Trout, the outgoing director of the Joint Cyber Training Enterprise. The Persistent Cyber Training Environment, or PCTE, is an online client that allows U.S. Cyber Command's warriors to log on from anywhere in the world to conduct individual or collective cyber training as well as mission rehearsal on par with the National Training Center, which did not previously exist for cyber warriors. The Army runs the program on behalf of the joint cyber force and Cyber Command. Given the inherent need for such a platform, U.S. Cyber Command and the subordinate service cyber components have actively sought the technology. The program office in charge of the effort delivered the first version in February. Prior to that, the office was creating prototypes to incrementally test the system. After the platform was first used in a large-scale, tier-one exercise in June, it joined an integration pilot program in July with the program offices of the Unified Platform system and the Joint Cyber Command and Control system, according to Trout, who spoke during a virtual industry day for PCTE on Aug. 19. Trout's Joint Cyber Training Enterprise is the nonmaterial component to PCTE at Cyber Command. It coordinates training of personnel through the platform. The Unified Platform system will consolidate and standardize the variety of big-data tools used by Cyber Command and its subordinate commands to allow forces to more easily share information, build common tools, and conduct mission planning and analysis. Joint Cyber Command and Control, or JCC2, currently in its nascent and amorphous stages, will help command cyber forces and plan their missions. Both programs are managed by the Air Force on behalf of Cyber Command and the joint cyber force. Unified Platform and JCC2, as well as PCTE, are components of the Joint Cyber Warfighting Architecture. JCWA includes five capability categories and guides their development priorities. “This integration allowed for execution of small team tactics while performing active hunt of advanced persistent threat within a post-compromised range environment,” she said. Trout added that the pilot demonstrated PCTE's ability to integrate existing operational tools into training scenarios. “PCTE will integrate and be interoperable with these other five elements [of the JCWA] to enable teams to train and rehearse using available JCWA operational tools and capabilities, [which] gives us really the ability to train as we fight,” she said. Due to the ongoing pandemic and the need to practice social distancing while maintaining readiness, Trout said, there has been increased demand for PCTE. From March to May, the number of new accounts for PCTE doubled. Trout also explained that PCTE — which, since its delivery to Cyber Command, is used daily by the cyber mission force — participated in another pilot focused on mission rehearsal. Members of the Cyber National Mission Force, one of Cyber Command's elite units aligned against specific threat actors and charged with defending the nation in cyberspace, were able to expand their mission rehearsal scope, scale and fidelity in a virtualized adversarial network, which will help determine future requirements, she said. Lt. Gen. Stephen Fogarty, commander of Army Cyber Command, told the industry day audience that the advantage the virtual cyber-training environment has over the National Training Center is its ability to replicate an actual opponent. The mission rehearsal capability allows users to input prior operations, such as those used against the Islamic State group, or to train against or upload malware discovered in operations. https://www.c4isrnet.com/cyber/2020/08/20/us-cyber-commands-training-platform-can-now-use-operational-cyber-tools/

  • Contract Awards by US Department of Defense - November 9, 2020

    November 10, 2020 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security

    Contract Awards by US Department of Defense - November 9, 2020

    AIR FORCE The Boeing Co., St. Louis, Missouri, has been awarded a $657,200,000 undefinitized contract action modification (P00025) to contract FA8634-18-C-2701 for the F-15Q Qatar program. The contract modification provides a comprehensive sparing program and contractor logistics support for the sustainment of the F-15QA aircraft. Logistical support for training devices and administrative costs are also included in this modification. Work will be performed in Al-Udeid Air Base, Qatar. Foreign Military Sales funds in the amount of $55,700,000 are being obligated at the time of award. Total cumulative face value of the contract is $8,040,659,061. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, is the contracting activity. Lockheed Martin Space, Sunnyvale, California, has been awarded a $258,311,000 firm-fixed-price contract for Evolved Strategic Satellite Communication (ESS) contract. This contract will develop a prototype payload and conclude in a hardware and software in-the-loop, end-to-end demonstration. Work will be performed in Denver, Colorado, and is expected to be completed June 2025. This contract is the result of a sole-source acquisition. Fiscal 2020 research, development, test and evaluation funds in the amount of $29,447,172 are being obligated at the time of award. Space and Missile Systems Center, Los Angeles Air Force Base, California, is the contracting activity (FA8808-21-C-0015). Raytheon Integrated Defense Solutions, Tewksbury, Massachusetts, has been awarded a $77,639,897 fixed-price, incentive-firm contract with firm-fixed-price, cost-plus-fixed-fee, cost-reimbursable and time and material contract line item numbers for the Qatar Air Operations Center (AOC) upgrade. The contract is to upgrade the AOC and alternate AOC (AAOC), which includes the procurement of hardware and software, engineering services, installation, integration, and testing of AOC and AAOC components, end-user training, spares and help desk support outside the continental U.S. Work will be performed in Tewksbury, Massachusetts; and Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar, and is expected to be completed March 31, 2025. This award is the result of a directed sole-source acquisition. Foreign Military Sales funds in the amount of $77,639,897 are obligated at the time of award. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Hanscom Air Force Base, Massachusetts, is the contracting activity (FA8730-21-C-0005). Raytheon Co., Fort Wayne, Indiana, has been awarded a $33,899,323 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract to the Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) Combat Identification (CID) Alpha Phase One effort. This contract upgrades the current AWACS System to meet evolving threat capabilities and to address diminishing manufacturing sources material shortages issues with the currently fielded AWACS System. Work will be performed at Raytheon in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and is expected to be completed May 2022. This award is the result of a sole-source acquisition. Fiscal 2020 research, development, test and evaluation funds have been obligated in the amount of $4,864,480 prior to definitization. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Hanscom Air Force Base, Massachusetts, is the contracting activity (FA8730-20-C-0016). Space Exploration Technologies Corp., Hawthorne, California, has been awarded $29,643,567 in firm-fixed-price task orders under the National Security Space Launch Phase 2 contract. These task orders provide early integration studies and fleet surveillance for non-national security space missions. Work will be performed in Hawthorne, California; Vandenberg Air Force Base, California; and Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida, and is expected to be completed by Aug. 19, 2021. Fiscal 2020 missile procurement funds in the amount of $7,307,274; and fiscal 2020 space procurement funds in the amount of $22,336,293 will be obligated at the time of award. Space and Missile Systems Center, Los Angeles Air Force Base, California, is the contracting activity (FA8811-21-F-0002). NAVY General Dynamics NASSCO-Norfolk, Norfolk, Virginia, is awarded a $138,545,759, firm-fixed-price contract for the execution of the USS New York (LPD 21) fiscal 2021 docking selected restricted availability (DSRA). This availability will include a combination of maintenance, modernization and repair of the USS New York (LPD 21). This is a Chief of Naval Operations scheduled DSRA. The purpose is to maintain, modernize, and repair the USS New York (LPD 21). This is a “long-term” docking availability and was solicited on a coast-wide (East and Gulf coasts) basis without limiting the place of performance to the vessel's homeport. NASSCO will provide the facilities and human resources capable of completing, coordinating, and integrating multiple areas of ship maintenance, repair, and modernization for USS New York (LPD 21). This contract includes options which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value of this contract to $161,341,858. Work will be performed in Norfolk, Virginia, and is expected to be completed by June 2022. Fiscal 2021 operation and maintenance (Navy); and fiscal 2019 other procurement (Navy) funding in the amount of $138,545,759 will be obligated at time of award and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured using full and open competition via the Federal Business Opportunities website; two competitive proposals were received in response to Solicitation No. N00024-20-R-4417. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity (N00024-21-C-4417). Three Wire Systems LLC, Falls Church, Virginia, is awarded a multiple-award, firm-fixed-price Department of Defense Enterprise Software Initiative (ESI) blanket purchase agreement (BPA) in accordance with the firms' General Services Administration (GSA) Federal Supply Schedule contract GS-35F-0300T. The estimated overall value of this BPA is $74,500,000. DOD ESI is a joint DOD project to streamline the acquisition process and provide information technology (IT) products and selected services that are compliant with applicable standards and represent the best value for DOD. Under ESI, the DOD leverages aggregate buying power to establish enterprise agreements with IT manufacturers and resellers for high demand, commercial off-the-shelf IT products and services. This awardee will join the rest of the fiscal 2018 multiple awardees Carahsoft (Reston, Virginia); Immix (McLean, Virginia); and Alamo City Engineering Services (San Antonio, Texas), to provide commercially available Forescout brand-name software licenses, proprietary appliances, and maintenance support to the DOD, intelligence community, and Coast Guard. The products offered through this BPA will meet functional requirements and capabilities in the following categories: Forescout Integration Modules, CounterAct, Forescout Training and Solution Support, and ActiveCare Support Services. The ordering period will be from Nov. 9, 2020, to Dec. 20, 2022. This BPA is issued under DOD ESI in accordance with the policy and guidelines in the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement, Section 208.74. This BPA will not obligate funds at the time of award. Funds will be obligated via delivery orders using operation and maintenance (DOD) funds. Requirements will be competed among the awardees in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation 8.403-3(c)(2), and the successful contractor will receive firm fixed-price orders. This BPA was competitively procured via the GSA E-Buy web site among 679 vendors. One offer was received and one was selected for award. Naval Information Warfare Center Pacific, San Diego, California, is the contracting activity (N66001-21-A-0030). ESG Aerosystems Inc., Starke, Florida, is awarded a $64,773,941 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract to develop a curriculum and facilitate training for P-3 aircrew positions including copilots, patrol plane commander, instructor pilot, flight engineer, instructor flight engineer, and flight currency training in support of Naval Education and Training Security Assistance Field Activity's applicable field units and other program offices and stakeholders. The contract includes a five-year ordering period with no options and is expected to be completed by November 2025. Work will be performed in Starke, Florida (80%); and Jacksonville, Florida (20%). This effort is 100% funded by Federal Republic of Germany funds under the Foreign Military Sales program. Funds in the amount of $2,500 will be obligated to fund the contract's minimum amount and funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. One source was solicited for this non-competitive requirement in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 5.202(a)(3) with one offer received under authority of FAR 6.302-4. Naval Supply Systems Command Fleet Logistics Center Norfolk, Contracting Department, Philadelphia Office, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is the contracting activity (N00189-21-D-Z007). AERMOR LLC,* Virginia Beach, Virginia, is awarded $44,913,739 for a firm-fixed-price indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract to provide test and evaluation support services for Commander, Operational Test & Evaluation Force Surface Warfare Division. The contract will include a 60-month base ordering period with an additional six-month ordering period option pursuant of Federal Acquisition Regulation 52.217-8 - option to extend services, which if exercised, will bring the total ceiling value to $49,901,968. The base ordering period is expected to be completed by November 2025. If the option is exercised, the ordering period will be completed by May 2026. All work will be performed in Norfolk, Virginia. Fiscal 2020 research, development, test, and evaluation (Navy) funds in the amount of $2,500 will be obligated to fund the contract's minimum amount and funds will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Individual task orders will be subsequently funded with appropriate fiscal year appropriations at the time of their issuance. This contract was competitively procured with the solicitation posted on beta.SAM.gov as a service-disabled veteran-owned small business set-aside, with four offers received. Naval Supply Systems Command Fleet Logistics Center Norfolk, Contracting Department Norfolk, Virginia, is the contracting activity (N00189-21-D-G001). L-3 Technologies Inc., Salt Lake City, Utah, is awarded a $10,364,080 modification (P00024) to a previously awarded firm-fixed-price contract (N00019-18-C-1030). This modification exercises options to procure six AN/SRQ-4 kits and associated components for the MH-60 Common Data Link system for Foreign Military Sales (FMS) customers. Work will be performed in Salt Lake City, Utah, and is expected to be completed in December 2022. FMS funds in the amount of $9,560,101 will be obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity. William Marsh Rice University, Houston, Texas, is awarded an 18-month contract option valued at $9,776,246 under an existing cost-reimbursement contract (N66001-19-C-4020) for development of a high resolution neural interface that does not require surgery. The Next-Generation Non-Surgical Neurotechnology program seeks to broaden applicability of neural interfaces to facilitate multi-tasking at the speed of thought and interface with smart decision aids to achieve a neural link capable of high spatial and temporal resolution currently only possible using surgically implanted devices. Exercise of this option increases the overall value of this contract to $13,805,336. Work will be performed at the contractor's facilities in Houston, Texas (29%); Waco, Texas (33%); New York, New York (20%); New Haven, Connecticut (15%); and Durham, North Carolina (3%). The period of performance is from Nov. 9, 2020, through May 31, 2022. Fiscal 2021 research, development, test and evaluation (Navy) funding in the amount of $2,888,123 will be obligated at the time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured via a Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency broad agency announcement solicitation published on the beta.SAM.gov website. Nineteen proposals were received and six were selected for award. Naval Information Warfare Center Pacific, San Diego, California, is the contracting activity (N66001-19-C-4020). Barnhart-Reese Construction Inc.,* San Diego, California, is awarded a firm-fixed-price task order (N6247321F4085) at $8,061,699 under a multiple award construction contract for design-build repair/renovation of Mess Hall Building 2403 at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton. The task order also contains two planned modifications which, if exercised, would increase the cumulative task order value to $8,120,128. The scope of work includes replacement of plumbing systems and floor finishes, reconfiguring kitchen and serving spaces to align with current serving methodologies, removing wasted storage and office areas, relocating portable refrigerated reefers to the interior of the existing facility, replacing broken heating, ventilation and air conditioning, and cooling condensers in the food preparation areas, and removing disused built-ins. The planned modifications, if issued, provide for furniture, fixtures, and equipment and audio/visual. Work will be performed in Oceanside, California, and is expected to be completed by November 2021. Fiscal 2021 operation and maintenance (Navy) contract funds in the amount of $8,061,699 are obligated on this award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Five proposals were received for this task order. Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command Southwest, San Diego, California, is the contracting activity (N62473-17-D-4629). L-3 Electron Devices Inc., Torrance, California, is awarded a $7,860,000 for a firm-fixed-price delivery order (N00383-21-F-NR00) under a previously awarded basic ordering agreement (N00383-18-G-NR01) for the repair of the guided traveling wave tube in support of the F/A-18 aircraft. All work will be performed in Torrance, California and is expected to be completed by February 2021. Fiscal 2021 working capital (Navy) funds in the full amount of $7,860,000 will be obligated at the time of award and funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. One company was solicited for this sole-source requirement under authority 10 U.S. Code 2304 (c)(1), with one offer received. Naval Supply Systems Command Weapon Systems Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is the contracting activity. *Small business https://www.defense.gov/Newsroom/Contracts/Contract/Article/2410227/source/GovDelivery/

  • What’s old is new again: How to boost NATO’s air defenses in Europe

    December 27, 2023 | International, Security

    What’s old is new again: How to boost NATO’s air defenses in Europe

    Opinion: Early European investments to expand industrial capacity for air defense systems are already benefiting Ukraine.

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