November 24, 2022 | Local, Aerospace
RCAF to look at 'revolutionary' vertical lift options to replace CH-146 Griffon
As the RCAF launches into a project for its next tactical aviation platforms, it is closely following what allies are doing.
March 17, 2020 | Local, C4ISR, Security
Online 'phishing' attacks expected to target housebound staffers as COVID-19 spreads
It's a 'huge opportunity' for online crime, one expert warns
The number of "phishing" attacks meant to steal the online credentials of public servants and corporate sector employees now housebound due to the COVID-19 pandemic is on the rise, one cyber security expert warns.
Many attempts are being made against employees who are working from home on virtual private works (VPNs). Cyber experts are still gathering data to establish a direct correlation between the pandemic crisis and the increase in malicious activity.
But Rafal Rohozinski, chief executive officer of the SecDev Group of Companies, said this pandemic moment — when large numbers of employees are at home and receiving instructions from their workplaces on how to connect to internal networks — offers online thieves a "huge opportunity."
Federal government and corporate sector systems were never designed to support a sudden, mass migration of employees from offices to their homes, he said.
"The opening that creates for those who want to wreak havoc through ransomware and malware is really, really significant," said Rohozinski. "And I don't think we're anywhere near prepared for that.
"What we're seeing is an increase in phishing being used as a means to get people's credentials."
U.S. Health Department attacked
The U.S. Health and Human Services Department's website was hit by a cyber attack over several hours on Sunday, an incident which involved overloading its servers with millions of hits.
Officials said the system was not penetrated, although media reports in Washington described it as an attempt to undermine the U.S. government's response to the coronavirus pandemic — and may have been the work of a foreign actor.
Rohozinski said that while the facts are not all in yet, his "professional guess" is that there's a link between the attack and the COVID-19 crisis.
Last week, Canada's top military commander warned that he'd seen recent indications the country's adversaries intend to exploit the uncertainty, confusion and fear generated by the pandemic.
Gen. Jonathan Vance, chief of the defence staff, was not specific about the potential threats — but experts say they could range from hacking to online disinformation campaigns aimed at discrediting the federal government's response.
Rohozinski said he's concerned about the federal government's technical capacity to support thousands of employees on private networks.
"Everybody's moving on to VPNs. Everybody," he said. "This is an enormous pinpoint and an enormous vulnerability."
Federal Digital Government Minister Joyce Murray's office was asked for a response Monday, but was unable to provide an immediate comment.
Many of the country's leading information technology companies are part of the Canadian Cyber Threat Exchange (CCTE), a nonprofit centre where companies can swap information and insights. A CCTE spokeswoman said the corporate sector is better prepared to face the challenges posed by the mass movement of employees to home networks.
Still, there is reason for concern.
"Given we are moving people to work from home now, companies need to ensure that the work from home environment is as safe as the corporate environment and that people are trained to notice these phishing campaigns, just like they were in the corporate environment," said Mary Jane Couldridge, director of business development at the CCTE.
"It's a matter of keeping our community aware of what is impacting Canada daily so we know how to react to it and prevent it from spreading — and not chase rainbows."
Most corporations have plans they'll activate now to cover the wholesale movement of employees to networks outside of the office, she added.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/online-hacking-phishing-covid-19-coronavirus-1.5499725
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December 1, 2020 | Local, Aerospace, Naval
MHD-ROCKLAND and ESG Aerosystems Keep the P-3 Legacy Alive
P-3 Aircrew Training is set to Commence in December ESG Aerosystems is proud to be awarded a $ 64.5 M U.S. Navy Contract for which MHD-ROCKLAND is excited to be the sole-source aircraft Subcontractor. Starke, Fla., November 26th, 2020 – MHD-ROCKLAND Inc. and ESG Aerosystems, announce that ESG Aerosystems has been awarded a U.S Navy Contract valued at $64.5 million, and MHD-ROCKLAND will act as the sole-source aircraft subcontractor. As per the scope of this contract ESG Aerosystems is mandated to develop a curriculum and facilitate training for P-3 aircrew positions including co-pilots, patrol plane commanders, instructor pilots, flight engineers, instructor flight engineers, and flight currency training. This is to support Naval Education and Training Security Assistance Field Activity's (NETSAFA) applicable field units and other program offices and stakeholders. The achievement is 100% funded by Federal Republic of Germany funds under the Foreign Military Sales Program to secure the operational readiness of the German Navy P-3C Aircrew. The training is set to start in December 2020 and takes place at the ESG Aerosystems training facility within the MHD-ROCKLAND Flight Ops facilities located at Keystone Heights Airport Fla. Home to five MHD-ROCKLAND P-3 aircraft, the facility is well-equipped to host students and provide hands-on mission ready training. The duration of the training program varies with the type of aircrew position and will include both simulator and live flight training. “We are extremely excited to partner with ESG Aerosystems to deliver comprehensive training solutions for the enduring P-3 Orion platform” said Josh Miller, President, MHD-ROCKLAND. “With over 40 years of experience in legacy aircraft sustainment, our team is ready to add value and offer this unique and essen-tial service to global P-3 fleet operators who require it” he added. “We are delighted to partner with MHD-ROCKLAND,” stated Matthias Weerts, President, ESG Aerosystems, and continued, “We are looking forward to starting the training for the German Navy and then to serving the global P-3 community by delivering efficient, effective, and tailored training to sustain this incredible platform and community.” The new P-3 aircrew training program spearheaded by ESG Aerosystems and MHD-ROCKLAND fills in the gap left by the closure of VP-30. The global P-3 Orion network is extremely resilient and will continue flying their P-3 Orion fleet-many of them well into the 2030's. We are ready to support the P-3 Orion customers including Foreign Military partners and U.S. Government agencies, by providing an extensive program which perfectly matches each operator's needs and requirements. About MHD-ROCKLAND With offices in the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, MHD-ROCKLAND Inc. is a privately-held aero-space company that has, for close to 40 years, supplied high-caliber services, training and support to fixed-wing aircraft for military aircraft operators around the globe, including manufacturer support through OEM and other channel partners as well as repair and overhaul within its own facilities. With more than 250,000 square feet of warehouse facilities, the company has one of the largest privately-owned P-3 and C-130 inventories in the world. It's Flight Ops Unit located in Keystone Heights, Fla. is home to five P-3 Orions and four L-188 Electras. For further infor-mation, visit mhdrockland.com. Media Contact: Amna Chishty, Marketing Communications Phone: + 1 (514) 453 1632 Ext: 1293 amna.chishty@mhdrockland.com About ESG Aerosystems ESG Aerosystems Inc. is a 100% subsidiary of the German privately owned company ESG Elektroniksystem- und Logistik-GmbH, which is one of the German Armed Forces (Bundeswehr) most trusted and proven partners. ESG was founded in 1967 and established itself as an independent service provider, developing, integrating and operating complex, security relevant electronic and IT systems for the military, public authorities and companies. ESG is a certified aviation company for aircraft for the Bundeswehr (German Federal Armed Forces) and an aviation engineering company in line with EASA Part 21J, EASA Part 21G and EASA Part 145. To provide excellent P-3 pilot training, ESG Aerosystems Inc. has teamed up with MHD-ROCKLAND, a world class supplier in fixed wing aircraft services and support. Media Contact: William Bushman Phone: (904) 601-9422 William.bushman@esg-aerosystems.com www.esg-aerosystems.com Press release
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September 24, 2019 | Local, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security
Want to Win Government Business? Don’t be too ‘Commercial-Centric’
Governments may be open for business, but that doesn't mean doing business with a government is necessarily easy. Government procurement is complex - this is not by happenstance. The rules on public procurement stem from a number of sources including law (trade agreements, the common law and legislation) and policy. It can be a painful and costly learning curve for companies that want to sell goods and services to the country's largest buyers if they don't understand the rules. Government decision-makers are answerable to a very wide range of stakeholders, including the Canadian voters who put them in office and the Canadian taxpayers who fund their operations. In a public procurement, it's not just about getting the best deal – it is also about meeting the broader public interest and achieving long-term policy objectives. The Goal is to Promote Fairness Competition is the rule in public procurement because it offers a fair, open and transparent environment, and meets the public objective that all potential suppliers get a fair kick at the can to sell to government. This is important when you consider that, for example, the Department of National Defence is the largest Canadian purchaser of goods and services from the Canadian defence industry. Canada has implemented several trade agreements in the past few years, including the Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), and the Canadian Free Trade Agreement (CFTA) (which replaced the Agreement on Internal Trade (AIT)). Understanding how these agreements impact procurement is even more important for suppliers and their federal, provincial and territorial government customers, as well as for the municipal, academic, school and hospital (MASH) sector which may now be subject to trade agreements for the first time or subject to additional or new rules brought about by these new trade agreements. Prepare your RFP Response Team for a Long Haul Businesses must understand the processes that come into play in public procurements, such as the need to resource their RFP response team for a long period of time or the impact of failing to meet mandatory RFP requirements (disqualification from the procurement process). Learning to manage the length of time it takes to progress through a procurement cycle, and to navigate the processes, is a big challenge. In business, relationships matter, but developing a good working relationship with key decision makers in government departments or agencies can be difficult since government tends to have greater workforce mobility and people change in and out of roles frequently. Further, dealing with government means complying with lobbying law and conflict of interest rules. In many jurisdictions, discussions about procurement requirements outside of public solicitation processes is considered lobbying, as it is attempting to sell products or services to the government. Conflict of interest rules may also preclude certain people from doing business with government officials. Approaching public procurement with a "commercial-centric" view often leads to frustration. The federal government does understand "how business works," but there are still many aspects of a public procurement that are not (and cannot be) commercially focused, including those related to complying with applicable trade agreements, protecting the public interest, and serving policy objectives such as regional development and economic diversification. Companies participating in a public sector procurement process face unique compliance requirements that don't come into play with a typical private commercial transaction. Expect Heightened Security Requirements With the increasing attention being paid to cybersecurity and data protection, companies will find they are now subject to more stringent security requirements, including an increased requirement for product functionality and security control disclosure in advance of their products or services being accepted by government buyers. This level of disclosure can extend through to greater access to the underlying technology used so that the customer itself can test for, and understand, cyber-threat vulnerabilities. Whether this is your first foray into the world of government procurement – and you need to understand the rules of public procurement so that you can properly understand the RFP documents and the plethora of government policies – or you have a broader interest focused on influencing government policy and direction as it relates to your business or your industry, knowing how to best position your organization to take advantage of both possible routes is critical to a successful government procurement business. Waiting until you have lost a bid is too late to effect a change for your organization's benefit. Be Proactive with the Right Advice Regardless of your focus, knowing how the system works and how to best advocate for your interests is a crucial and part of any successful business plan. Working with a legal team that has knowledge and experience in all of these areas and can assist with strategic planning and approach from start to finish is critical to success. https://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=4d2ced7d-7e1a-47f0-bf39-ced9b8a0b39d