GovConJudicata Weekly Debrief (10/7–11)
This week's Weekly Debrief covers both cyberspace and space (yep, look up!). In this edition, we begin with the NSA chief providing insight into the new cyber directorate and CISA's request for administrative subpoena powers over ISPs, and conclude with NOAA making a push for weather satellite tech and, finally, the "exquisite boredom of spacewalking."
NSA
"The National Security Agency's new cyber directorate wants to bridge gaps between government agencies and the defense industrial base, according to the agency's chief Gen. Paul Nakasone. 'NSA's new cybersecurity directorate, which opened for business last week, will give us a laser focus on these challenges,' said Nakasone, who also leads U.S. Cyber Command, during an Oct. 9 keynote at the FireEye Cyber Defense Summit in Washington, D.C."
CISA
"The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency is seeking new authorities to issue administrative subpoenas to compel internet service providers to turn over customer information that allows the agency to identify owners of critical infrastructure systems that have identified cybersecurity vulnerabilities. FCW has confirmed the department has submitted a proposal for legislative language to Congress, and a spokesperson for the House Homeland Security Committee said the committee is currently "vetting the proposal." The proposal was submitted earlier this year and a briefing at the staff level has taken place. Other sources close to the committees have indicated that not every member has been briefed on or seen the proposal yet."
Defense
"Bug bounty platform HackerOne, together with the Pentagon’s Defense Digital Service, announced on Thursday that they’ve officially launched Hack the Army 2.0. The four-week-long challenge will allow ethical hackers to try their hands at finding vulnerabilities within more than 60 publicly accessible web assets. Find and report one, and you’ll be paid for your efforts. The opportunity is open to members of the military and government civilians, as well as individuals “invited” by HackerOne."
GSA
NextGov – GSA Outlines Multiple Award Schedule Consolidation Efforts
"The General Services Administration is targeting cohesion and parity as it works to consolidate two dozen contract schedules into a single streamlined schedule, the director of the agency’s Multiple Awards Schedule Program Office said in Washington Wednesday. Federal agencies use GSA’s $30+ billion Schedule program to purchase a range of more than 10 million products and services from compliant vendors. Stephanie Shutt, tasked with leading the transformation effort, offered fresh insight into the three phases of the consolidation project and the anticipated impacts that could accompany each."
SEC
"The Securities and Exchange Commission awarded a $50 million pilot contract for an electronic discovery program as the commission explores options for an enterprise cloud. The SEC, which regulates securities and protects investors, awarded the pilot to Casepoint, a cloud-based technology company. Casepoint will create a storage platform for data the SEC collects related to its regulatory work.According to the SEC’s statement of work, it receives about 3,500 new files each month, totaling 6-7 terabytes of data each month. After processing, that reaches 10 terabytes per month."
NOAA
NextGov – NOAA Seeks Fresh Tech Ideas for Weather Satellite Fleets
"The agency that operates the nation’s weather satellites wants to hear innovative technical ideas for how to enhance or improve their effectiveness. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration houses the National Weather Service, which employs satellites to monitor severe weather worldwide and provides enormous swaths of raw data to forecasters on the ground. In early October, NOAA releasedtwo broad agency announcements soliciting 'fresh ideas for new instrument technologies and concepts for future use on its advanced geostationary and polar-orbiting satellites.'"
Space
"Ask astronauts what spacewalking around the International Space Station is like, and they get a dreamy look on their face almost instantly. They might say something about how the view “just takes your breath away.” Or that the experience “is what it truly feels like to be on top of the world.” That “nothing compares to being alone in the universe; to that moment of opening the hatch and pulling yourself outside into the universe.”
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