GovConJudicata Weekly Debrief (5/17–21)
This week's Weekly Debrief covers data fluency, today's Medal of Honor recipient, SolarWinds aftermath in the DIB, contractor vaccines, Biden's cyber EO, and Oracle's reply in its JEDI cloud fight.
Defense
"The Department of Defense is in the midst of a transformation rooted in becoming a more data-driven, digital organization. And to get there, the department is going to need to not only develop a culture centered on data but build a workforce of data-savvy leaders, said one of its top data officials."
"Medal of Honor for Korean War Ranger: In November 1950, 1st. Lt. Ralph Puckett and his unit of Army Rangers attacked Hill 205 through Chinese mortar, machine gun, and small arms fire. Bydrawing fire upon himself, Puckett helped his men seize the hill. During an enemy counter attack at night, Puckett was wounded but continued to direct artillery from a foxhole until the position became undefendable. Today, he will receive the Medal of Honor from President Joe Biden at a ceremony to be attended by South Korean President Moon Jae-in."
"Close to 40 companies in the defense industrial base reported they were impacted by the Solarwinds supply chain attack, according to a defense official. Rear Adm. William Chase III, deputy principal cyber adviser to the defense secretary and director of the Protecting Critical Technology Task Force, said during a Tuesday Senate Armed Services cyber subcommittee hearing that 37 companies reported exposures related to the SolarWinds intrusion."
Contractors
"As more Americans are getting vaccinated against COVID-19 and start to think about returning to workplaces, there is much debate over how, if at all, employers can or should require inoculations. Federal contractors are among those grappling with such questions."
"That executive order on cybersecurity from the White House last week – where do you even begin with an 8,000-word tome with dozens of deadlines and action items? Contractors have been parsing it out. For one view, Federal Drive with Tom Temin turned to the Executive Vice President for Policy at the Professional Services Council Stephanie Kostro."
Protests
"On Monday, Oracle America Inc. responded to the federal government in the parties’ dispute over the propriety of a U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) cloud-computing procurement. Oracle claims that the 10-year, multi-billion dollar Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure (JEDI) cloud contract—among the largest information-technology contracts in the federal government’s history—has an unlawful structure, and was secured through agency officials’ criminal misconduct."
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