There’s no question that 2020 is going to be a big year for technology transformation in the Defense Department. The National Defense Authorization Act gives DOD a $738 billion budget—a $20 billion increase over last year—with an emphasis on fielding the technology necessary for a faster, more agile force, while improving operations and efficiency across the enterprise. That means having fast, low-latency cellular and WiFi connections at every access point and refreshing its legacy infrastructure.
Other
February 1, 2020
Over the past few months, I have participated in a forum to help competitive graduates find quality internships and jobs after earning bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Carnegie Mellon University’s prestigious engineering and computer science programs. Listening to the next generation of technologists, innovators and leaders has helped me understand their concerns and desires in the hiring process. I have also gained new perspectives on what applicants think employers do right and wrong.
The following tactics, techniques and procedures (TTPs) are meant to help those in the government and defense sectors attract tech talent today.
November 1, 2019
Defense Industrial Base (DIB) supply chain cyber attacks are more widespread than ever due to multiple vulnerabilities. Government agencies require complete assurance that all entry points to their networks are fully secured. Meanwhile, supply chain vendors struggle with the quandary of how to ensure robust security without large investment dollars and without compromising daily operations.
The DoD Agency Secures Its Supply Chain case study is your comprehensive resource for identifying weaknesses within the supply chain and selecting the best solutions to keep your organization’s data secure.
August 2, 2019
There was massive technological growth in 2018; things like artificial intelligence and blockchain have gained much support recently. IT departments often enable improved efficiency and security in their organizations by adopting emerging technologies, but that's only if they have the freedom to do so. A few years ago, IT had very less influence over business decisions, but now times are changing: IT is gaining an increased role in business decisions with implementation of cloud computing, data centres and enterprise mobility.
May 13, 2019
Hypersonic flight introduces fundamental changes to the way today’s missiles operate. Cruise missiles fly and maneuver within the atmosphere across a range of altitudes, but at speeds barely reaching Mach 1. Ballistic missiles have speeds of up to Mach 9 during re-entry from space but their trajectory is fixed. Vastly faster than cruise missiles, yet following an unpredictable and adjustable flight path, hypersonic missiles are a unique threat.
May 1, 2019
For military intelligent sensor systems constrained by size, weight and power (SWaP), custom microelectronic processing devices using advanced 3D packaging and thermal management are the only solution for success.
May 1, 2019
Deception changes the asymmetry against attackers with attractive traps and lures designed to deceive and detect attackers. Providing an active defense for early detection, forensics, and automated incident response to in-network threats is a must. The ThreatDefend™ Platform provides accurate threat detection within user networks, data centers, clouds, and specialized attack surfaces. The portfolio includes expansive network, endpoint, application, and data deceptions that misdirect and reveal attacks from all threat vectors. Advanced machine-learning makes deployment and operations simple to operate for organizations of all sizes.
May 1, 2019
When the NATO Communications and Information Agency (NCIA) went looking for technology to enable alliance officials to use smartphones without being eavesdropped on by hackers or spies, they immediately came up against a problem.
“There were a very limited number of solutions that had been accredited by member-nation security agencies to protect sensitive but unclassified voice [and text] communications,” NCIA General Manager Kevin Scheid said.
May 1, 2019
As conflicts become faster and more complex with multiple platforms and data streams feeding information to warfighters, there is a growing need to manage this process to improve operational efficiency. The Department of Defense (DOD) is investing in cloud and machine learning tools and systems to help improve situational awareness and connectivity at the last tactical mile.
The military is striving to maintain tactical dominance in two ways: (1) ubiquitous edge computing and processing on intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) platforms, and (2) cloud-based services and tools that can reach small tactical units to provide them with vital information even in contested electromagnetic environments.
May 1, 2019
From the end of the Cold War to the present era, there has been a growing need for military platforms to coordinate for operations and to share information. The Link 16 family of data links has been central to providing critical battlefield information to the U.S. and its allies since the 1980s.
But Link 16 has primarily been used for theater-wide operations, connecting fast jets and large platforms like ships. One area where the data link has not seen much use was in tactical missions on the ground connecting helicopters, ground vehicles and dismounted troops.
May 1, 2019
Talk about taking on a big job: Red Hat wants to bring agile software production practices — and the company’s OpenShift application development platform — into the Department of Defense with their decades of constraints, habits and bureaucracy.
And the task is made more daunting still, because making an organization agile isn’t just a matter of buying stuff.
“Agile is not bought, it’s taught,” said Red Hat Public Sector Lead Transformation Specialist Chuck Svoboda, “And it needs to be taught by seasoned practitioners.”
Svoboda dismisses the idea that an organization can become agile simply by buying the right technology—like the lightweight and easily replicable software called containers.
November 1, 2018
In a rapidly changing and dynamic world, we are lacking a most important ingredient for policy making: honest, constructive political debate. Civil discourse, in which responsible and thoughtful people discuss proposed policies and events based on facts, logic and reason in an atmosphere of mutual respect, has all but disappeared. It is being replaced by one-sided, confrontational politics wrapped in narrowly focused biases that give no quarter to opposing views. Emotion and deception have ousted integrity and truth. Moderate voices are being driven to the sidelines or silenced altogether.
October 29, 2018
With technologies entering the market at a blistering pace and autonomous systems expected to make a larger contribution, the work force of the future may not resemble past efforts.
Eager to try and make sense of the coming environment, Deloitte's recent study, Government jobs of the future: What will government work look like in 2025 and beyond?, delves into predictions.
November 3, 2017
Mission assurance and resilience can be interpreted differently, but having the tools, capabilities, partnerships and skilled work force that can respond to a variety of scenarios in a flexible manner is the ultimate goal.
The solutions possible in the Indo-Asia-Pacific region are as varied as the challenges, and the speakers at TechNet-Asia Pacific were cautiously optimistic because of the tools they have. But they also emphasized that the United States needs to rely on much more than technical prowess. The human factor is equally important.
October 16, 2017
Your endpoints don’t just live within the safety of your corporate network—they’re out in the wild exposed to millions of new threats every day. With non-malware attacks on the rise that are even harder to detect than traditional malware, security professionals are realizing it is no longer a matter of if they will be breached, but when.
September 15, 2017
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is evolving from its early component focus to today’s mission focus, and its unity of effort and management reform initiatives serve as a foundation for continued transformation.
“One of the key things in unity of effort is we have to get it right up front," explained Chip Fulghum, deputy under secretary for management, DHS, at the AFCEA Homeland Security Conference. DHS must build strategy that turns into operational plans, he said, but he allowed that the Department has a ways to go. “Requirements are being built from the ground up, and we want to eliminate redundancy.”
February 1, 2017
In this era of e-commerce, a person can pay for a coffee by simply using a cellphone. Clearly, we have come a long way from trading goats and pelts for goods, but the global method of exchanging currency has advanced little. The world largely relies on the paper money system started by the Chinese Tang Dynasty, despite the enormous expense to maintain physical currency.
January 1, 2017
It is about time federal contractor employees received benefits equal to their in-house peers.
In November, the long-awaited final rule issued by the U.S. Department of Labor mandated that federal contractors provide paid sick leave to certain employees. The regulation covers both new federal contracts and replacements to expired contracts.
Although some cities and states require that employers offer paid sick leave, no federal law mandates the employment benefit across the board. The United States is the only industrialized nation without paid leave.
September 6, 2016
The third annual Intelligence and National Security Summit (INSS) kicks off tomorrow in Washington, D.C., a premier gathering of senior decision makers from government, military, industry and academia who will tackle some of the most difficult intelligence quandaries baffling world leaders.
September 1, 2016
Much debate has taken place recently on the topic of American “greatness.” While I believe this country remains great today, I also believe it has lost some of its momentum for a number of reasons, including a struggling economy. Wages are not climbing, consumer spending is stagnant, and the national debt keeps growing. We need to reinvigorate the middle class with more opportunities for higher-paying jobs so that Americans feel confident and prosperous again. Those opportunities exist, but unlike the last century, more will come from small businesses than big businesses.
