supply chain

A new study from the Atlantic Council’s Commission on the Geopolitical Impacts of New Technologies and Data warned that the technological revolution is continuing at such speed and enormity that it is reshaping societies and geopolitics across the globe, and “in novel and even unanticipated ways.” Researchers recommend that the United States take immediate steps to create specific strategies, governance and leadership roles; develop capabilities for a digital economy, quantum computing, supply chain resiliency, biomedical protections and space-related solutions; and strengthen partnerships with allies.

The revolutionary advantages offered by defense use of 5G technology could be undone if the United States doesn’t begin now to meet and overcome a set of challenges, said an expert from the National Security Agency (NSA). These challenges range from developing effective security measures to ensuring the supply chain is not contaminated by parts made by foreign adversaries.

Adversaries are stepping up their efforts to exfiltrate information and weaken the U.S. supply chain through cyberspace. These efforts aim to both wreck the country from within and strengthen the hand of the adversary wielding the digital sword, according to a U.S. government official.

New government security measures are designed with these challenges in mind, and they can help secure targeted small businesses. The Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC), which is rolling out, is designed to help mitigate the effects of adversarial activities in cyberspace.

Raytheon BBN Technologies Corp., Cambridge, Massachusetts, is awarded a $9,321,564 performance based, cost-plus-fixed-fee, completion contract (N65236-20-C-8009). This contract is for research logistics and supply chain automated reasoning and information fusion, real-time demand forecasting and system resilience assessment. Work will be performed in Cambridge, Massachusetts (67%); Menlo Park, California (13%); Minneapolis, Minnesota (12%); Potsdam, New York (4%); and Tucson, Arizona (4%).  Work is expected to be complete by September 2021.

The electronics supply chain to the West faces a greater threat from total cutoff than from having its components tinkered with by malefactors, according to some experts. Many measures currently in place to help ensure quality also serve to thwart saboteurs and counterfeiters. However, a far greater menace looms in the potential for a complete damming of the flow of chips and circuit boards, as the United States and most Western countries lack the infrastructure to pick up fabrication and manufacturing on short notice.

Supply chain security has been of concern to government leaders for decades, but with attacks now originating in industrial control systems (ICS) from supply chain vulnerabilities and with an increasing reliance on the Internet of Things (IoT), Congress is stepping up its involvement. For example, legislators have promised that more stringent standards will soon be enforced.

General Dynamics Information Technology (GDIT) will be supporting the U.S. State Department's global technical security supply chain effort, under a $2 billion single-award contract with the Bureau of Diplomatic Security (DS), Countermeasures Directorate. The contract includes a base period of five years and a five-year award term, the company reported.

Under the contract, GDIT will provide the State Department, U.S. Embassies and other posts worldwide with integrated technical security systems, engineering and solution development, hybrid supply chain and distribution management, as well as a global logistics and transportation network. 

Adversaries are exploiting the inherent vulnerabilities of U.S. military supply chains that involve tens of thousands of private sector providers from all over the globe. Attack operations include stealing valuable technical data; striking critical infrastructure, manufacturing and weapon systems control systems; corrupting the quality and assurance across a broad range of product types and categories; and manipulating software to access connected systems and to degrade systems operation integrity.