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Accenture, QuSecure Safeguard Satcom Data Transmission Using Post-Quantum Cryptography
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Accenture, QuSecure Safeguard Satcom Data Transmission Using Post-Quantum Cryptography

QuSecure and partner Accenture have completed a multi-orbit data communications test using post-quantum cryptography as a cybersecurity algorithm.

The demonstration highlights the potential of quantum-resistant crypto agility systems to secure data transmitted through satellite communications, Accenture said Tuesday.

Quantum computers have been proven powerful enough to intercept data from multi-orbit satellites. To prevent such attacks, QuSecure deployed QuProtect, a crypto-agile quantum-resilient channel, to a satellite in low-Earth orbit, without actually installing the software on the communications system.

Data transmission, which was facilitated by Accenture, involved switching from LEO to geosynchronous orbit satellite and back to Earth as a redundancy measure.

“Accenture’s Space Innovation and Security teams are working together to ensure our partners and clients are prepared and secure as they embark on their space journeys,”  said Paul Thomas, space innovation lead, technology innovation at Accenture. He welcomed the collaboration with on QuSecure integrating crypto security into space data transmission.

Quantum computing is the center of a virtual event hosted by ExecutiveBiz on April 5. Join the 2023 Quantum Technologies Forum by clicking on the banner below.

2023 Quantum Technologies Forum
Sec. Austin Appears Before Senate Armed Services Committee to Justify $842B Budget Request
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Sec. Austin Appears Before Senate Armed Services Committee to Justify $842B Budget Request

Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin testified before the Senate Armed Services Committee to endorse President Joe Biden’s fiscal 2024 budget proposal.

In his speech, published Tuesday, Austin said that the $842 billion defense budget request will fund strategies that include addressing threats posed by the government of China.

“I have three key priorities: to defend our nation, to take care of our outstanding people, and to succeed through teamwork,” Austin stated in his opening testimony. He explained that the funds will help continue implementation of the National Defense Strategy and National Security Strategy, and enable DOD to make the “largest-ever investments in both R&D and procurement.”

He highlighted the agency’s plans to invest a record $33.3 billion for space capabilities and resilience, as well as $61 billion for air and $48 billion for sea dominance.

Austin, a Wash100 Award recipient, justified the budget’s importance in supporting over-the-horizon counterterrorism efforts, including security challenges instigated by China and Russia. Other “21st century threats” such as climate change also need significant financial support.

He elaborated on DOD’s initiatives for its workforce by mentioning the proposed $146 billion investment in operations, training, and maintenance. He also touched on efforts to increase wages, fund mental health and medical care for veterans and their families, and establishing measures against sexual assault and other safety risks.

DeEtte Gray of CACI & Michael Tarulli of Goldman Sachs Highlighted for 2023 Wash100 Award Wins
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DeEtte Gray of CACI & Michael Tarulli of Goldman Sachs Highlighted for 2023 Wash100 Award Wins

Executive Mosaic publications sang the praises of 2023 Wash100 Award winners DeEtte Gray of CACI International and Michael Tarulli of Goldman Sachs on Wednesday, detailing the successes they have enjoyed to earn them government contracting’s most distinguished prize.

The Wash100 Award is a now decade-old tradition bestowed upon only the most accomplished and promising leaders working in the sector. These awardees are carefully selected by EM’s discerning voting body, vetted in the areas of innovation, vision, reliability, longevity of impact and more.

Concurrent with the rollout of Wash100 profiles is EM’s yearly popular voting contest. Held amongst the 100 awardees, it gives you the reader the chance to support your favorite change-makers from the roster. Voting closes in less than a month so participate today at Wash100.com!

Gray is no stranger to the award: a seven-time Wash100 recipient, the executive achieved another landmark year through her work enabling information technology transformation and advocating for STEM education. Her role as president of business and IT solutions at CACI finds her spearheading the delivery of technology modernization services to government customers. The services are concentrated in enterprise applications design and development and business process services delivery.

If you want to learn more about Gray’s recent work and career, read her GovCon Wire profile here.

Tarulli is a first-time winner of the award and a managing director at Goldman Sachs who caught the voting body’s attention for his administration of the company’s international investments in the aerospace, defense and government services markets. In 2022 alone, Goldman Sachs was the exclusive financial adviser to Vectrus on its all-stock merger transaction with the Vertex Company to form V2X, along with a host of other significant GovCon transactions.

Read more about the deals and shrewd business acumen that resulted in Tarulli’s win at ExecutiveBiz here.

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DIA Seeks Info for AI Technical Assistance, IT Support Requirement
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DIA Seeks Info for AI Technical Assistance, IT Support Requirement

The Defense Intelligence Agency has begun market research to identify sources capable of providing technical assistance and information technology support to expand the agency’s artificial intelligence products and capabilities.

A request for information notice posted Friday on SAM.gov states that DIA is looking to build an AI capability in two areas: career development and infrastructure and tools integration.

Desired contributions include technical assistance and subject matter expertise for AI training, recruiting and infrastructure requirements; logistics and record management; configuration management; database administration; and support to the DIA AI Defense Intelligence Enterprise.

The market research is investigating best practices for approaching and implementing AI, assessing contract types used in existing agreements, determining labor categories and identifying qualified businesses.

The Department of Defense mandates DIA to develop a trained workforce, processes and tools to enable the U.S. military to achieve AI readiness by 2025.

Responses to the RFI are due April 24.

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Biden Enables DOD to Advance Printed Circuit Board Production Through DPA Title III Authorities
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Biden Enables DOD to Advance Printed Circuit Board Production Through DPA Title III Authorities

President Joe Biden has authorized the Pentagon to use the Defense Production Act Title III authorities to support the domestic production of printed circuit boards and invest in the advanced packaging industrial base to help ensure military readiness and address challenges to the country’s economic competitiveness.

The signing of the presidential determination is in line with a 2021 executive order that seeks to support U.S. supply chains through investments in PrCB and advanced packaging industry, the Department of Defense said Monday.

“The Presidential Determination will allow the DoD to use additional tools to ensure the resilience of American microelectronics manufacturing,” said Anthony Di Stasio, director of DOD’s manufacturing capability expansion and investment prioritization office.

The PD is slated to enable the department’s Office of Defense Production Act Investments to use purchase commitments and other incentives under DPA Title III to strengthen advanced packaging and PrCB production capabilities.

US Navy Posts Small Business RFI for Tech Contract to Support F-35 Aircraft Program
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US Navy Posts Small Business RFI for Tech Contract to Support F-35 Aircraft Program

The Department of the Navy is soliciting information from small businesses that can perform procurement, buildout and migration of classified IT services for the F-35 Lightning II program.

In a notice posted Monday on SAM.gov, the service branch said it is looking to upgrade the IT and cybersecurity systems of the F-35 Joint Program Office in order to support fielding the aircraft.

The request for information is open to small enterprises with top secret facility clearance that would be responsible for software services, as well as establishing a data center within 45 miles of the Pentagon. 

Their technical tasks will cover database administration, information assurance processing, software and hardware management and off-board mission support. The chosen vendor will also be required to maintain a test and integration laboratory for technologies that will be useful to the F-35 JPO.

The service branch will accept RFI responses until March 31.

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Space Operations Command Gains Control of Lockheed-Built SBIRS GEO-6 Satellite
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Space Operations Command Gains Control of Lockheed-Built SBIRS GEO-6 Satellite

Space Systems Command has officially transferred control authority of the sixth Lockheed Martin-built Space Based Infrared System Geosynchronous Earth Orbit satellite to Space Operations Command.

The 2nd Space Warning Squadron of Space Delta 4 at Buckley Space Force Base in Colorado is now operating the final SBIRS GEO satellite to support early detection of global missile threats, SSC said Monday.

Col. Daniel Walter, commander of Space Sensing Directorate’s Strategic Missile Warning Acquisition Delta, said the spacecraft “exceeded performance expectations during on-orbit testing.”

“It was a very clean calibration campaign, allowing us to declare operational acceptance about 40 percent faster than our historic average testing times,” Walter said.

SBIRS GEO-6, based on Lockheed’s updated LM 2100 spacecraft, launched aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral, Florida, completing the Space Force’s missile-detection satellite constellation.

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DOD Wants Silicon Valley to Help Back Weapons Tech Development; William LaPlante Quoted
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DOD Wants Silicon Valley to Help Back Weapons Tech Development; William LaPlante Quoted

The Department of Defense is working to engage Silicon Valley startups to help fund and advance development work on new weapons systems as part of efforts to tap private capital and keep up with China’s advancements in military technology backed by external public-private guidance funds, The Wall Street Journal reported Sunday.

The current administration’s fiscal year 2024 budget request includes $115 million for DOD’s newly established office of strategic capital, which seeks to attract and direct venture capital into companies working on military tech platforms.

According to PitchBook Data, the U.S. defense and aerospace sector is now attracting private capital worth approximately $6 billion per year, up from approximately $1 billion in 2017.

William LaPlante, defense undersecretary for acquisition and sustainment, previously questioned the relevance of emerging technology in Ukraine’s fight against the Russian invasion.

“What I was really referring to are the kind of aspirational, often-elusive technology capabilities that have not yet developed on a time frame that’ll impact the battlefield in Ukraine,” LaPlante, a 2023 Wash100 awardee, told WSJ.

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White House Bans Government Use of Commercial Spyware With New Executive Order
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White House Bans Government Use of Commercial Spyware With New Executive Order

President Joe Biden has signed an executive order to counter the misuse of commercial spyware by precluding U.S. federal agencies from operationally using such cyber surveillance tools that pose national security risks.

The EO also intends to address the misuse of such technologies by foreign entities to facilitate repression and human rights abuses, the White House said Monday.

The presidential directive establishes security, counterintelligence and improper use factors that indicate such risks and outlines remedial steps that vendors of commercial spyware can take to mitigate the identified risks.

Additionally included in the EO are information sharing and reporting requirements pertaining to the executive branch to ensure that agencies can make informed decisions based on updated information.

The White House said the new policy will further advance the administration’s National Security Strategy and strengthen international cooperation to promote industry reform and responsible use of surveillance technology.

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Kathleen Featheringham Selected as VP of Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning at Maximus
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Kathleen Featheringham Selected as VP of Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning at Maximus

Kathleen Featheringham has joined Maximus as its new vice president of artificial intelligence and machine learning, bringing over two decades of experience in the public sector technology market to the company.

In this position, Featheringham will drive the development and growth of Maximus’ AI and advanced analytics portfolio under its Federal Technology Consulting Services business, the Tysons, Virginia-headquartered organization announced on Tuesday.

“Federal agency leaders understand the value and potential that emerging technologies such as AI, machine learning and advanced analytics can deliver and how an experienced partner like Maximus can make that reality,” said Scott Barr, who leads Maximus’ TCS unit.

He commented on Featheringham’s more than 20-year history in the industry, which he said is “unmatched” in the field and will help the Maximus team advance its approach to public sector technology transformation.

Featheringham emphasized the “extraordinary period for federal technology” that is currently informing the efforts of government agencies to better meet their mission, customer experience and service delivery goals.

Her career, she added, was built around the intersection of U.S. government missions and has placed a “special emphasis on the human element of adoption.”

“I joined Maximus to become part of a team that has shown federal agencies how the full potential of new technologies can be realized with a trusted partner,” said Featheringham.

Throughout her career, she has primarily focused on AI, data science, strategy and change management.

Prior to joining Maximus, Featheringham was a director at Booz Allen Hamilton, a role in which she created and scaled the firm’s AI strategy. She also oversaw the development of its AI governance and risk management procedures and drove initiatives to boost federal agencies’ analytics capabilities for data-driven decision-making.

Featheringham’s appointment follows an earlier leadership change made by Maximus last month, when the company appointed Elisabeth Schmidt as one of its senior vice presidents for technology and consulting services. 

Kathleen Featheringham Selected as VP of Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning at Maximus

Maximus is sponsoring the Potomac Officers Club’s 4th Annual CIO Summit, which will bring together notable GovCon CIOs to consider current information technology challenges and solutions on May 16. To learn more and register to attend, please visit the Potomac Officers Club events page.

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