Page 14 - Future Combat Systems News Today

By Mike Fong May 14, 2021 In recent years, the Department of Defense has made a number of efforts to tackle the problems presented by personnel using mobile devices. In 2018, the DOD restricted smartphone usage within secure spaces at the Pentagon -- carving out an exception for government-issued devices with the cameras and microphones removed -- and banned active-duty military from using mobile apps that tap GPS. From a distance, these moves may have seemed like overreactions. Yet the Pentago...

By Chad Cisco May 13, 2021 The future of warfare is changing at an accelerated rate. The battles of the future will have less to do with Cold War-era equipment (planes, tanks, ships) and everything to do with data, information processing and the effective deployment of machine intelligence. Next-generation warfare will be enabled by artificial intelligence, network centric and light-speed fast. The stakes are not just high -- they are staggering. The victor will hold the high ground with com...

Print this article President Joe Biden’s nominee for Army secretary, Christine Wormuth, on Thursday promised senators she would provide them data on extremism in the ranks as Republican lawmakers warned of unfounded claims about troops after a pro-Donald Trump mob stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6. Wormuth, a former Obama Pentagon undersecretary for policy, would be the first woman to serve in the role if confirmed. Senate Armed Services Committee members on both sides of the aisle praised her a...

The Defense Department is expanding its vulnerability disclosure program to cover all of its publicly available systems, including networks, frequency-based communication, industrial control systems and internet-of-things devices.

By Lauren C. Williams May 11, 2021 Lawmakers are pressing the Biden administration to appoint a dedicated space acquisition chief, raising concerns that lack of leadership in the area has led to costly programs and delayed scheduling on key systems, like GPS. House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense Chair Betty McCollum said the lack of a civilian acquisition chief for space operations was a significant problem and that the Air Force treated it like a "part-time job." "The Department of t...

Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks issued a memo detailing DODs five "data decrees," establishing rules for creating and managing data as an enterprise resource and strategic asset.

By Justin Katz May 11, 2021 The Department of Homeland Security launched its 60-day workforce sprint with an aggressive campaign to hire more cybersecurity professionals. During remarks at a May 5 U.S. Chamber of Commerce event, DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas called the sprint, which began that same day, "the most significant hiring initiative that DHS has undertaken in its history." The new campaign aims to hire 200 cyber personnel by July 1, according to a DHS statement. Half of those "co...

By Justin Katz May 11, 2021 The FBI on Monday attributed the cyberattack against Colonial Pipeline to ransomware group Darkside. The attack, which was announced on Friday, led to the shutdown of fuel pipelines serving the East Coast of the United States as a precautionary measure. At a White House briefing on Monday, officials provided details on the government response. Deputy National Security Advisor Anne Neuberger described Darkside as "ransomware as a service" operation in which the malwar...

Letters from Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) and Rep. Ken Buck (R-Colo.) to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, Attorney General Merrick Garland and acting Defense Department Inspector General Sean O’Donnell asking for information, documents and, in the case of the Justice Department, a probe into possible anticompetitive behavior on the part of Amazon Web Services.

A complaint of political inference by former President Donald Trump in the Defense Department’s award of the Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure cloud computing contract to Microsoft in 2019 may now proceed.