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17 Oct 19. What’s new in the US Army’s data strategy? Security. The forthcoming Army data strategy will be “declarative” on the importance of security, the Army’s top IT official told C4ISRNET Oct. 16.
The previous strategy from 2016, said Lt. Gen. Bruce Crawford, the Army’s chief information officer/G-6, offered less guidance on the significance of data security.
“If you don’t have security baked-in from the beginning in a DevSecOps-like environment, then [first] you’re not going to be protected and secure, and [second] you’re going to spend a lot of resources individually trying to attack the security problem,” Crawford told C4ISRNET during an interview at the Association of the U.S. Army conference Oct. 16.
While the strategy is under review from senior leaders, one of its “priority efforts” will be working with the Army’s Artificial Intelligence Task Force, Crawford said. The task force, led by Brig. Gen. Matthew Easley, is working on using AI to develop advanced target recognition. Crawford said Easley’s team is waiting for the data strategy “to really deliver to the common foundation that he’s going to need to really leverage AI tools.”
“There are real-world implications on us getting this right,” Crawford said.
To ensure the strategy is followed, Crawford said the Army will issue an order that lays out the implementation timeline, standards, expectations and priority efforts. In 2016, the Army issued a directive, not an order.
The upcoming data strategy is also informed by ongoing data projects in the Army, Crawford said. He pointed to capabilities such as the Army Leader Dashboard, which gives officials a centralized platform to access data, and its “Integrated Personnel and Pay System – Army,” a site for human resources. From those programs, the Army learned how to identify and differentiate necessary and frivolous data.
As it moves to develop and unveil its enterprise data strategy, “we’re not guessing” at how to make it effective, Crawford said.
“We went to school on those efforts that … were going after a microcosm of the broader Army problem where you’ve got all these authoritative data sources … and we divested of non-authoritative data sources,” Crawford said.
With its strategy, the Army is looking to treat data as a “strategic asset,” a common refrain across the federal government. The Army, like several services and agencies across the federal government, has realized the power of data, how much it has, how it can increase efficiency and lead to better, more informed decision-making.
Cloud computing is also a central focus for the Army. Crawford stressed that the release of the data strategy is necessary to informed Army components on what data and applications to move into the cloud. Of course, components are moving to the cloud, but now the Army is taking a more “institutional approach” to the move, he said.
“If you don’t implement the data strategy first, just think about what we’re going to be moving into the cloud. Probably not the right things,” Crawford told reporters at a media roundtable Oct. 15 at AUSA. “We won’t go through the cleansing and the divestiture process and so literally it will be forklifting things into the cloud if we don’t implement the data strategy properly.” (Source: Fifth Domain)
17 Oct 19. The US Army prepares for electronic warfare prototypes. Within the next six months, the Army is expected to choose at least two companies for prototypes and experiments on the service’s first integrated signals intelligence, electronic warfare and cyber platform.
The Army has been conducting what it calls “pre-prototypes” to test capabilities, concepts and receive feedback from soldiers for the platform, known as the Terrestrial Layer System.
The window for proposals to evolve these pre-prototypes closes Oct. 31 and the Army’s electronic warfare program manager said the plan is to have a decision on the winners by April.
“The next goal is for them to provide some prototypes and we’ll put those prototypes on a platform and then we’ll actually put those in the soldier’s hand to help evaluate those,” said Col. Kevin Finch, program manager for electronic warfare and cyber within Program Executive Office Intelligence, Electronic Warfare and Sensors. Finch spoke to C4ISRNET during an interview Oct. 15 at the annual Association of the U.S. Army conference. “Then we’ll downselect to one vendor and then we’ll go forward.”
Finch said the plan is to have the first units equipped with the system by fall 2022. The two primary pre-prototypes include the Tactical Electronic Warfare System (TEWS) — mounted on a Stryker and its smaller Flyer72 based variant Tactical Electronic Warfare Light (TEWL) — and the Tactical Signals Intelligence Vehicle (TSIG). Both are integrated platforms the Army is using to experiment with technologies that would allow for sensing, signals intelligence, electronic warfare and RF-enabled cyberattacks. TEWS is being used with 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, which took the system to the National Training Center as a way for Army leaders to learn how it was used. It was also part of the Cyber Blitz experiment in September.
TEWL has also been used by 173rd airborne brigade combat team in Vicenza, Italy, according to officials with General Dynamics. Army leaders aren’t just interested in the capability itself, officials and members of industry have said, but the concepts for how they will be used.
Finch explained that service leaders aren’t exactly sure which vehicle types TLS will be outfitted to.
“The feedback that we’re receiving from [Forces Command] is driving that as well as the feedback from the units,” he said. “Obviously, they want to see a vehicle that is like to the formation. For a Stryker to have a Stryker. For an armored formation it would be an [Assault Breacher Vehicle] type of platform. Right now that’s actually one of the decisions we’re waiting to get finalized moving forward is ‘hey, what platform do you need to put this on?’”
Officials have described a TLS family of ground systems to include an extended range, which will be used as a division and corps asset, TLS large, which will be a mounted on a large vehicle like a Stryker, TLS small, which will likely remain vehicle mounted but feature a smaller form factor, and TLS dismount. TLS large is expected to be the first to be developed and fielded.
16 Oct 19. US Army sets stage with ‘provisional’ cloud office. The US Army now has a fledgling cloud management office. The Army’s CIO, Lt. Gen. Bruce Crawford, told reporters at the Association of the U.S. Army’s annual conference Oct 15 in Washington, D.C., there is a “provisional” enterprise cloud management office to oversee the Army’s cloud initiatives, assisting in migrations and training. Further details on the office’s leadership and programs would come “later on this quarter,” he said.
The CIO first announced plans to stand up a cloud program office in March, saying the service wasn’t quite ready to take advantage of the Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure platform once a winning vendor is named. (A JEDI award was expected in August at the earliest, but the procurement process is now under defense secretary review.)
Crawford has said in the past that a cloud office would need contracts for cloud migration, personnel services and shared services, and would start on several pathfinder efforts relating to tactical intelligence data, financial management applications, global force integration systems, logistics and maintenance, and the tactical service and infrastructure.
“Absolutely, there is a need for an enterprise cloud,” Crawford told reporters Oct. 15, referring to JEDI.
And to prepare for it, the Army is assessing what applications and data are best for a general-purpose cloud versus a fit-for-purpose one, as the service is interested in having both.
Enterprise as a service
The Army has selected nine locations to test its enterprise-as-a-service experiments. The Army first indicated it was headed toward the enterprise-IT-as-a-service model in February. Crawford confirmed plans in March saying that related pilots would start this year.
So far, the Army has awarded about $34m in contracts to Verizon, Microsoft and AT&T to lead the pilots that will take place over the next three years. Each pilot is expected to last two to three years.
So long Army Cyber Command?
Army Cyber Command is getting a new name to match its information warfare capabilities.
“We’re reorganizing Army Cyber Command to synchronize Army information warfare capabilities,” Army Chief of Staff Gen. James McConville said during the AUSA keynote Oct. 15. “Its new alignment will change how we conduct information warfare by integrating and employing intelligence, information operations, cyber, electronic warfare and space capabilities to provide combatant commanders with options to compete below the level of armed conflict.”
Army Cyber Commander Lt. Gen. Stephen Fogarty first talked about the command’s inevitable transformation shortly after taking the job in 2018.
“In three, four, five years from now, we’ll no longer be called Army Cyber Command. We’re going to be Army Information Warfare Operations, or Information Dominance Operations,” he said in August 2018. “We’re going to be something else that’s actually going to reflect the totality of the capabilities, the challenges, the opportunities of operating in this environment.”
Fogarty told reporters Oct. 15 the official name change is under review, but the focus on information operations was already present.
“When I look at the network, I look from the enterprise to tactical as a continuum. We’re actually engaged in information operations today. Some of it’s from a very tactical level and some of it is from a more strategic, more operational level, and we’re using all aspects of our network to be able to conduct that,” Fogarty said Oct. 15.
“I’ve been engaged in information warfare since the day I took this job. We didn’t call it that,” but commanders are asking for it, he said.
(Source: Defense Systems)
15 Oct 19. L3Harris to provide ROVER transceiver upgrade in deal worth over $90m. The U.S. Army has selected L3Harris Technologies to provide ROVER 6 transceiver equipment upgrades in support of the U.S. Army’s One System Remote Video Terminal program of record, meant to improve situational awareness for soldiers in the field, the company announced Monday at the Association of the U.S. Army’s annual conference.
The company did not disclose the value of the award but said it was more than $90m.
The portable ROVER systems deliver full-motion video and geospatial data from manned or unmanned aircraft to enhance reconnaissance, surveillance, target acquisition and general situational awareness on the battlefield.
The move comes as the Army envisions advanced manned-unmanned teaming, or MUM-T.
Within the last month, the Army acquisitions office for unmanned aerial systems awarded a contract for the Rover 6S and the Tactical Network ROVER2E, a newer version of the man-portable radio.
The Army is scheduled to receive its first deliveries beginning in November 2020, the company said at the AUSA meeting in Washington.
According to L3Harris, the updated systems expand frequency capability. They also reduce the equipment’s size, weight and power needs, as well as add processing resources. They also include Cryptographic Core Modernization. The systems are meant to transform sensor-to-shooter networking and allow increased levels of collaboration and interoperability with virtually all large airframes, unmanned aerial vehicles and targeting pods in theater today.
The upgrade included modernizing the waveform the equipment uses such that more users are able to transmit video, according to Kevin Kane, L3Harris’ vice president for international business development.
“Being able to share that real-time situational awareness more broadly on the battlefield is really what it’s all about,” Kane said. (Source: Defense News Early Bird/C4ISR & Networks)
15 Oct 19. The US Army is building a ‘cloud in the sky’ for its aviation fleet. The Army is building what is essentially a “cloud in the sky” for its current aviation fleet as it prepares the aircraft to fight alongside a future fleet under development, according to Brig. Gen. Thomas Todd, the program executive officer for Army aviation. The general spoke to Defense News in an interview ahead of the Association of the U.S. Army’s annual conference. The current fleet won’t dissolve into thin air when future helicopters are fielded, and they will be expected to fly together in operational environments across multiple domains. The Army is aiming to field a future attack reconnaissance aircraft and a future long-range assault aircraft by 2030.
“We have to figure out a way to host a common server so that we can store data, process data and transport data quicker,” Todd said. “So while they work on the future vertical lift architecture, we still have to make the enduring fleet, that will fly alongside it, work and be capable.”
So the Army is building an Aviation Mission Common Server, or AMCS, that is a stack of storage, data processing and transport capability “that’s very much a flying cloud, if you will,” Todd said.
The AMCS “will reside inside every aircraft. It has to reside in every aircraft because there has to be onboard processing and storage power,” Todd said, adding that it will be the engine that drives the associated user interface and apps as well as provide connectivity to the network overall.
The user interface will be built upon the technology developed by Northrop Grumman for the Victor-model Black Hawk. The “V” model is an L-model UH-60 with a digital, modern cockpit like the “M” model, the latest Black Hawk variant, but not with an M-model price tag. Additionally, the interface in a V model can take on new capability through apps like a smartphone. The V model wrapped up its initial operational test and evaluation in September at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington state, Brig. Gen. MacMcCurry, who is the Army G-3/5/7 aviation director inside the Pentagon, told Defense News in a separate interview. He reported the tests went well and the service looks forward to building out the fleet.
The Army is currently assessing integrating the same user interface into Mike-model Black Hawks, according to Todd. The effort to build the server is part of a larger effort to ensure the current fleet is ready to fight in multidomain operations. The Army wants to obtain multidomain dominance by 2035.
“We took a look at Army Futures Command’s guidance on exactly what those combat aviation brigades would have in them and what would be enduring. For example, the Apache would be there indefinitely,” Todd said. “We also found that the requirements for data, the transport of and use of was exponential. So ultimately it’s a problem that exists for the entire fleet, so we need to get after, at a minimum, making the enduring fleet compatible with future vertical lift, if not more capable.”
There are several cross-cutting initiatives for the current fleet to make the aircraft more agile, interoperable, survivable and integrated in multidomain operations, Todd said, and the network will play an integral role.
For example, the Army is working with the network community to replace its AN/ARC-201 radios with radios with the TSM waveform, which will improve and comply with future air-to-ground radio communications, according to Todd.
There is also work being done within the position, navigation and timing community and with the Air Force to develop antennas, processors and software that hep the current fleet to survive battle, Todd added.
And the service is working to improve power sources onboard aircraft. “There is a huge demand requirement coming, a demand signal for onboard systems and the power requirements of those is exponential. So given that it’s not linear and it’s going to grow exponentially, we have to get after alternative means,” Todd said.
The same team that is in charge of the Improved Turbine Engine Program — which will replace engines in Apaches and Black Hawks and be the engine for the future attack reconnaissance aircraft — is looking at supplemental power units, upgrades to generators and upgrades to batteries to better power onboard systems that may not require the main power system anymore, Todd said. (Source: C4ISR & Networks)
15 Oct 19. USAF awards a third Enterprise IT as-a-Service contract. The Air Force awarded Accenture Federal Services a contract to provide Enterprise IT as-a-Service under a $66m Other Transaction Authority announced Oct. 15. Under the agreement, Accenture will provide compute and store services to six bases across the United States. Accenture will use commercial software to modernize technology infrastructure at the bases. EITaaS will allow an IT company to handle the service’s day-to-day computing tasks.
The company will also migrate Air Force applications to the cloud, where they will be available on the military’s classified and unclassified networks. Accenture will use artificial intelligence and automation to maintain the environment.
“We’re honored to be selected to help the Air Force enable its digital transformation,” said Susan Lawrence, a managing director at AFS who leads the Armed Forces sector within its defense portfolio.
“By combining our leading commercial digital capabilities with our innovation methodology and cutting-edge human-centered design work, we can help provide a foundation for cloud growth within the Air Force and across the Department of Defense.”
The six Air Force bases are: Buckley in Colorado; Maxwell in Alabama; Offutt in Nebraska; Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Alaska; Cannon in New Mexico; and Hurlburt Field in Florida. Accenture joins AT&T and Microsoft as the third company providing these services to the Air Force. (Source: C4ISR & Networks)
15 Oct 19. AUSA 2019: Commtact looks to international market with new product line. With the launch of Commtact’s HiveComm datalink family at AUSA 2019 the Israel-based company is continuing expansion of its datalink solutions to the international market.
The new product line is based on its legacy equipment but with some new technologies added, according to Ariel Kandel, CEO of Commtact. He added that the new products would be ‘more focused’ on international sales.
The next step for the company’s expansion into US markets is to utilise its sister company, CP technologies, to ‘front the product line’ state-side and add US-specific encryption, such as NSA Type 1, to datalink products. This cannot be done by a foreign company.
Both Commtact and CP Technologies are owned by Israel’s Aeronautics, with the latter joining the group in 2017.
Kandel noted that with its domestic customer the company has experience of ‘1,000s of hours’ of operational use. The company already has some systems in use with USSOCOM and on some Raytheon products though Kandel could not go into specifics.
The company typically sells its solutions directly to OEMs or integrators, rather than directly to the end user.
The HiveComm is a software defined radio system designed to provide full duplex digital communications, enabling high performance data transmission at around 40Mbps.
The suite combines Multiple-Input and Multiple-Output (MiMo) technology for improved reliability and performance in a multipath environment, as well as unique algorithms for encryption and secure communications. Advanced error correction techniques and algorithms increase datalink robustness and reliability in even the most challenging scenarios.
The HiveComm has an adaptive modem, the AiMoTM, delivering a one-of-a-kind smart modem algorithm. The modem operates either single carrier or multi-carrier modulation, providing the operator with the required operational flexibility.
Networking is accomplished by Commtact’s proprietary MANET solution, known as HiveNetTM.
Using Commtact’s AmadeusTM real-time HD video encoder, enhanced video capabilities offer real-time multi-transmission from several different payloads at low latency. Two built-in proprietary HD video encoders allow concurrent encoding, decoding and transmission of multiple HD video streams. (Source: Shephard)
16 Oct 19. French cyber tech giant sets up shop in Adelaide precinct. Up to 40 new jobs will be created over the next three years in Adelaide after the announcement that French cyber tech company, Squad, will establish itself at Lot Fourteen. South Australia Premier Steven Marshall said the company’s decision to move to Lot Fourteen is an endorsement of the state’s burgeoning defence, space and cyber sectors.
“Eric Guillerm, the chairman of Squad, and I have had many discussions about a move to Adelaide, and I’m delighted they have made the decision to come to Lot Fourteen,” said Premier Marshall. “This announcement is another major vote of confidence in our state’s high-tech and high-growth industries. National and international organisations are choosing South Australia to tap into our defence, space and cyber industries, creating a pipeline of jobs for decades to come.”
Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment, David Ridgway said the announcement is yet another coup for the precinct.
“We’ve seen such rapid development here on the old Royal Adelaide Hospital site, with national and international investment flowing through,” said Minister Ridgway. “Companies like Squad provide a boost to the high-tech and high-growth ecosystem we’re growing down here at Lot Fourteen. This demonstrates a promising future for our state.”
Squad co-founder and CEO Marc Brua said the company was thrilled to be making the move to South Australia.
“To make that first step abroad, for a foreign company like Squad, is no easy feat; so, support programs such as a landing pad, which enable us to land and begin hiring and integrating locally, are imperative to our longer-term success,” Brua said. “Squad announced a 2024 Strategy in July this year which sets out strategic ambitions focusing on international markets.”
Squad’s international director, Antoine Hautin, also confirmed that the move is the first phase of the company’s internationalisation and will serve as a gateway to the Asia-Pacific region in the longer term.
“Today, we have around 10 to 15 consultants in Australia providing high level expertise on several defence projects. To keep growing, we will have to work closely with local partners, including high education institutions,” Hautin said. “Our chairman, Eric Guillerm, has had several instrumental meetings with Premier Marshall over the past years, which have led to the choice of Adelaide as the place for our headquarters in Australia where we know companies benefit from strong support from the state government.
“International companies should be looking seriously at Australia for their international development. Australia’s Future Submarine Program contract is having a direct positive impact on the South Australian business environment – and Squad’s decision to settle in Adelaide is an example of this.” (Source: Defence Connect)
15 Oct 19. This company thinks it can accelerate the US Army’s tactical network fielding timeline. Under the US Army’s approach for modernizing its tactical network, the service is delivering incremental capabilities to particular types of units every two years beginning in 2021 and running through 2028. This approach, according to the Army, allows it to conduct experimentation, receive soldier feedback and identify the right mix of systems for units while adopting and taking into account rapid commercial technological advancements.
In 2021, the Army is to field new capabilities and communications gear to four infantry brigades, among other more specialized Army units, while heavier units, to include Stryker and armored units, are to receive such gear in 2023.
But American defense company General Dynamics Mission Systems wants the Army to prioritize armored units, given renewal of a great power competition and that these heavier units would be sent into battle if the U.S goes to war with Russia or China. These heavier units currrently don’t have the capabilities to communicate on the move.
“The real concern is if the balloon goes up tomorrow with Russia or China, it is our heavy formations that are actually going to be fighting the fight, not necessarily the light guys. Are we really waiting until 2023 in order to field that capability to our most mobile and our most lethal force?” Scott Dunderdale, vice president of Army tactical network programs at GDMS, told C4ISRNET at the Association of the U.S. Army’s annual conference Oct. 15.
The Army “actually agreed with us,” he added.
The service has worked with light infantry airborne units during the experimentation phase, but Dunderdale pointed out that Army officials have said they would focus on heavy units earlier if there was more money.
GDMS said it lobbied for Congress to provide more money to move up the Army’s timeline closer, and the company invested its own money in developing a system that would provide line-of-sight, beyond-line-of-sight, situation awareness and fires capabilities to the heavier units.
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However, there was no commercial off-the-shelf technology for tracked tank vehicles that could handle the vibration and shock those vehicles produce, Dunderdale said. A solution would have to be a modified commercial system, he added.
Dunderdale explained that GDMS identified the Army’s technological gap as “an itch we could scratch.” If a purely commercial satellite communications antenna was put on a Bradley, he added, it would shake apart as soon as it pulled out of the motor pool.
As a result, General Dynamics developed the Rugged Armored Vehicle Network system. The capability allows for LTE connectivity, beyond-line-of-sight communications and increased bandwidth to access battlefield applications and functions.
“We have committed to the Army that we will be ready to start building and fielding these in March/April time frame next year. So if we are lucky enough to get the funding, we will be ready to go. If we’re not, well then we’ll put it on the back burner,” Dunderdale said. “We truly believe that getting this capability to the armored force is a capability that the Army really needs. They seem to be in agreement with that.”
The Rugged Armored Vehicle Network system is currently in the prototype stage, but it is up to the Army to decide what path the system will take based on the service’s priorities and available funding. (Source: Defense News)
15 Oct 19. The Dutch national security authority, NLNCSA, has approved cybersecurity company Sectra’s (STO: SECT B) latest version of the eavesdrop-proof mobile phone Sectra Tiger/S for use up to and including the Geheim (SECRET) security level. In its evaluation of the product, the authority also determined that the new Sectra Tiger/S protects against so-called quantum attacks.
One of the major threats to future-proof confidentiality is the new type of advanced supercomputers, known as quantum computers, that can perform certain types of calculations much more efficiently than today’s computers. Such computers could pose a threat to current encryption methods. Given the time horizon for highly sensitive information and national secrets, security solutions that are developed today must offer protection against quantum threats.
“Our customers will need quantum-safe technology and we are at the forefront in this new field. According to the NLNCSA, very few products offer any form of protection against such attacks despite the evident threat posed by quantum computers,” says Simo Pykälistö, President of Sectra Communications.
About Sectra Tiger/S
Sectra Tiger/S is a secure communication system developed in close cooperation with the Dutch and Swedish security authorities. It allows the user to share classified information up to and including the SECRET security level through encrypted speech, messaging or data transfer.
Users include government officials, officials in the diplomatic corps, decision-makers in defense and critical infrastructure, and military personnel in the field. Common to these is that they use security-approved products to communicate securely and that they have high demands on flexibility and mobility.
Sectra Tiger/S is part of the Sectra Tiger Ecosystem, along with the smartphone solution Sectra Tiger/R, approved for RESTRICTED-level communication, as well as the previous Sectra Tiger/S generation Sectra Tiger/S XS. This ecosystem approach creates a secure communications environment without crypto islands, allowing the user organization to balance individual security requirements with the right level solution, supporting current and future encryption needs.
14 Oct 19. The latest Pentagon bug bounty revealed a critical vulnerability. An eighth iteration of the Pentagon’s bug bounty program discovered a critical vulnerability in Department of Defense systems.
HackerOne, the ethical hacking company partnered with the DoD for penetration testing, announced Oct. 14 it completed the Pentagon’s “Hack the Proxy” program, which allowed white hat hackers to probe the department’s Virtual Private Networks, virtual desktops and proxies.
The hackers found 31 vulnerabilities. Nine were considered “high severity” and 21 were “medium/low severity.” The release did not offer any additional details on the critical vulnerability found. Last year, an Army secure file sharing site was taken offline because a critical vulnerability was found through a similar disclosure program.
The goal was to find “find places where the many external DoDIN [Department of Defense Information Network] touchpoints might be used by adversaries to surveil information that is internal to the network.”
“Validating capabilities, closing previously unknown vulnerabilities, and enforcing standards improve our ability to conduct multidomain military operations,” said Master Sgt. Michael Methven at U.S. Cyber Command’s Directorate of Operations. “Hack the Proxy is an important approach that leverages crowd-sourced talent for an outside-in view of our vulnerabilities. At little cost, we identify and mitigate vulnerabilities more effectively, making the Department’s networks more resilient and securing our data from malicious cyber actors.”
The Pentagon doled out $33,750 to hackers who submitted valid vulnerabilities between Sept. 3-18. In total, 81 hackers from across the world participated. The biggest prize was $5,000. One U.S.-based hacker won $16,000, nearly half the purse.
“With each new initiative, the Department of Defense further bolsters its cyber defenses against rogue enemy actors thanks to white hat hackers from across the globe,” said Alex Romero, digital service expert at the Department of Defense Defense Digital Service. “As our adversaries become more sophisticated in their tactics, we must stay one step ahead to protect our citizens and defense systems.”
The “Hack the Proxy” program, sponsored by U.S. Cyber Command is a partnership between the DoD, Defense Digital Service and HackerOne. HackerOne leads several ethical hacking events with various Pentagon components, including several iterations of hacking the military services and Pentagon as a whole. Hack the Proxy was the first bug bounty focused on find vulnerabilities in government-owned, publicly accessible proxy servers. HackerOne disclosure programs, which started in 2016, have discovered over 10,000 vulnerabilities.
“The DoD has embraced hacker-powered security with open arms by consistently collaborating with hackers worldwide to help them find areas where they can be vulnerable to attack,” said Marten Mickos, CEO of HackerOne. “Each initiative has not only bolstered the DoD’s cybersecurity posture, but also served as an example of how trusting hackers can improve defense system on an ongoing basis.” (Source: C4ISR & Networks)
14 Oct 19. L3Harris Technologies’ New Interference Cancellation Solution Sustains Communications During Electronic Warfare and Cyber Missions.
Highlights:
- First-of-its-kind capability protects tactical communications during EW and cyber missions
- Warfighters no longer have to choose between their communication links and EW systems
- HalcyonLinkTM leverages company’s fifty-year legacy in interference cancellation technology
L3Harris Technologies (NYSE:LHX) has introduced a first-of-its-kind capability that enables warfighters to sustain critical communication while they are simultaneously conducting electronic warfare (EW) and cyber operations. As the U.S. military conducts EW and cyber operations, noise from co-located EW transmitters can impact the performance of nearby tactical communication systems. The L3Harris HalcyonLink leverages the company’s adaptive interference cancellation technology to sustain the warfighter’s communications during this critical period.
“HalcyonLink eliminates the interference between EW systems and communications radios, enabling warfighters to sustain vital communication lifelines while conducting EW and cyber operations,” said Ed Zoiss, President, Space and Airborne Systems, L3Harris. “As a leader in EW and tactical communications, L3Harris technology is being brought to bear to protect and connect our warfighters on the electronic battlefield.”
L3Harris has a fifty-year legacy of using high-performance interference cancellation technology to address the most difficult interference challenges. HalcyonLink is powered by L3Harris’ Advanced Interference Mitigation System.
L3Harris’ Space and Airborne Systems segment provides space payloads, sensors and full-mission solutions; classified intelligence and cyber defense; avionics; and electronic warfare solutions.
11 Oct 19. US DoD and HackerOne launch second ‘Hack the Army’ challenge. The US Department of Defense (DoD) and bug bounty platform HackerOne have launched the second ‘Hack the Army’ challenge to identify vulnerabilities in government web assets. The four-week challenge, which is the ninth bug bounty initiative with the DoD, will run until 8 November.
Led by the Defense Digital Service, ‘Hack the Army’ encourages hackers to find vulnerabilities in more than 60 publicly accessible web assets. The crowdsourced security testing will help enhance the security of the systems.
Department of Defense Digital Service Digital Service Expert Alex Romero said: “It is our duty to ensure our citizens are protected from cyber threats, and finding new and innovative ways to do so is vital.
“Our adversaries are determined and creative, so we must be every bit more of both. This latest HackerOne challenge allows us to continue to harden the army’s attack surfaces with the talent and diverse perspectives of HackerOne’s vetted hacker community.”
The first Hack the Army challenge involved around 400 hackers from around the world. The hackers identified 118 vulnerabilities in the bug bounty initiative.
Army Cyber Command commanding general Stephen Fogarty said: “Opening up the army’s cyber terrain to the hacker community is exactly the type of outside-the-box, partnership approach we need to take to rapidly harden and better defend our most foundational weapons system: the army network.”
Active US military members and government civilians are invited to participate in the bug bounty challenge. The initiative is also open for participation to individuals authorised by HackerOne.
HackerOne CEO Marten Mickos said: “Over the past three years, our hackers have helped the DoD find and resolve more than 10,000 vulnerabilities, and we are excited to bring this new challenge to the uniquely talented hacker army up for the task.” (Source: army-technology.com)
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Spectra Group Plc
Spectra has a proven record of accomplishment – with over 15 years of experience in delivering secure communications and cybersecurity solutions for governments around the globe; elite militaries; and private enterprises of all sizes.
As a dynamic, agile, security accredited organisation, Spectra can leverage this experience to deliver Cyber Advisory and secure Hosted and Managed Solutions on time, to spec and on budget, ensuring compliance with industry standards and best practices.
Spectra’s SlingShot® is a unique low SWaP system that enables in-service U/VHF tactical radios to utilise Inmarsat’s commercial satellite network for BLOS COTM. Including omnidirectional antenna for the man, vehicle, maritime and aviation platforms, the tactical net can broadcast over 1000s miles between forward units and a rear HQ, no matter how or where the deployment. Unlike many BLOS options, SlingShot maintains full COTM (Communications On The Move) capability and low size and weight
On 23 November 2017, Spectra Group (UK) Ltd announced that it had recently been listed as a Top 100 Government SME Supplier for 2015-2016 by the UK Crown Commercial Services
Spectra’s CEO, Simon Davies, was awarded 2017 BATTLESPACE Businessman of the Year by BATTLESPACE magazine and is a finalist in the inaugural British Ex-Forces In Business Awards in the Innovator Of The Year category.
Founded in 2002, the Company is based in Hereford, UK and holds ISO 9001:2015, ISO 27001 and Cyber Essentials Plus accreditation.
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