14 Mar 16. Carter, Israeli Counterpart Agree to Increased Cyber Cooperation. Defense Secretary Ash Carter and Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon agreed to increased cooperation in the cyber domain to enhance their nations’ cyber defense capabilities, Pentagon Press Secretary Peter Cook said. In a statement summarizing a meeting between the two defense leaders at the Pentagon, Cook said Carter reaffirmed the “unshakeable” U.S. commitment to Israel’s security and the importance of the U.S.-Israeli defense relationship. Following Yaalon’s October visit to Washington, Cook said, the secretary and the minister discussed a number of ways to further strengthen cooperation on a range of issues, including regional security. Carter and Yaalon also discussed developments in the region and agreed to continue to work closely to maintain the strength of the U.S.-Israeli relationship, the press secretary said. (Source: US DoD)
13 Mar 16. UK re-brigades shipborne EW programmes under MEWP. Key Points:
• Previously separate RF electronic surveillance and defensive aids projects have been merged into a single Maritime Electronics Warfare Programme
• The two strands of MEWP aggregate to a Category A project (GBP250-400m)
The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) is re-casting plans to recapitalise the Royal Navy’s (RN’s) surface ship electronic warfare capabilities by merging previously separate radio-frequency (RF) electronic surveillance and defensive aids projects into a single Maritime Electronic Warfare Programme (MEWP).
A programme of industry engagement is set to start shortly to address a first MEWP activity known as the Maritime Electronic Warfare System Integrated Capability (MEWSIC). (Source: IHS Jane’s)
11 Mar 16. Thales opens new Cyber Security Operations Centre as cybercrime continues to grow.
• Thales is the trusted partner of choice, permanently assuring the performance, resilience and security of the critical information systems of the most demanding customers.
• Roles of the Thales CSOC: prevention, detection, rapid reaction and compliance assurance.
• Elancourt Cyber Security Operations Centre: more than 30 major organisations already rely on Thales for security supervision of their information systems.
Thales announces the opening of a new Cyber Security Operations Centre (CSOC) in Elancourt, near Paris. As cyber threats grow and cyber attacks become more sophisticated, Thales continues to develop its cybersecurity operations infrastructure, incorporating the latest technologies and innovations to protect the information systems of the most demanding customers. Thales’s cybersecurity offering is built around a commitment to provide personalised support to each customer, in particular through a range of new value-added services. More than 30 major organisations already rely on Thales’s expertise to protect their information systems from cyberattacks.
10 Mar 16. NSA positioning for innovation. The National Security Agency isn’t a traditional fixture in the Defense Department commercial marketplace, instead doing most of its own technology and programs in-house. But officials at the agency want that to change.
NSA is set to launch an innovative acquisition shop designed to improve how – and how much – the agency buys commercial goods and services from the private sector.
“NSA’s industrial base right now is struggling,” Jennifer Walsmith, NSA senior acquisition executive, said at a March 9 event, according to FCW. “We have more people leaving right now in our industrial base to the commercial market,” and, like in other areas of the government, attracting and retaining talent is tough when competing against industry.
Walsmith said NSA leaders need to reach out more to the commercial sector, including to companies that aren’t necessarily among the usual defense industrial base suspects and therefore unfamiliar with the federal acquisition process and culture.
NSA is in the midst of a broader overhaul that includes