FROM THE DESK OF CLEARANCEJOBS.COM
1. Cyberjobs in the cyberhub. Contributor Tranette Ledford reports, “San Antonio is increasingly turning into a defense cybersecurity hub, with the National Security Agency (NSA) set to add up to 1,000 new jobs in the city, most of which will require security clearances. During a San Antonio Chamber of Commerce cybersecurity summit in October, NSA Director, Admiral Michael Rogers, explained that San Antonio will serve as a key player in the future of the Department of Defense (DoD) cyber mission.”
2. Christmas is coming—take a break. Editor Lindy Kyzer explains, “I would always advise you to take your vacation time – it’s an opportunity to connect with family, enjoy a hobby and feel re-charged in going back to the office. I’m a big believer in work-life balance. My favorite part of working from home is taking regular, 15-minute power breaks – (which sometimes include throwing dinner in the crock pot or doing laundry, if I’m honest). I don’t feel guilty for those short breaks because I know I come back to my desk and the task at hand with a fresh perspective.”
THE FORCE AND THE FIGHT
1. A withering report. New York Times’ Mark Mazzetti reports, “In exhaustive detail, the report gives a macabre accounting of some of the grisliest techniques that the C.I.A. used to torture and imprison terrorism suspects. Detainees were deprived of sleep for as long as a week, and were sometimes told that they would be killed while in American custody. With the approval of the C.I.A.’s medical staff, some prisoners were subjected to medically unnecessary ‘rectal feeding’ or ‘rectal hydration’ — a technique that the C.I.A.’s chief of interrogations described as a way to exert ‘total control over the detainee.’” See also, “20 key findings about CIA interrogations, “Despite Torture Report, Obama Is Standing By the CIA,” “Seized computers, not waterboarding, thwarted would-be bomber,” and read the 500-page executive summary of the Senate Intelligence Committee’s Study of the Central Intelligence Agency’s Detention and Interrogation Program.
2. Iraq wants more—bombing, hardware, and leadership. Aljazeera.Com reports, “Iraq’s Prime Minister Haider al-Abbadi has pressed outgoing US Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel for more air strikes and weaponry to accelerate what he called the ‘descent’ of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). . . . The plea underscored tension in the US-Iraqi relationship, with Baghdad pushing for more aggressive assistance than Washington has provided so far, four months after President Barack Obama launched air strikes against ISIL in Iraq. US officials assert that the Iraqis’ biggest need is competent military leadership, not additional military hardware.” See also, “Kerry, Senators Clash Over Proposed Limitation of US Ground Forces Vs. Islamic State.”
3. Dabiq: A Call to Hijrah. Take a look at ISIS’ e-magazine that begins, “On the 11th of Shawwal 1435H (August 7, 2014), the USA decided to officially get involved once again in the affairs of the Muslim Ummah by conducting airstrikes against the Islamic State and its people. . . .”
4. Rouhani curbing Iran’s Republican Guards. Rudaw.Net reports, “Iranian President Hassan Rouhani slammed the country’s armed forces for corruption and virtually acting outside the law. In a speech to Iran’s top commanders this week on ‘combating corruption’ Rouhani said: ‘If weapons, money, newspapers and media concentrate in one place there will certainly be corruption.’ His criticism was mainly targeted at the military intelligence of the Revolutionary Guards (Pasdaran), saying that their power should be curbed.”
CONTRACT WATCH
1. Supreme Foods admits guilt. GovExec.Com’s Charles S. Clark reports, “A major supplier of food and bottled water to U.S. military bases in Iraq and Afghanistan on Monday pleaded guilty to overcharging the Defense Logistics Agency by $48 million. Supreme Food Service, whose parent company is based in the Netherlands, agreed to pay $434 million to settle criminal and civil charges for its handling of an $8.8 million contract that was terminated in 2013 . . . .”
2. DARPA calls for Transparent Computing. FederalTimes.Com’s Aaron Boyd reports, “The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is trying to get ahead of the sneakiest and most persistent threats in cyberspace and is putting up $60 million to find truly innovative ideas. The research agency posted a request for proposals for a Transparent Computing program designed to shine a light on malware hiding in the depths of complex computer systems and actively adapt to new threats.”
3. UAV-port at Fort Bliss. MilitaryAerospace.Com Editor John Keller reports, “Officials of the Fort Worth District of the Army Corps of Engineers in Fort Worth, Texas, announced a $33 million contract Friday to construction specialist SGS LLC in Oklahoma City, Okla., to build the UAV launch and recovery complex at Fort Bliss. The UAV airport and its facilities should be completed by April 2016.”
TECH, PRIVACY, & SECRECY
1. Sleep deprivation and job performance. Quartz (QZ.Com) reports, “According to the Division of Sleep Medicine at the Harvard Medical School, the short-term productivity gains from skipping sleep to work are quickly washed away by the detrimental effects of sleep deprivation on your mood, ability to focus, and access to higher-level brain functions for days to come. The negative effects of sleep deprivation are so great that people who are drunk outperform those lacking sleep.” And while you’re at it, stop checking your e-mail!
2. Intrusion prevention and Einstein security. NextGov.Com’s Aliya Sternstein reports, “CenturyLink has begun automatically blocking malicious operations on federal networks, under a controversial Department of Homeland Security program that monitors Internet traffic governmentwide. The progress comes after delays due to contract negotiations. DHS in 2013 tapped five telecommunications companies to computerize threat deflection, including major players AT&T and Verizon.”
3. Biometric authentication: bye, bye passwords. VentureBeat.Com’s Ruth Reader reports, “Most people know that user ID and password authentication is a pretty weak way to secure your accounts. Nok Nok Labs wants to help usher in a new era of fingerprint and multi-factored authentication, and it just landed $8.25 million to grow its cross platform standard. . . . It’s an important project, the significance of which is not lost on major tech companies. Among the alliance’s 150 members are Google, Alipay, Microsoft, Samsung, Lenovo, Qualcomm, and RSA. Of course, a string of authentication companies are involved in the alliance as well, like Yubico, Synaptics, NXP, and Nok Nok Labs. The project aims to phase out password security altogether . . . .”
POTOMAC TWO-STEP
1. Ultra briefs: “House Republicans will take up a bill to fund the government for a day or two, while they draft and vote on a $1.1 trillion package to fund most of the government through September 2015. House appropriators plan to publish the details of the larger plan on Tuesday afternoon. But the government is currently operating under a stopgap measure that expires on Thursday. That means lawmakers may not have enough time to debate and vote on the legislation in both chambers. The ultra-brief spending measure will avert the threat of a government shutdown, which both parties are eager to avoid.”
2. WWCD? “Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) faces a tough decision on whether to follow through on his pledge to block any legislation he deemed nonessential in the lame-duck session. With his colleagues scrambling to finish a $1 trillion government-funding measure and get out of town, Cruz is a wild card. . . . The Tea Party favorite is a conservative force openly thinking about running for the White House in 2016. He’s repeatedly advised House conservatives to buck their leadership, and he’s been vocal in saying Republicans should do everything they can to attack President Obama’s executive actions on immigration. Most importantly, Cruz is not someone who likes to go back on his statements, underlining the importance of his letter to Reid three months ago.”
OPINIONS EVERYONE HAS
1. “Torture occurred, and we must own up to our actions.” Senator Dianne Feinstein argues, “We’re not perfect and there are some dark patches in our past, but what makes us special is that we recognize these evils, we come to grips with them and we fix them.”
2. “In publishing the CIA torture report, the US is taking a brave step.” TheGuardian.Com’s Simon Jenkins argues, “Despite former members of the Bush administration declaring that torturers are ‘patriots’, and the usual nonsense that ‘lives could be put at danger’ from the truth, the Senate has bravely spoken. . . . Citizens must know what is done in their name, even if it takes time.”
3. “To deter U.S. from torturing again, those involved should be prosecuted.” Reuters contributor Kenneth Roth argues, “When torture does occur, whistle-blower protection for people who report it should be improved. Victims should be allowed to sue for compensation in U.S. courts, instead of rebuffed because their torture is classified as a state secret. Finally, all agencies should reaffirm the duty not to rely on legal opinions when they are so obviously intended to rationalize the criminal and state unequivocally that following clearly illegal orders is an invalid defense.” See also, “Punishment, not apology after CIA torture report.”
