FROM THE DESK OF CLEARANCEJOBS.COM
1. Market your clearance. Editor Lindy Kyzer explains, “If you’re searching for a cleared job, companies care who the issuing agency is. While clearance reciprocity has always been a topic of reform efforts, it’s still faster for a company looking to staff a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) contract to be able to find DHS-cleared professionals. Some of the most in-demand candidates are those with a DHS clearance.”
2. Trading trade secrets. Contributor Sean Bigley advises, “The bottom line is that intellectual property matters can be legal minefields. What does and doesn’t constitute a protected trade secret is sometimes a matter of debate, even for attorneys. What is clear, however, is that erring on the side of caution—along with seeking competent legal advice, where necessary—is generally the best practice.”
THE FORCE AND THE FIGHT
1. ISIS deep dive. The Atlantic’s Graeme Wood reports, “The reality is that the Islamic State is Islamic. Very Islamic. Yes, it has attracted psychopaths and adventure seekers, drawn largely from the disaffected populations of the Middle East and Europe. But the religion preached by its most ardent followers derives from coherent and even learned interpretations of Islam.” See also, “Battle against Islamic State expands as Egypt bombs Libyan affiliate.”
2. Funding defense. AP’s Andrew Taylor reports, “Pressing Pentagon demands in a time of terror threats and Islamic State militants have put newly empowered congressional Republicans in a bind. Defense hawks want to wipe out previous spending cuts to steer more money to the military, but the GOP is divided over how to do it without piling billions onto the deficit.”
3. Shutting down DHS. Nextgov’s Jack Moore reports, “The Department of Homeland Security is warning lawmakers a shutdown at the agency would not spare its cybersecurity operations. ‘I’m gravely concerned about the impact of a shutdown on our cybersecurity efforts,’ Andy Ozment, DHS assistant secretary for cybersecurity and communications, said Thursday in testimony before a House subcommittee hearing. . . . [A] partial shutdown would affect basic cyber operations at the agency, potentially delay two key acquisition programs . . . and curtail its information-sharing activities with the private sector.”
4. NATO’s next force. Defense News’ Paul McLeary reports, “A number of new programs being implemented by Washington and NATO partners may have a big impact on how Europe equips itself, and how and when they deploy their forces in the future. But how effective any one program will be depends on how well the allies can deliver on promises to pool their resources and agree to focus on interoperability and networking.”
CONTRACT WATCH
1. Navy’s missile warning upgrades. Military & Aerospace Electronics Editor John Keller reports, “Missile-defense experts at Orbital ATK Inc. in Clearwater, Fla., will build, upgrade, and repair AN/AAR-47 (V) missile-warning set assemblies under terms of a potential $30.7 million U.S. Navy contract announced Friday. The AN/AAR-47 is an electronic warfare system that helps protect aircraft from heat-seeking and laser-guided missiles, as well as from unguided munitions by detecting incoming threats, warning the pilot, and dispensing countermeasures.”
2. Reforming Federal contracting. Prescott e News’ Steven D. Smith reports, “H.R. 924, the Responsibility in Federal Contracting Act . . . would require the calculation of wages for public works projects be based on actual statistics calculated by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) . . . . The current process which determines these rates based on fundamentally flawed surveys within the Wage and Hour Division. A 2008 Department of Labor Inspector General report found that ‘one or more errors existed in 100% of the wage reports.’ H.R. 924 would substitute the current wage determination with statistically sampled information from the BLS. Research conducted by the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office estimates that upwards of $13 billion could be wasted over 10 years if Davis-Bacon is left unreformed.”
TECH, PRIVACY, & SECRECY
1. The Equation Group: NSA’s expansive cyberespionage. Reuters’ Joseph Menn reports, “The U.S. National Security Agency has figured out how to hide spying software deep within hard drives made by Western Digital, Seagate, Toshiba and other top manufacturers, giving the agency the means to eavesdrop on the majority of the world’s computers, according to cyber researchers and former operatives. That long-sought and closely guarded ability was part of a cluster of spying programs discovered by Kaspersky Lab, the Moscow-based security software maker that has exposed a series of Western cyberespionage operations.” See also, “Report Bares U.S. Computer-Espionage Tactics” and Kaspersky’s report, “Equation Group: Questions and Answers.”
2. DARPA’s transhumanism cortical modem. H+ Magazine’s Peter Rothman reports, “Leveraging the work of Karl Deisseroth in the area of optogenetics, the cortical modem project aims to build a low cost neural interface based display device. The short term goal of the project is the development of a device about the size of two stacked nickels with a cost of goods on the order of $10 which would enable a simple visual display via a direct interface to the visual cortex with the visual fidelity of something like an early LED digital clock. The implications of this project are astounding.” See also, “DARPA’s New Search Engine Puts Google in the Dust.”
3. Marine Corps’ GuardBot. Defense One’s Patrick Tucker reports, “research team from Stamford, Conn. has developed an amphibious drone that they are currently testing with the Marines. The GuardBot is a robot ball that swims over water at about 4 miles per hour and then rolls along the beach, at as much as a 30-degree incline and 20 miles per hour. It uses a nine-axis stabilization, ‘pendulum motion’ propulsion system, which moves the bot forward by shifting the center of gravity back and forth and a variety of steering algorithms.”
POTOMAC TWO-STEP
1. Irreconcilable differences: “As a result of the growing tensions between the United States and Israel, and what the United States views as an improper use by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of sensitive information regarding the nuclear negotiations between the P5+1 and Iran, the White House last week begun to limit the scope, quality, and depth of the information it shares with Israel regarding the talks with Iran about the Iranian nuclear program. A senior Israeli official said that U.S. representatives continue to meet with and update their Israeli counterparts, but are passing on information about the talks ‘at a lower resolution.’”
2. The Complicator: “Now, as the 2016 race begins, Republicans could be headed for another campaign in which war in Iraq—this time, the fight against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria—is a major subject of the party’s debates, even as the candidates basically agree with each other, with the exception of the one named Paul. . . .”
OPINIONS EVERYONE HAS
1. “Republicans are holding the Department of Homeland Security hostage.” Washington Post contributor Eugene Robinson argues, “There are those who believe Boehner to be a skillful tactician. I see, instead, a hapless substitute teacher whose unruly class refuses to come to order. At this rate, his only legacy will be his own survival.”
2. “Ukraine’s military is stronger than believed. Here’s what it needs to win.” Reuters contributor Alan Chin argues, “The American plan to provide arms, on hold in light of the new armistice agreement, might be exactly what Ukraine needs if the bloodletting flares anew. Not tanks or cannon, of which Ukraine has plenty, but high-technology items that would give light infantry the ability to blunt or stop a Russian or Russian-backed attack. The list is specific: antitank missiles, drones and radars that can locate incoming artillery fire.”
3. “If U.S. Arms Ukraine, Russia Could Arm Iran.” The Moscow Times contributor Josh Cohen argues, “U.S. President Barack Obama once described a key criterion guiding his foreign policy as ‘don’t do stupid stuff.’ Sending billions of dollars in lethal arms to Kiev would violate this maxim in spades.”
THE FUNNIES
1. Nice doggies.
2. While you wait.
