FROM THE DESK OF CLEARANCEJOBS.COM
1. Clearance myths. Contributor Sean Bigley explains, “Security clearance adjudicators use a “whole person” analysis when evaluating cases. An issue for someone else may not an issue for you (and vice versa). The rumors surrounding this area seem to most commonly arise in financial debt cases, where the circumstances leading up to the debt and how the applicant acted to resolve them are of critical importance. . . .”
2. Upward mobility. Editor Lindy Kyzer reports, “It’s yet another sign of upward movement in the defense and government contracting industry. After years of sequestration, shrinking budgets and employee furloughs, the future looks brighter. An audit of security-cleared professionals reduced the size of the cleared workforce by 10 percent in 2014. Always-increasing demand for cyber professionals means many recruiters are competing for the same pool of candidates. If you’ve been stuck in a stagnate salary, 2015 may be your year.”
THE FORCE AND THE FIGHT
1. Israel’s spy games. The Wall Street Journal’s Adam Entous reports, “Soon after the U.S. and other major powers entered negotiations last year to curtail Iran’s nuclear program, senior White House officials learned Israel was spying on the closed-door talks. The spying operation was part of a broader campaign by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government to penetrate the negotiations and then help build a case against the emerging terms of the deal . . . . In addition to eavesdropping, Israel acquired information from confidential U.S. briefings, informants and diplomatic contacts in Europe . . . .” See also, “Israel denies report it spied on US in Iran nuclear talks.”
2. Counterterrorism collapses in Yemen. AP’s Julie Pace and Ken Dilanian report, “[T]he U.S. counterterrorism strategy in Yemen has all but collapsed as the country descends into chaos . . . . Operations against militants have been scaled back dramatically amid the fall of the American-backed government and the evacuation of U.S. personnel. What had been consistent pressure on Yemen’s dangerous al-Qaida affiliate has been relieved . . . and a safe haven exists for the development of an offshoot of the Islamic State group.”
3. Libya threat. BBC News reports, “Libya’s collapse since the overthrow of Colonel Gaddafi has turned it into a potential security threat to the UK, the Foreign Affairs Committee says. The group of MPs warn that fighting in Libya has allowed Islamic State (IS) extremists to become influential there. Illegal migration from Libya could help IS to stage attacks in Europe, MPs say.” See also, “Eight killed in air strike as Libya government aims to recapture capital” and Department of State’s Joint Statement on Libya.
4. New deal with Afghanistan. Defense Media Activity’s Cheryl Pellerin reports, “Defense Secretary Ash Carter and Secretary of State John Kerry announced new funding and initiatives to strengthen a renewed U.S.-Afghanistan partnership after meeting today with Afghan leaders at the Camp David presidential retreat. . . . After a three-year interruption, the U.S.-Afghanistan Security Consultative Forum will be reinstated . . . led by DoD along with the Afghan ministries of defense and interior. . . . the U.S. and Afghan delegations held three separate sessions on security; issues of reconciliation and regional cooperation; and economic matters.” See also, “U.S. pledges to keep funding Afghans amid calls for slower pullout” and “Peace is our goal, but peace that brings regional cooperation.”
5. Boko Haram slipping. The Long War Journal’s Laura Grossman reports, “Nigeria and its allies appear to be making headway in the fight against Boko Haram. However, these initial victories may not mean that the region is closer to ending its fight against violent radical Islam. At the beginning of the month, forces from Chad and Niger joined Nigeria fighting against Boko Haram, and the African Union (AU) supported the development of an 8,000-strong regional counterterrorism force. Last week, the Nigerian army stated that it had pushed Boko Haram from all but three local government areas in Nigeria’s northeast including Abadam, Kala-Balge, and Gwoza.”
6. Going conventional. Defense News’ Andrew Chuter reports, “Britain needs to rebuild conventional military capabilities lost since the end of the Cold War in order to deter further threats on Europe’s eastern border, the parliamentary defense committee has warned the government.”
CONTRACT WATCH
1. UAV downloads: $6.6 million in directional antennas. Military & Aerospace Electronics Editor John Keller reports, “U.S. Army surveillance experts needed directional antennas to help warfighters in the field access reconnaissance imagery and video from unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and manned surveillance aircraft. . . . Officials of the Army Contracting Command at Redstone Arsenal, Ala., announced a $6.6 million contract to Textron on Monday for 104 mobile directional antenna systems in support of Textron’s One System Remote Video Terminal (OSRVT).”
2. DARPA looking for more power. ExecutiveGov’s Anna Forrester reports, “The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency is seeking ideas from the public on technologies that boost processing power to support computer simulations used in scientific research and development activities. DARPA said Thursday the Analog and Continuous-variable Co-processors for Efficient Scientific Simulation request for information is looking for processing paradigms for large-scale simulations in design, prediction and discovery. . . . DARPA will accept responses to the RFI through April 14.”
TECH, PRIVACY, & SECRECY
1. ISIS’ Hacking Division. Christian Science Monitor’s Anna Mulrine reports, “The Islamic State’s latest threat to 100 American troops has so far elicited no great concern from the Pentagon, which is encouraging its service members to be smart but not scared. The Islamic State claims that its ‘Hacking Division’ obtained names, photos, and addresses for 100 Marines, sailors, and military pilots through incursions into Department of Defense networks, and it has called on sympathizers to kill these troops ‘in their own lands.’”
2. Data theft: Israel’s heat-seeking hacking. Wired’s Kim Zetter reports, “[S]ecurity researchers at Ben Gurion University in Israel have found a way to retrieve data from an air-gapped computer using only heat emissions and a computer’s built-in thermal sensors. The method would allow attackers to surreptitiously siphon passwords or security keys from a protected system and transmit the data to an internet-connected system that’s in close proximity and that the attackers control.”
3. Hot Israeli cybersecurity. Venture Beat’s Gadi Tirosh reports, “Over the last several years, we’ve seen a burst of activity in the cyber-security domain here in Israel. Just in the past three years, we at JVP have looked at some 270 cyber companies (almost 100 in the past year alone) from a variety of areas in the field, including network security, next-generation firewalls, mobile/BYOD, and others. . . . Though not all newly founded Israeli cyber startups will succeed, here are seven reasons why cyber-security will continue to be a driving force in the Israeli hi-tech ecosystem for the foreseeable future . . . .”
POTOMAC TWO-STEP
1. Get over it. “Republicans have a message for President Obama: Benjamin Netanyahu is not the problem. The Islamic State and Iran are. Several top Republicans voiced that criticism of Obama’s Middle East policy Sunday, following a week of acrimony between the White House and Netanyahu and terrorism in Yemen and elsewhere in the Middle East. Republicans dismissed Obama’s concerns over Netanyahu’s promise to oppose Palestinian statehood in the current environment as nothing more than campaign-trail theater.”
2. Wrecking ball. “Hillary Clinton’s embattled pre-campaign team breathed a sigh of relief Monday as a central player in their grand strategy to win the White House strode boldly onto the 2016 battlefield. His name? Rafael Edward Cruz, the Republican junior senator from Texas. . . . Cruz, they say, is Hillary’s wrecking ball.”
OPINIONS EVERYONE HAS
1. “Preparing for Cyber War: A Clarion Call.” Just Security contributor Michael Schmitt argues, “[T]he arrival of cyber and cyberized conflict is imminent. Hoping it is not is a prescription for disaster on the battlefield. When it comes, the enemy will get a vote on how it unfolds. In particular, an asymmetrical conflict creates pernicious incentives to operate from and through civilian cyber infrastructure, sometimes in ways that may violate [international humanitarian law].”
2. “Millions in U.S. military equipment lost as Yemen heads down Syria’s path.” Reuters contributor Hayat Alvi argues, “The hatred and violent bloodlust that many Shi’ites and Sunnis have for each other is only intensifying. They will bring down the region together in the process, while pursuing genocidal agendas and scorched earth tactics along the way. There will be no winners.”
3. “What an Aesop’s fable teaches about procurement reform.” Federal Times contributor Michael Fischetti teaches, “You may recall Aesop’s fable of the tortoise and the hare. . . . One lesson to be derived is the triumph of perseverance, tenacity, and long-term focus over a stronger resourced opponent perhaps using trickery, salesmanship, and political savvy.”
THE FUNNIES
1. Martyrdom.
2. World afire.
3. Minarets.
