FROM THE DESK OF CLEARANCEJOBS.COM
Gone phishing. Editor Lindy Kyzer reports, “The Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) at the Department of Homeland Security wants those who fall victim to multiple phishing attacks to lose not just their pride – but their security clearances, as well. During a cybersecurity summit held last week in Washington, Paul Beckman said he regularly sends phishing emails to test his senior staff – and far too many of them fail the test.”
Contractor pay policies. Contributor Charles Simmins reports, “[T]he Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) posted a final rule implementing executive orders concerning pay secrecy policies. Effective Jan. 11, 2016, the equal opportunity clause in covered federal contracts and subcontracts will be amended to prohibit Federal contractors from firing or otherwise discriminating against employees who ask about, disclose or discuss their compensation or that of other employees.”
THE FORCE AND THE FIGHT
Putin prepared to strike. Reuters’ reports, “Russian President Vladimir Putin is preparing for unilateral air strikes against Islamic State in Syria if the United States rejects his proposal to join forces . . . . Russia has increased its military presence inside Syria and its arms supplies to the Syrian army as it steps up support of longtime ally President Bashar al-Assad, drawing warnings of further destabilization from Western countries that oppose Assad.” See also, “Russia to hold drills in the Mediterranean” and “Israeli, Russian deputy military chiefs to coordinate on Syria.”
JMWA joins Al Nusrah Front. The Long War Journal’s Bill Roggio and Thomas Joscelyn report, “Jaish al Muhajireen wal Ansar (JMWA, or ‘the Army of the Emigrants and Helpers’) has sworn allegiance to the Al Nusrah Front, an official branch of al Qaeda. The move is hardly surprising, as JMWA, which is comprised mainly of foreign fighters, has long fought alongside Al Nusrah and other al Qaeda-linked organizations in Syria.”
China’s J-31 fighter jet compared. Defense One’s Marcus Weisgerber reports, “China’s twin-engine design bears a striking resemblance to the single-jet F-35. Still, the Joint Strike Fighter is expected to fly slightly farther and carry a heavier load of weapons, according to the data, which was first reported by Jane’s. Military experts say that while the J-31 looks like, and may even fly like, the F-35, it’s what’s under the hood and embedded in the skin that really matters.”
Sequestered security. Defense Media Activity’s Jim Garamone reports, “Because of the Budget Control Act, readiness money was diverted to other needs, the chairman said. Readiness – that combination of personnel, training and equipment that produces capability – suffered even as the pace of operations grew. ‘We had a period of prolonged commitments,’ Dempsey said. ‘Those commitments have both taxed the force in terms of [operational] tempo.’ While readiness has improved from where it was, ‘it’s not where it needs to be’ . . . .”
Nukes refurbished. Defense Tech’s Brendan McGarry reports, “he U.S. Defense Department acknowledged it’s upgrading nuclear weapons stored abroad, but — in keeping with standard practice — didn’t specify where. . . . Incirlik Air Base is the largest nuclear weapons storage site in Europe with 25 underground vaults, each of which can hold up to four bombs for a maximum total base capacity of 100 bombs . . . . There are an estimated 50 B61 thermonuclear bombs stored there — a quarter of the U.S. stockpile of the weapon, which can be carried by F-16s and other aircraft.”
CONTRACT WATCH
Poland seeks recon radars. Defense News’ Jaroslaw Adamowski reports, “Poland’s Ministry of Defense launched a tender to acquire 104 new battlefield reconnaissance radars, with bids to be submitted by Oct. 21. The ministry’s Armament Inspectorate said in a statement it will select five bidders who will be invited to the next stage of the procedure. Deliveries are scheduled to be completed by 2023.”
Bio-sensing: DARPA partners with Amyris. Military & Aerospace Electronics Editor John Keller reports, “Materials sciences experts at Amyris Inc. in Emeryville, Calif., are searching for ways of developing biological materials easily for advanced sensing capabilities, chemicals, materials, and therapeutics as part of a program to develop a biology-engineering infrastructure for the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) and for the engineering biology community. Officials of the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) in Arlington, Va., announced a $34.2 million contract to Amyris on Tuesday for the DARPA Living Foundries program.”
TECH, PRIVACY, & SECRECY
Cybercrime forums. Krebs on Security reports, “A growing community of private and highly-vetted cybercrime forums is redefining the very meaning of ‘targeted attacks.’ These bid-and-ask forums match crooks who are looking for access to specific data, resources or systems within major corporations with hired muscle who are up to the task or who already have access to those resources. . . . . The interesting twist with forums like Enigma is that they focus on connecting miscreants seeking specific information or access with those who can be hired to execute a hack or supply the sought-after information from a corpus of already-compromised data.”
Crypsis, mimesis, metamaterials, and invisibility. Vice News’ Ryan Faith reports, “In theory, one could wear something with tunable camouflage that changes colors depending on the background, but aside perhaps from some clever lizards and cephalopods, nobody knows how to do that particularly well. And so we come to the holy grail of camouflage: workable, practical invisibility. It would solve all of these problems. It was just never possible. Until, that is, the development of metamaterials.”
NSA on electronic surveillance. NBC News reports, “The NSA will probably spy on foreign leaders like Iranian President Hassan Rouhani during the UN General Assembly in New York this week, applying a ‘full court press’ that includes intercepting cellphone calls and bugging hotel rooms . . . . A top-secret report on a previous NSA operation against Iran’s U.N. delegation illustrates just how extensive this electronic surveillance can be.”
Laser drones cometh. Defense One’s Patrick Tucker reports, “General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc., or GA-ASI, the San Diego-based company that makes the Predator and Reaper drones, is undertaking a privately funded study to integrate a 150-kilowatt solid-state laser onto its Avenger (née Predator-C) drone. If the company succeeds, a drone with a high-energy laser will be a reality at some point in 2017 . . . .”
POTOMAC TWO-STEP
Mouth of babes and sucklings. “Eleven first-term Republicans in the House of Representatives on Wednesday appealed to party colleagues to back away from a threatened government closure on Oct. 1, citing concerns about the political and economic costs of such an action. The 11 freshmen, who are not aligned with the party’s far-right Tea Party faction pushing for a shutdown, wrote an open letter to other Republicans urging support for a budget patch that would avert a shutdown, at least for a few weeks.” See also, “Democrats poised to filibuster.”
Unbelievable. “One lawmaker is asking the Army secretary to prove the two women who recently graduated Army Ranger School were not given preferential treatment. Rep. Steve Russell, R-Okla., sent a letter to Army Secretary John McHugh this month requesting a series of documents, including the women’s evaluations, by Friday. . . . Russell is a Ranger School graduate who led troops during Operation Iraqi Freedom during his 21-year career as an infantry officer. He retired as a lieutenant colonel.”
OPINIONS EVERYONE HAS
“How Xi Jinping can rebrand China for the West.” Reuters contributor Andrew Hammond argues, “Xi’s challenges are vast; he will need more than one state visit to overcome them. Enhancing China’s reputation in the United States is a longer-term task that will require not only sustained diplomatic investment, but also significant domestic reform, for years to come.”
“Why Syrian refugees don’t flee to Islamic State caliphate.” Christian Science Monitor’s Editorial Board argues, “When so many Muslims choose not to seek sanctuary with IS, the edifice of the group’s delusions is sure to crumble.”
“Building the Best Defense.” US News contributor Peter Roff argues, “Keep making what we have better, while branching out into new areas of research and development that may someday make today’s cutting-edge technology seem antiquated and, at the same time, provide a seamless defense against the actions of our enemies.”
