FROM THE DESK OF CLEARANCEJOBS.COM
Social networks and clearances. Contributor Christopher Burgess: “. . . Harvesting of data from the various social networks like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn will provide a dossier on the individual. Combined with the information from the SF-86 — data which was comprised during the OPM breaches — and the odds of successfully creating a whole-person picture increase.”
Killer cover letters. Contributor Ron Kness: “The cover letter is a sales page. Make the reader want to learn more about what’s for sale — you. With only eight to 15 seconds to grab the reader’s attention, you need to set yourself apart from the other applicants right away. If the cover letter doesn’t create that interest, then all the work that went into your resume will be for naught.”
THE FORCE AND THE FIGHT
Koreas heating up. AP’s Hyung-Jin Kim reports, “North Korean leader Kim Jong Un recently ordered preparations for launching ‘terror’ attacks on South Koreans . . . . North Korea has a history of attacks on South Korea, such as the 2010 shelling on an island that killed four South Koreans and the 1987 bombing of a South Korean passenger plane that killed all 115 people on board. But it is impossible to independently confirm claims about any such attack preparations.”
EU eyes Libya. Vice News’ Alberto Riva reports, “The European Union is planning an extension of its military operation against human traffickers, known as Sophia, which could eventually include sending ground troops to war-torn Libya. According to a confidential document . . . the Sophia mission is ready to move into Libyan territorial waters to stop people smugglers there, but it will not do so until it is invited by Libyan authorities. However, Libya does not have a unified national authority that can extend such an invitation . . . .”
Turkey attacks Iraq. Reuters’ reports, “Turkish warplanes bombed Kurdish militant camps in northern Iraq overnight, hours after a suicide car bomb attack targeting military buses killed 28 soldiers and civilians in the Turkish capital Ankara . . . . The military condemned what it described as a terrorist attack and a senior security source said initial signs indicated that Kurdish militants from the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) were responsible.” See also, “Turkey vows retaliation for deadly bomb attack.”
Water world war. Homeland Security News Wire reports, “There are four billion people worldwide who are affected by severe water scarcity for at least one month a year. This alarming figure is much higher than was previously thought. . . . Particularly in Mexico, the western US, northern and southern Africa, southern Europe, the Middle East, India, China, and Australia, households, industries and farmers regularly experience water shortages.”
CONTRACT WATCH
To do list: F-35’s 419 problems. Defense Tech’s Brendan McGarry reports, “The head of the U.S. Defense Department’s F-35 program said the number of ‘deficiencies’ in the stealth fighter jet’s hardware and software is decreasing but that hundreds of technical challenges remain. . . . most of the issues were related to software for the aircraft’s mission systems, including radar and sensors, and inventory system, known as the Autonomic Logistics Information System, or ALIS (pronounced ‘Alice’), which determines whether the plane is safe to fly.”
Honeywell’s VR windows. Defense News’ Jen Judson reports, “Honeywell is developing an augmented and virtual reality windshield to enhance situational awareness in future ground vehicles for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. The company is testing a wrap-around windshield that provides contextual awareness through lower-resolution images combined with a binocular eye display that provides more precise images as part of DARPA’s Ground X-Vehicle Technologies program . . . .”
Portable chem detectors. Military & Aerospace Electronics Editor John Keller reports, “U.S. Army chemical defense experts needed additional chemical warfare detectors to help protect warfighters or emergency responders from chemical and industrial toxic agents. They found their solution from Smiths Detection in Edgewood, Md. Officials of the Army Contracting Command, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md., announced a $17.1 million contract modification to Smiths Detection on Tuesday for 2,092 M4A1 joint chemical agent detectors.”
TECH, PRIVACY, & SECRECY
Forever data storage: femtosecond laser writing. University of Southampton reports, “The storage allows unprecedented properties including 360 TB/disc data capacity, thermal stability up to 1,000°C and virtually unlimited lifetime at room temperature (13.8 billion years at 190°C ) opening a new era of eternal data archiving. As a very stable and safe form of portable memory, the technology could be highly useful for organisations with big archives, such as national archives, museums and libraries, to preserve their information and records.”
Fight for privacy. Vice News’ John Dyer reports, “The FBI’s seemingly straightforward request for Apple to unlock an iPhone that belonged to a gunman in the San Bernardino mass shooting last year has massive repercussions for the future of privacy. . . . If Apple complies with the government’s request, it will open a Pandora’s box of compromises that will undermine the privacy of the company’s customers and everyone else’s digital privacy . . . .”
Bellovin named to NSA board. Wired’s Kim Zetter reports, “The government announced last week that respected Columbia University computer scientist Steve Bellovin has been appointed the first technology scholar for the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board . . . . Bellovin is co-director of Columbia’s Cybersecurity and Privacy Center, a part of the university’s Data Science Institute, and he has authored or co-authored a number of papers on government surveillance, including Keys Under Doormats about the security risks of installing government-friendly backdoors in encryption software.” ]
China’s early warning KJ-500. Defence Talk reports, “China’s new KJ-500 airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft has received extensive international attention since its appearance. Canada’s Kanwa Intelligence Review published an article saying that KJ-500 was for the first time completely made in China and it will provide effective support for China in dealing with stealth fighters.”
POTOMAC TWO-STEP
Inside the shell. “Republican insiders predicted Wednesday that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell wouldn’t back down from his pledge to block President Obama’s expected pick to succeed the late conservative justice Antonin Scalia on the Supreme Court. Some Republicans have questioned the wisdom of the Kentucky Republican’s quick move announcing that Scalia’s successor shouldn’t be appointed until the voters weigh in this November and the next president is inaugurated. Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., predicted that McConnell would eventually acquiesce and permit the Senate to vote on Obama’s nominee.”
Self-licking ice cream cone. “The head of the House’s Benghazi committee is claiming to have achieved ‘significant breakthroughs’ following interviews with top Obama administration officials this month. The Select Committee on Benghazi ‘has made enormous progress this month,’ Chairman Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.) said in a statement on Thursday, following interviews with officials including National Security Advisor Susan Rice and Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes.”
OPINIONS EVERYONE HAS
“Cybersecurity needs a grass-roots solution.” The Christian Science Monitor contributor Dave Weinstein argues, “Until we begin to commoditize certain types of cyberthreat intelligence and expand its availability to the general public, industry, and researchers, barriers to entry for even novice hackers will remain too low to reverse the constant exploitation of our cyberspace.”
“Saying No.” Fast Company’s Stephanie Vozza writes, “If only saying no was always this easy. Sometimes it’s downright uncomfortable and difficult, so we say yes when we really want to say, ‘NO!’ . . . The key is to phrase your answer with sincerity and respect, with words that fit the situation.”
“Mastering the Skills, Not the Clock.” US News contributor Preston Cooper writes, “Education is not fundamentally different from information technology or transportation, industries which have been upended by disruptive innovation. Competency-based education may be just the beginning of a revolution in how students achieve the American dream. When markets in higher education are free to prosper, there is no telling what innovation can accomplish.”
