FROM THE DESK OF CLEARANCEJOBS.COM
Hiring hackers. Contributor Ashley LaGanga writes, “The Pentagon is officially inviting you to hack its system. Of course, you’ll need to register and submit to a background check before you begin. The Department of Defense (DoD) recently launched its ‘Hack the Pentagon’ Cybersecurity Initiative. The pilot program gives accepted individuals a chance—through a test of their hacking skills—to identify vulnerabilities on a predetermined department system.”
Employee or contractor? Editor Lindy Kyzer asks, “Which is right for you: Government employee or government contractor? Some professionals have a clear preference for one career track over the other.”
THE FORCE AND THE FIGHT
Key Resolve and Foal Eagle underway. Washington Post’s Anna Fifield reports, “The United States and South Korea started huge military exercises Monday, kicking off drills that will include rehearsing surgical strikes on North Korea’s main nuclear and missile facilities and sending in special forces to carry out ‘decapitation raids’ on the North Korean leadership. The exercises always elicit an angry response from Pyongyang . . . .” See also, “Threats Of ‘Pre-Emptive Nuclear Strike’ By North Korea,” “North Korea threatens nuclear strike,” and “Don’t dismiss, or panic, over N. Korea threats.”
Exercise Cold Response underway. Defence News reports, “Thermometers may be sub-zero but in Norwegian winter, freezing is not an option, combat action is not weather dependent and a Soldier does not wait for weather to warm up to react to fire. For the first time, the U.S. Army joined 16,000 military personnel from 13 nations in Central Norway’s Exercise Cold Response 2016 to conduct combat operations training in extreme cold weather environments.”
China’s defense spending. Defense News reports, “China will raise its defense spending by 7.6 percent this year, a budget report to the country’s Communist-controlled parliament showed on Saturday, a smaller increase than past years as it seeks a more efficient military. . . . China’s total declared spending of 954 billion ($146 billion) remains far below the $580.3 billion requested by the Pentagon for this fiscal year.”
CONTRACT WATCH
Raytheon’s JSOW. DoD Buzz’s Kris Osborn reports, “Called the AMG-154 Joint Standoff Weapon, or JSOW, the Raytheon Co.-built attack bomb uses GPS , inertial measurement unit guidance and an imaging infrared seeker in the final phase of flight to find and attack enemy targets. While historically used as a land-attack weapon launched from air-platforms such as fighter jets, new technology allows the JSOW weapon to use the LINK 16 data-link to identify and kill moving maritime targets at sea from ranges as far away as 70 miles . . . .”
JLTV orders 2017. Military & Aerospace Electronics Editor John Keller reports, “U.S. military leaders plan to kick into high gear next year on procurement of the new Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV) from Oshkosh Defense LLC in Oshkosh, Wis. The fiscal 2017 U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) budget calls for buying 2,020 JLTVs at a cost of $735.4 million.”
TECH, PRIVACY, & SECRECY
CIA’s book of secrets. The Wall Street Journal’s Philip Mudd reports, “Mention ‘the Book’ to any CIA officer and he will know exactly what book you are talking about. Every analyst sees writing for the Book as the pinnacle of his profession; every operator wants his secret agent’s secrets featured in it. The Book is the President’s Daily Brief, the highly classified daily intelligence summary for the president and his inner circle. Simply put, the Book is the most tightly controlled newspaper in the world.”
NSA 1973. Breitbart reports, “After it received an intercepted communication detailing the terrorist group Black September’s plans to bomb New York City and assassinate then-Israeli prime minister Golda Meir, the National Security Agency had to debate how best to disseminate the information in order to thwart the imminent murder and mayhem plot . . . .”
Net Zero: Pentagon off the grid. Washington Examiner’s John Siciliano reports, “The military is leading the charge toward grid independence by turning to renewable energy — and not just solar and wind. Microturbines powered by natural gas, geothermal power plants and big batteries for storing electricity point to a future where buildings, and even cities, can generate as much power as they consume.”
Side channel attacks. Homeland Security News Wire reports, “One of the world’s most common security software packages — used as the basis of protection for many Web browsers — has been found to be vulnerable to a specific form of attack, according to new research. Researchers have discovered that OpenSSL is vulnerable to a type of attack known as a ‘side channel attack.’” See also, “Web security protocol TLS compromised.”
POTOMAC TWO-STEP
The Hill on drugs. “The Senate is hoping to finish up its work on a heroin and prescription drug abuse bill this week. The Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act (CARA) appears to be on a glide path after Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) confirmed late last week that Democrats wouldn’t block the legislation. . . . The bipartisan legislation . . . would authorize funding for programs to combat prescription opioid abuse, in addition to increasing the availability of naloxone, a drug to treat overdose.”
Can you hear me now? “The Obama administration has reached out to all 100 Senate offices in its effort to convince the Senate to hold a debate and confirmation vote on President Obama’s upcoming nominee to the Supreme Court . . . . The White House has indicated that a nominee could be put forward as early as mid-March, since it has taken about a month to find nominees in the past, and Justice Antonin Scalia died on Feb. 13.”
OPINIONS EVERYONE HAS
“China Is Watching the FBI-Apple Battle.” Defense One contributor Adam Segal argues, “Apple is likely to be pushed, unwillingly, into forking its products, creating separate, less secure products for Chinese users. While this will be a bitter pill for Tim Cook and Apple to swallow, given their promises to defend the privacy of all users, it is likely to be the price of continuing to do business in China.”
“Ticking Time Bomb in the Federal Workforce.” FedSmith contributor Jeff Neal argues, “[The federal government needs] an easier and more effective way of doing college recruiting and hiring, along with more effective ways of hiring young Veterans (who have a far higher than average unemployment rate). It is in the government’s interest to not bypass an entire generation of workers.” See also, “OPM Falling Further Behind on Retirement Applications.”
“Thank-You Note After A Job Interview.” Fast Company contributor Kelsey Manning writes, “Like it or not, thank-you notes are a must. Whether it’s an informational interview or traditional job interview, you need to send a thank-you note. But is an email enough these days? Does a handwritten note really help your chances? What should you say besides, “Thanks for your time!” Fear not—we’re breaking it down for you.”
