FROM THE DESK OF CLEARANCEJOBS.COM
Spies and iPhones. From Peter Suciu: “The FBI, along with other law enforcement agencies, called for the need for a master key that would enable investigators to unlock devices – thus bypassing the encryption. The argument was that such a key would only be used with a warrant, and would be no different from other efforts to obtain evidence.”
Talent search. From Editor Lindy Kyzer: “Smartronix uses a number of strategies to attract talent, including an external referral bonus program. When recruiters reach out to candidates, they’re looking to build relationships regardless of whether that individual is immediately ready to make a move or not . . . .”
THE FORCE AND THE FIGHT
Saudis, Congress, and 9/11. The New York Times’ Mark Mazzetti reports, “Saudi Arabia has told the Obama administration and members of Congress that it will sell off hundreds of billions of dollars’ worth of American assets held by the kingdom if Congress passes a bill that would allow the Saudi government to be held responsible in American courts for any role in the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. The Obama administration has lobbied Congress to block the bill’s passage . . . .”
Buzzing Rivet Joint. The Wall Street Journal’s Julian Barnes and Nathan Hodge report, “A U.S. Air Force reconnaissance plane was intercepted by a Russian fighter plane over the Baltic Sea . . . . The Russian fighter came within 50 feet of the Air Force plane, executing a barrel roll over the plane from its left side to the right . . . .”
Pentagon calls for BRAC. Defense News’ Joe Gould and Aaron Mehta report, “Pentagon officials say the Defense Department is wasting money on excess facilities and needs Congress to step in and close them, but they face an uphill fight. . . . According to a DoD report to Congress on the need for BRAC, the Army’s excess capacity is 33 percent; the Air Force’s is 32 percent; the Defense Logistics Agency’s is 12 percent, and the Navy’s is 7 percent.”
CONTRACT WATCH
Sippican UUVs. Military & Aerospace Electronics Editor John Keller reports, “Navy anti-submarine warfare (ASW) experts needed target underwater drones that mimic the acoustic and non-acoustic signatures of advanced nuclear- and diesel-powered submarines. They found their solution from Lockheed Martin Sippican Inc. in Marion, Mass. Officials of the Naval Undersea Warfare Center (NUWC) in Newport, R.I., announced a $49.5 million contract to Lockheed Martin Sippican on Thursday to build 39 unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs) able to emulate the behavior and sensor signatures of enemy submarines to help Navy ASW experts practice their skills from surface warships, submarines, helicopters, and fixed-wing aircraft.”
TECH, PRIVACY, & SECRECY
Malware v. Malware. Venture Beat’s Nitsan Saddan reports, “Thanatos uses 3-8 hardcoded flags to find malware by searching the host’s task scheduler, services, and registry. Once a suspicious signature is detected, Thanatos selectively uploads it to virustotal.com to make sure it’s malicious and then erases it from the host.”
Commission on Enhancing National Cybersecurity. Federal Times´ Aaron Boyd reports, “The Commission on Enhancing National Cybersecurity kicked off with a three-hour meeting in Washington, D.C., April 14, the first in a series of public and private conferences over the next eight months intended to set the government’s cybersecurity agenda for the coming decade. . . . The commissioners spent most of the meeting getting on the same page — identifying the problem at hand and defining the scope of their work.”
