Navy Secures Funding for Fire Scout Helicopter Drone Program

The U.S. Navy has secured funding for the MQ-8 Fire Scout program, according to AOL Defense.

Congress allotted the Navy $191 million to buy 12 long-range variants of the helicopter-drone. Prime contractor Northrop Grumman and the Navy are working to build new C-model Fire Scouts.

Mike Fuqua, Northrop’s head of business development for tactical unmanned systems, said…

The Possibilities of Cloud According VCE Chairman Michael Capellas in Congressional Hearing

VCE Chairman Michael Capellas spoke to the U.S. House of Representatives’ Subcommittee on Technology and Innovation earlier today outlining cloud computing opportunities and challenges within U.S. federal government, domestic public and commercial sectors, and international markets. 

Capellas’ speech explored key barriers to cloud adoption and incorporated findings of the TechAmerica Commission on Leadership Opportunity in U.S. Deployment of…

Twitter Pushes Congress toward Debt Ceiling Deal

In his second televised appeal of the week, President Barack Obama on Friday urged Americans to take to the Internet to push their lawmakers toward a debt ceiling compromise. 

“So please, to all the American people, keep it up,” the president said. “If you want to see a bipartisan compromise — a bill that can pass both houses of…

DHS: Stuxnet Clones May Target US Infrastructures

Officials from the Department of Homeland Security warned Congress yesterday that potential variants of the Stuxnet worm could threaten important U.S. infrastructures.

Roberta Stempfley and Sean P. McGurk from the DHS’ Office of Cyber Security and Communications appeared before House members and stressed the importance of strengthened cybersecurity efforts across the federal government….

Sens. McCain, Levin: DoD Leaves Cyber Questions Unanswered

Sens. Carl Levin and John McCain of the Senate Armed Services Committee urged the Defense Department to clarify the military’s cyber role in a letter sent yesterday to Defense Secretary Leon Panetta.

The letter states the DoD has failed to fully define DoD’s plan-of-action should a threat to national security arise,…

House Cyber Caucus Launches Website

The House Cybersecurity Caucus has launched a new website to raise awareness regarding cybersecurity issues and serve as a forum for members of Congress to work together on cybersecurity legislation. Co-chairs of the caucus, Reps. Jim Langevin, D-R.I., and Mike McCaul, R-Texas, said they would like the website to be used as a forum for raising cyber…

House Passes Cyber R&D Bill

The U.S. House of Representatives yesterday passed H.R. 4061, the Cybersecurity Enhancement Act of 2009 by a vote of 422-5.

The bill reauthorizes the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) and the National Institute for Standards and Technology’s (NIST) unclassified network security and computer programs. The bill is designed to enhance cooperation on federal and private cybersecurity research and development projects.

“This is…

Senate Looks to Combine Cyber Bills

The Senate is looking to combine the various cyber bills in an effort to pass cyber legislation this year, Senate staffers said at the Symantec Government Symposium yesterday.

There is broad consensus on what needs to be included in a cyber bill, according to Eric Hopkins, professional staff member for the Federal Financial Management Subcommittee of the Senate Committee…

INSA Chairwoman: Partnership is the Way Forward

In order to move froward with securing the nation’s networks, the government and private sectors must work together, Frances Townsend, Chairwoman of the Intelligence and National Security Alliance (INSA) board, told members of the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee during a hearing June 15.

During a hearing to discuss the Protecting Cyberspace as a National Asset…

Senate Staffer: Hill Sees Cyber as Priority

Momentum to pass major cyber legislation that could update FISMA and develop a plan to protect the United States’ critical infrastructure is growing on Capitol Hill, a Senate staffer told attendees at the Digital Government Institute Cybersecurity Conference in Washington.

“Cybersecurity is an issue that members of Congress are focusing on,” Deborah Parkinson, senior policy analyst on the…