Defense Officials to Senate Panel: New Cyber Strategy Needed

Top defense and intelligence officials told Senate lawmakers Tuesday that the U.S. needs a new strategy to approach persistent cyber attacks, AOL Defense reports.

According to James Peery of the Energy Department’s Sandria National Laboratories, the U.S. should adopt an attitude where it presumes the adversary is constantly on the networks. 

Ken Gabriel, acting director for…

Retired AF General: Put SATCOM in Separate Budget Line

The amount the U.S. military spends annually to lease and purchase commercial satellites is inefficient and expensive, a retired top Air Force official said.

Lt. Gen. William Donahue said at the Satellite 2012 conference that the Defense Department could eliminate spending by creating a separate budget line for satellite communications, GCN reports. 

Donahue, now a consultant for…

Defense CIO Takai Says Tech Overcomes Scarce Resources

Technology will enable agencies to continue executing their critical functions amidst budget cuts, according to Defense Department Chief Information Officer Teri Takai.

Takai told ACT-IAC Excellence.gov awards attendees Tuesday that agencies should use technology the right way in order to survive the recent federal budget cuts, Federal Computer Week reports.

Innovation and technology are areas where…

VA, Pentagon to Merge Health Records on DISA Data Center

The Defense Information Systems Agency is set to integrate health records systems of the departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs, according to Federal News Radio.

In January, the VA said in January it would move its EHR system on DISA-hosted data centers starting in March. 

VA Chief Information Officer Roger Baker told Federal News Radio…

NSA Using Commercial Devices to Meet Mobility Goals

The National Security Agency and Defense Department’s Central Security Service released a mobile operating system architecture for commercial smartphones.

The system uses a voice over Internet protocol connection to allow discussion of classified information.

The government agencies issued a document outlining their mobility goals and their plan to develop the operating system on the Android…

GSA, DISA Award $900M SATCOM Tech Contract

The General Services Administration and the Defense Information Systems Agency awarded a potential $900 million contract to provide commercial satellite communications technologies, DISA announced Friday.

The agencies awarded the Custom Satellite Communications Solutions-Small Business contract to four small businesses under the Future Commercial Satellite Communications Services Acquisition program.

GSA and DISA formed the program…

Xerox Subsidiary to Develop Govt. Tech Using Habit Info, Data to Find Insider Threat

Xerox subsidiary PARC will help the Defense Department identify internet threats before damage is done under a $3.5 million contract, Xerox announced Wednesday.

Under the two-year contract, PARC will partner with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency to develop technology for finding insider threats.

PARC will work with DARPA on…

Report: NSA to Use ‘Whitelist’ Approach for PC Security

In the cybersecurity realm, malicious software is not blacklisted unless it is first labeled as malicious.

However, the National Security Agency has plans to use a program where software is blocked unless it is approved by a systems administrator or “whitelisted,” NextGov reports.

This would shift the focus on securing computers using a…

Report: Pentagon Approval for Android, Apple In the Works

The Defense Information Systems Agency expects to issue security guidelines in August covering both Google‘s Android operating system and Apple‘s iOS, a lead DISA official told NextGov.

Mark Orndorff, DISA’s program executive officer for mission assurance network operations, said the guidelines will address security concerns that…

Army Asking FAA for UAS Training in Civilian Airspace

The Army will ask for permission to fly unmanned aircraft in civilian airspace near Army bases for training, according to a recent Army memo.

As part of the process, the Army will apply for a certificate of authorization from the Federal Aviation Administration to operate drones near Fort Stewart, Ga., AOL…