The Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) announced yesterday the appointment of Air Force Colonel Bradley Barnhart as the new chief of staff at DISA. […]

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report today that calls for the Department of Defense (DoD) to use a central location to catalog the data it generates from its use of satellites – a move that GAO said could reduce the billions of dollars that DoD spends on satellite development by instead hosting more payloads on commercial satellites.

Disruptive technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and the Internet of Things (IoT) can help Federal agencies better utilize their data to improve processes, public and private sector technology officials said  during a FedInsider webinar on July 25.

Welcome to MeriTalk News Briefs, where we bring you all the day’s action that didn’t quite make the headlines. No need to shout about ‘em, but we do feel that they merit talk.

The latest edition of the Army’s annual Cyber X-Games exercise is designed to let Reserve and other cyber warriors team up to train in dealing with real-world situations. It is focused on protecting U.S. infrastructure, an area somewhat outside the norm for the exercises, but one that reflects an emerging potential battleground on the cyber landscape.

Air Force Gen. John Hyten, commander of the United States Strategic Command, told House members today that he would be happy to give over the Air Force’s role in providing “situational space awareness (SSA)” services which involve keeping track of many thousands of pieces of orbital debris that have the potential to disrupt satellites and the communications and other critical services they provide.

The Pentagon’s top research arm is sponsoring development of a first-of-its-kind software that can model the events that contribute to conflicts around the world, and, if not quite predict the future, at least offer a timely heads-up on what might happen next.

Remotely operating an unmanned vehicle (UxV) has often been compared to playing a video game. But while there is a lot more to it than that, the military has found that games do have value in helping them identify potential recruits who have the abilities needed for drone piloting. New programs by the Navy and Air Force are reinforcing the idea that specifically tailored gaming systems can reveal the cognitive skills and personality traits necessary to operate their growing ranks of UxVs.

The Air Force has awarded five small businesses contracts that could top out at $950 million for the rapid development of new cyber capabilities. This contract continues an effort by the service, and the Department of Defense overall, to keep up with potential adversaries in the fast-changing cyber domain.

The U.S. military has long laid claim to having the best-equipped, best-trained fighting force in the world, and to spending more on defense than the next eight top-spending nations combined. But when the battleground is cyberspace, does that claim hold up?

The Department of Defense (DoD) and contractor Cerner are coming off an eight week break in the initial deployment of what’s planned to be a worldwide health care records system. The team stopped work to address glitches in system performance and contend with negative user feedback. But officials in charge of the deployment of the MHS Genesis system said the pause was planned as part of the rollout, initial complaints were expected, and DoD still expects to complete the $4.3 billion system by 2022.

If you took a look at Microsoft’s recent government contract announcements and felt like you’re seeing double–well, you wouldn’t be wrong. Azure Government recently received two new FedRAMP certifications from Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the U.S. Air Force. As of Jan. 24, Azure Government now has a FedRAMP High ATO from ICE and a Level-4 ATO for the Air Force’s common computing environment.

The military’s use of unmanned, and even semi-autonomous aircraft has been extensive, but no one’s ever pretended that it would be as easy as point-and-click. That day could be getting closer however, as the Marine Corps recently demonstrated how autonomous helicopter flights could clear a few final hurdles and move towards more widespread military use.

In the domain of warfare known as cyberspace, the Air Force’s cyber warriors naturally play a lot of defense, but they do it with the help of cyber weapons designed to add an important layer to the protection of the service’s operations and data. One example is the Air Force Cyberspace Defense (ACD) weapon system, a custom-built, $543 million suite that automates monitoring and analysis of activity on the Air Force Network (AFNET).

The Pentagon, well aware that private sector innovation has outstripped its own in key technologies, is expanding its courtship of industry with a new pilot program that encourages academic industry collaboration on what its calls “use-inspired basic research.” The program will concentrate on development projects aimed at creating applications that can be implemented in the field.

DOD’s Defense Innovation Unit Experimental (DIUx) recently awarded C3 IoT a multiyear contract to develop an AI-based data management platform for predictive maintenance on aircraft systems and components, beginning with the Air Force’s E-3 Sentry (AWACS) plane and the F-16 fighter.

The Air Force chief information security officer offered unusual advice to new security professionals: Don’t worry about every patch and vulnerability. “It’s OK if you can’t get to 800 controls,” said Peter Kim. “It’s OK if you miss a patch.”

Lt. Gen. Bradford J. “B.J.” Shwedo began his work as the new Air Force CIO on June 9. Shwedo was appointed to the rank of lieutenant general in late April, and nominated to the position of chief of Information Dominance and Air Force CIO.

Though the Federal government has certainly experienced ransomware attacks, experts speaking at the Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association Cybersecurity Summit on Tuesday explained that it is not the primary target for ransomware hackers.

Partnerships between private companies and government agencies sometimes require more patience than young startups have, according to Rocky DeStefano, cybersecurity subject matter expert for Cloudera. DeStefano will participate in a panel discussion at MeriTalk’s Cyber Security Brainstorm on Sept. 13.