Meritalk report [presentation] [snipped]: •”Federal IT professionals give themselves high DR2 grades: •One in four give their agency an “A” in DR2 preparedness and nearly all give a passing grade •Despite the high marks, many agencies fail to test their data recovery capabilities: •In the last 12 months, only 54% of agencies have tested their… Continue Reading
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Category Archives: Defense
Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board Issues Report on NSA Massive Metadata Surveillance
Report on the Telephone Records Program Conducted under Section 215 of the USA PATRIOT Act and on the Operations of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court. January 23, 2014. “The PCLOB is an independent bipartisan agency within the executive branch established by the Implementing Recommendations of the 9/11 Commission Act of 2007.6 The Board is comprised of… Continue Reading
Staying Safer in Cyberspace: Cloud Security on the Horizon
Staying Safer in Cyberspace: Cloud Security on the Horizon, January 2014. Karen S. Evans, Julie M. Anderson, Brian D. Shevenaug. “Cloud computing brings with it both risks and rewards. In recent years, senior Federal officials from the Secretary of Defense to the Director of National Intelligence and even the President have stressed that securing our information systems and computer networks is a… Continue Reading
EPIC Files Appeal, Challenging Secrecy of Presidential Directives
“EPIC has filed a Statement of the Issue Presented with the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals. EPIC is appealing a lower court decision that NSPD 54 — a Presidential Directive setting out the scope of the NSA’s authority over computer networks in the United States — is not subject to disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act. EPIC sought… Continue Reading
New GAO Reports – Defense Management, Defense Efficiencies
DEFENSE MANAGEMENT – DOD’s Conference Policy Is Generally Consistent with OMB’s Requirements, GAO-14-150, Jan 21, 2014 DEFENSE EFFICIENCIES – Action Needed to Improve Evaluation of Initiatives, GAO-14-134, Jan 17, 2014: “GAO recommends that DOD establish a requirement for the military departments and SOCOM to develop approaches for evaluating the impact of their efficiency initiatives, such as developing performance measures… Continue Reading
Report – Assessment of Nuclear Monitoring and Verification Technologies
Defense Science Board (DSB) Task Force Report on Assessment of Nuclear Monitoring and Verification Technologies, January 2014. This report is UNCLASSIFIED and releasable to the public. “A relatively straightforward, albeit technically rich, charge was given to this Task Force to assess technologies in support of future arms control and nonproliferation treaties and agreements. The Task Force, however, quickly realized… Continue Reading
DefenseTech – Navy Helps Fund 3D Printing of Buildings
Bryant Jordan: “Add to guns and prosthetic hands something much bigger and heavier forming from the nozzle of a 3D printer — buildings “printed” out of concrete. Partially funded by the Office of Naval Research and the National Science Foundation Countour Crafting is trying to develop 3D printed buildings using concrete. Company founder Behrokh Khoshnevis is… Continue Reading
CDT – President Supports End to NSA Bulk Collection; Fails to Provide Clear Path Forward
News release: “Far more needs to be done to restore the faith of the American people and repair the damage done globally to the U.S. reputation as a defender of human rights on the Internet. We certainly welcome judicial review of metadata queries, the support for more transparency about surveillance, a voice for civil liberties… Continue Reading
U.S. Military Accelerates Deployment of Clean Energy Technologies
Pew new release: “Deployment of clean energy technologies is accelerating across military installations operated by the U.S. Department of Defense, according to The Pew Charitable Trusts. Pew’s new report, “Power Surge,” examines how the military is using private-sector capabilities and harnessing innovative financing to obtain advanced energy systems. These projects are helping the Pentagon enhance… Continue Reading
Russian Political, Economic, and Security Issues and U.S. Interests
CRS – Russian Political, Economic, and Security Issues and U.S. Interests. Jim Nichol, Coordinator, Specialist in Russian and Eurasian Affairs, January 9, 2014. “After the Soviet Union’s collapse, the United States sought a cooperative relationship with Moscow and supplied almost $19 billion in aid for Russia from FY1992 through FY2010 to encourage democracy and market reforms and in particular to prevent… Continue Reading
Presidential Policy Directive – United States Conventional Arms Transfer Policy
PRESIDENTIAL POLICY DIRECTIVE/PPD-27. SUBJECT: United States Conventional Arms Transfer Policy: “Conventional weapons have continued to play a decisive role in armed conflict in the early 21st century and will remain legitimate instruments for the defense and security policy of responsible nations for the foreseeable future. In the hands of hostile or irresponsible state and non-state actors,… Continue Reading
Senate Intelligence Committee Releases Declassified Bipartisan Report on Benghazi Terrorist Attacks
“The Senate Intelligence Committee today issued a declassified report on the September 11-12, 2012, terrorist attacks against U.S. personnel at the Temporary Mission Facility and CIA Annex in Benghazi, Libya. The committee found the attacks were preventable, based on extensive intelligence reporting on the terrorist activity in Libya—to include prior threats and attacks against Western targets—and given… Continue Reading
