Gregory Krupkin

Lt. Gen. Robert Skinner, director of the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA), emphasized the importance of maintaining communication capabilities during times of conflict. In an upcoming five-year strategy, DISA focuses on providing resilient communication and command systems for warfighters at all levels. The strategy aims to ensure that critical leaders, including the President, Secretary of Defense, and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, can stay connected during major wars. DISA's role also involves enhancing cybersecurity measures and coordinating intelligence analysis to address threats effectively. The agency is actively working on modernization efforts, including replacing outdated technology and accelerating cloud adoption. Lt. Gen. Skinner called for application rationalization support from industry partners to facilitate the transition to the cloud. #DISA #DefenseInformationSystemsAgency #CommunicationStrategies #WartimeComs #ResilientNetworks #Cybersecurity #CloudComputing #DefenseTechnology #MilitaryCommunications #LinkedIn #BreakingDefense

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As modern life creates vast amounts of relevant data, federal agencies need to be able to harness it towards protecting the nation and improving the lives of its people. Booz Allen is helping missions across government achieve this. Where is your agency on the path to data enablement?

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This is technically the right approach but converging software factories on to a single DevSecOps platform for programs that are in mature development and fielding is going to be a lot of retrofitting that is not trivial. An open standards and open architecture approach for interoperability is probably the best bet, but standardize on a common platform all new programs moving forward. Great to see CYBERCOM starting to take their acquisition authorities to the next phase. Our adversaries are not constrained by their acquisition bureaucracies.

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More to read! DoD has updated the #CMMC documentation stack. Scoping Guidance(s), Assessment Guide(s), and more. Much to consider.

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There are some excellent tips here for small businesses looking to work directly with U.S. defense and intelligence agencies.

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Towards a “whole of government approach to cyber security” based on security by design principles in systems and services.

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Want to learn how to apply practical, governed decisions with #AI? Join  my company’s Chief Data Officer, Justin Magruder, on July 17 from 8:30 - 9:15 a.m. ET during the #CDOIQ2024 Symposium to dig how to accelerate decision making while staying government compliant.

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The agile methodology is often seen as a winning formula, but there is more to successful software development—especially for federal agencies and the DOD. To succeed, agencies must combine agile with human-centered design (HCD) methods, which place user needs at the forefront of development. HCD, really focuses on mission outcomes because it gets the users involved early on. This means that agile efforts are aligned with the actual needs of the citizens and/or other constituents who will use the technology, and that leads to better outcomes. Adopting this combination is key for federal agencies. It’s not just about speed; it’s about building solutions that truly serve the mission. How can we ensure that more agencies or DOD development orgs take this approach? #GovTech #IT #Agile #SoftwareDevelopment #HumanCenteredDesign

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For years, the vulnerabilities in our defense supply chains have been well understood, yet the risks remain. The time for analysis is over—the DoD must act decisively, allocate the necessary funding, and drive real change. Until we do, these critical supply chains will stay exposed, threatening the resilience of our national defense. It’s time to transform this longstanding weakness into a strategic advantage. From the article: “The lethal detonation of hand-held pagers and walkie-talkies used by Hezbollah militants this week in Lebanon demonstrated powerful spycraft, but it also raised questions about a gaping vulnerability in the global supply chain… …Even the most sophisticated participants are often unclear on who they are relying on for critical parts and raw materials, or where the risks lie… …The clear lesson of the supply chain upheavals that accompanied the pandemic was that the longer the journey entailed in making any product, the greater the chance that something might go awry, inflicting delay and higher costs… …Now there’s a potent yet related concern: The more complicated the journey, the greater the exposure to mischief… …Every movement along the way, and every additional company brought into the manufacturing process represents an opportunity for those pursuing violent agendas to insinuate themselves into the works and weaponize the product.” https://lnkd.in/eycRgcDR

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Vendor Provided Containers - Part 4 The "Vendor Dependency Conundrum". So you do FedRAMP or DOD/IL* work and you have a POAM (Plan of Action and Milestones). For the folks who don't do Public Sector work, this is basically a list of all of your compliance violations and vulnerabilities. What happens when you have a vulnerability in a vendor provided container? Specifically for something the vendor doesn't produce or patch? Often companies will make this a "Vendor Dependency". A "Vendor Dependency" is basically saying, "we'll wait until the upstream vendor patches it". But lets be real for a moment. The choice to use the "Vendor Provided Container" is yours and yours alone. Making it a vendor dependency is passing the responsibility for something that is most definitely the responsibility of the Cloud Service Provider (the authorized service). I described in my previous posts how vendor provided containers are woefully inadequate for production use (not hardened, not stripped, missing FIPS, etc). Long story short, the burden is still on the Cloud Service Provider (or consumer of those containers) to do all of the above. So while vendor provided containers are good to get started, they shouldn't be anywhere near a production environment. Going forward we need vendors to move past creating "development" containers, because that's really all they're good for. We need a standard for containers coming from vendors and if vendors are truly pursuing their CISA pledge of Secure by Design, they would harden them and strip them according to best practices. If they want to make it easy for DOD/FedRAMP customers, they would STIG harden them, and provide them with valid FIPS libraries. In summary, don't use vendor provided containers. You need to build your own or work with a vendor that builds and hardens container images as a service. Building your own images has a real cost to it too. It's also a discipline to do it fast and do it well. Teams are not usually equipped to take this on and often haphazardly do this work.

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Watch the AIPCon 5 live stream today if you want to hear how leading organisations are able to operationalise AI at enterprise scale.

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For the COBs, CMCs, etc from all Navies; what is your first reaction when you see this picture? Infrastructure Masons Compass Datacenters Navy League of the United States US Navy United States Submarine Veterans United States Submarine Veterans #Veterans #veteransupport ##veteranshelpingveterans

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The GovCon Growth Secret: It's Not Just About Sales. Many owners of government contracting businesses often think that a growth strategy is all about sales and marketing. However, a comprehensive growth strategy encompasses much more. 🌟 By integrating operations, finance, and human resources into your growth plan, you can create a robust framework that supports sustainable development. This holistic approach ensures that every aspect of your business is aligned and working towards common goals. 📈 Strategic planning is essential for identifying new opportunities, mitigating risks, and optimizing resources. It’s about creating a balanced and resilient business model that can adapt to changing market conditions. 🚀 Ready to enhance your growth strategy? I've just created a Free Strategic Planning Workbook to help you build this strategy. Click the link in the comments to access your workbook today! #strategicplanning #govcon #revenuegrowth

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The US Government Accountability Office (GAO) has urged the United States Department of Defense (DOD) and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to improve mental health support for service members transitioning out of the military. The GAO report found that service members face significant challenges during the transition to civilian life, including higher suicide rates (2.5 times higher) in the first year after separation. The DOD's inTransition program, designed to help with this transition, has been criticized for delayed outreach and an inability to connect with over 70% of its enrollees. The report recommends that DOD revise the inTransition program's enrollment criteria and outreach policy, and establish performance goals. It also urges the DOD-VA Joint Executive Committee to assess the departments' efforts to facilitate access to mental health services for transitioning service members. This report highlights the critical need for the DOD and VA to prioritize and improve mental health support for service members leaving the military. Providing timely and effective assistance during this vulnerable transition period can make a significant difference in the lives of those who have served. #MentalHealth #VeteranTransition #DOD #VA #MilitarySupport #GovtAccountability #Veterans

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The article presents a compelling discussion on the challenges of government contracting, particularly the dominance of large primes. This dominance is indeed a significant barrier, especially given the bureaucracy that tends to overwhelm small and medium-sized businesses, favoring established primes. For many, becoming a subcontractor to a prime is more achievable, yet this path also introduces issues such as dependency on the primes. As with most government programs, larger size often does not mean better efficiency, as it can lead to increased bureaucracy and inefficiency. The question remains: how can small and medium size, innovative businesses break into the market without encountering the bureaucratic barriers that bolster the position of primes?

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Where's the Beef? I mean Data! Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) leaders emphasized the importance of transparency and relevance in AI pitches! DISA advised vendors to avoid using AI just for the sake of it and instead focus on how AI features work and the data they were trained on! The key takeaway: AI solutions must be mission-specific and backed by solid, well-curated data! https://lnkd.in/eys_DJ8W Steve Wallace #Rocks Sydney Freedberg Breaking Defense #AI .

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